Mircea Panait
20,086 ARTICLES
Personal motto:
"If in doubt, flat out." - Colin McRae
Interning for Top Gear was his first foray in automotive journalism, and not long after that, a full-time position was opened for Mircea to seal the deal. Just about three years later, autoevolution became his new home.
Especially interested in American ponies and muscle cars, Mircea also finds the Japanese domestic market appealing thanks to the quirkiness of kei cars. Full-size pickups like the Ram 1500 and off-roaders such as the Ford Ranger Raptor and Jeep Gladiator Rubicon are much to his liking as well.
A self-described master of pasta and an avid CCG player, Mircea’s past-time activities include playing his Epiphone Les Paul Special Vintage Edition electric guitar, discovering the wonders of the Carpathian mountains by foot, and driving to the Black Sea to get a well-deserved tan.
2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport Makes US Debut at LA Auto Show
18 Nov 2014, 10:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The British company’s newest nameplate made its North American debut and it’s a machine worth looking for. Slated to go on sale early next year, the LR Discovery Sport is unlike anything else we’ve seen before from the SUV making ...
Bentley Grand Convertible Shows Up at the Los Angeles Auto Show
18 Nov 2014, 09:32 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Ever since the Arnage took its last breath back in 2009, the most luxurious model in Bentley's lineup was replaced by the Mulsanne. Baptized after the famous corner of the Le Mans circuit, the new Mulsanne differentiates itself greatly from th...
Jenson Button's BAR Honda 006 Formula 1 Car On Sale for £60,000
16 Nov 2014, 04:34 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If you had to choose between a four-by-four luxobarge such as the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class or a full-on Formula 1 single seater, is it that you would go for the latter? Of course, our £60k would go for the racer as well. Namely this ex-Jenson B...
Ferrari & Fiat-Chrysler Saga Update, Maserati and Alfa Romeo SUVs to Launch in 2015
16 Nov 2014, 03:50 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In case you haven't heard already, a part of Ferrari will be listed next year on the most important stock exchanges from the United States and Europe. FCA previously announced that 10 percent of Ferrari will be bought and sold freely, but befo...
RWD V8 Holden Commodore to Bite the Dust For Good in 2017
15 Nov 2014, 15:34 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Australian petrolheads already know that both General Motors and Ford will close manufacturing operations in the country in a few years' time. Though the Blue Oval sells a right-hand drive 2015 Mustang in this part of the world, the future is ...
Watch Kimi Raikkonen Showboating in a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta at Fiorano
15 Nov 2014, 14:35 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Remember Kimi Raikkonen's funny radio messages from the time he was with the Lotus F1 Team? That pretty much sums up the Finn and his approach to racing. Although he's recent stint at the Ferrari stable wasn't a fruitful one, don...
Cadillac ATS-V.R is a FIA GT3 Twin-Turbo Monster · Video
15 Nov 2014, 12:48 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / With the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe set to take the Los Angeles Auto Show by storm on November 18th, the poshest carmaker in the General Motors portfolio isn't going to let it at just that. The new performance coupe also spawned an ATS-V.R FIA ...
McLaren-Honda MP4-29H/1X1 Interim Car Started Testing for the 2015 Season
15 Nov 2014, 11:52 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The British Formula 1 team has officially taken its partnership with Honda to full throttle with the MP4-29H. What you can see in the photograph above is exactly what you think it is – an MP4-29 Formula 1 single seater with its Mercedes-AMG h...
2015 Volvo XC90 Debuts Improved Air Conditioning Multi-Filter
14 Nov 2014, 17:52 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Volvo is best known for giving away its greatest invention to the world for free. We’re referring to the three point seat belt, which was patented in 1955. Alhough the Swedish auto and truck maker is still making research efforts for safet...
Unlimited Mileage Warranty Is a Sweet Deal from Mazda Canada
14 Nov 2014, 17:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / We all know that Japanese automakers really like to differentiate their way of doing cars from the rest of the world through one thing - reliability. But Mazda Canada is now pushing the reliability and ownership envelope with their most recent anno...
Ford Sold 7 Million Explorer Crossover SUVs Since 1990
14 Nov 2014, 16:22 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If you haven’t heard there’s an all-new Explorer coming to the LA Auto Show next week, now you know. As if Ford knew this will happen in such perfect timing, the company announced it just sold the 7 millionth Explorer since it was launc...
Kia Pro_Cee’d GT to Get Seven-Speed Dual-Clutch Transmission in 2015
14 Nov 2014, 15:36 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Nevermind the South Korean brand’s dubious way of naming its C-segment fighter because the Cee’d is a pretty complete vehicle for its segment. Both petrol and diesel-fed variants are very popular, but the fairly new Pro_Cee’d GT d...
Alfa Romeo MiTo Junior Pricing Starts at €17,650 · Video
14 Nov 2014, 14:32 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Remember the GT 1300 Junior of the late 1960s? Good, because it won’t be revived with a second generation. Alfa Romeo revived only the Junior name for a ritzy variant of the quirky MiTo supermini. The Alfa Romeo MiTo (Type 955) entered pro...
Mercedes-Benz Multibeam LED Headlight Tech to Adopt 84 LEDs in 2015
14 Nov 2014, 13:37 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Everything that’s technology-related is a big obsession for the Mercedes-Benz research & development team. Lately, the German automobile manufacturer's brainiacs were predominantly focused on active safety features, but their latest ...
GM Ignition Switch Saga Turning Point - Delphi Turns Over Evidence to Lawyers
14 Nov 2014, 11:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / It all started on an unfortunate day back in February. General Motors announced it’s recalling 1.3 million cars assembled between 2002 and 2007 for a potential fault with the ignition switch assembly. Fast forward to the present moment and th...
Lotus Evora Facelift to Be Presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 2015
14 Nov 2014, 10:23 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / When the British manufacturer introduced the Evora 2+2 two-door coupe back in 2008, fans of the brand and new-to-Lotus gearheads got very ecstatic over it. But that was a heck of a long time ago, which is why the magic wore off and next year it&rsq...
Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat En Route to US Dealerships
14 Nov 2014, 09:24 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Ready or not, muscle car fans, because Dodge and the SRT skunkworks started to ship the maniacally powerful Hellcat-engined Challenger to its US dealers. It was a long wait considering the model was unveiled in May, but all these long months were n...
This Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe is Fit for a Maharaja
13 Nov 2014, 18:51 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If you want to roll in the most opulent and luxurious way possible, there is only one way you can do that - buy a Rolls-Royce and get chauffered by a bloke wearing a funny-looking hat. A Roller is the automotive equivalent to a raised middle finger...
2016 Shelby Mustang GT350 Confirmed, New Details Emerge · Video
13 Nov 2014, 18:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The first in a series of five teaser clips released by Ford hinted the Blue Oval will unveil a performance-oriented car. Two other vids followed, offering a lot of small details about what’s it going to be. However, the fourth clip confirms i...
2016 Volvo S90 Confirmed for Production in China
13 Nov 2014, 17:22 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A little while back, Volvo Cars chief executive officer Hakan Samuelsson announced that the S80 is going to be replaced by an all-new model baptized S90. Slated to enter production after the spring 2015 debut of the all-new X90 seven-seater SUV, no...