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.
Suzuki Celerio City Car Coming to the UK in February 2015
13 Nov 2014, 16:41 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Dubbed as an A+ compact car because it exceeds A-segment vehicle standards in terms of interior space, the Suzuki Celerio will be made available in the United Kingdom in February. We know what you’re thinking at this very moment - Celerio wha...
Mercedes-AMG GT UK Pricing Starts at £97,195
13 Nov 2014, 15:49 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / British fans of the three pointed star rejoice! Mercedes-Benz opened the order books for the all-new AMG GT coupe bruiser, with first United Kingdom deliveries slated to happen in April 2015. Mind you, the Mercedes sportscar isn’t cheap. M...
Chevrolet Chaparral 2X VGT Concept Racecar Teased a Second Time
13 Nov 2014, 15:05 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Back in a time when racers were real men and racing was truly dangerous, blokes Jim Hall and Hap Sharp were founding a small company known as Chaparral Cars in 1962. Few could’ve guessed then how the two racers will be changing motorsport for...
General Motors Laying Off a Shift at Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant
13 Nov 2014, 14:15 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The American giant’s Lansing facility is not doing that great these days. Its workers are currently assembling the Cadillac ATS, CTS, while the sixth-gen 2016 Chevrolet Camaro will be made here sometime next year. However, a way too low deman...
Cadillac Trademarks CT2 to CT8 and XT2 to XT8 Monikers
13 Nov 2014, 12:20 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / General Motors’ most luxurious brand is hard at turning around its ways of doing business. In recent years, the American carmaker launched the ATS and revamped CTS, as well as a posh new-gen Escalade, but the near future holds a lot more in s...
2015 Ford Everest Is a Rough & Ready SUV · Video
13 Nov 2014, 10:39 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / We’ve been waiting for this new Ford model to be unveiled since we saw it in concept form last year. After a little too much hypefying for our liking, the American manufacturer finally let the cat out of the bag and this is it, ladies and gen...
Alfa Romeo 4C Definitiva by Lazzarini Design Packs 738 HP
13 Nov 2014, 09:23 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Alfa Romeo of today can’t even hold a candle to the awe-inspiring carmaker it was until the dusk of the 1980s. Its lineup is comprised of just three cars: the MiTo, the Giulietta and the 4C. To be completely honest, only the latter lives up t...
Wimmer Tunes the KTM X-Bow Lineup
12 Nov 2014, 17:42 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Would you pay at least €110,000 for a track-oriented machine that normally goes for €80,000 or so? It seems like some enthusiasts of the Austrian contraption might spend that extra considering a tuner did enhance KTM’s entire X-Bow ...
2015 Ram ProMaster City Priced From $23,130
12 Nov 2014, 17:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Also known as the Fiat Doblo in other places around the world, the Ram ProMaster panel van is just what you need if you’re in the market for a cargo van that’s not too big nor too small. The domesticated version of the Doblo may start a...
2016 Hyundai Mighty LCV Truck Spied
12 Nov 2014, 16:33 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Hyundai has been with us since 1967 or so, but the South Korean company didn’t open shop with the i30, Sonata or Genesis passenger cars. The same year Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title for refusing to enroll into the army, Hy...
2015 Maserati Quattropote and Ghibli Get Updated for the LA Auto Show
12 Nov 2014, 15:43 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The House of the Trident is preparing a few updates for its two best-selling models. Slated to make their debut at next week’s Los Angeles Auto Show, the refreshed Maserati models don’t get any extra oomph, but a small nip and tuck job ...
2015 Hyundai i20 Pricing Announced for the United Kingdom
12 Nov 2014, 14:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Hyundai’s latest weapon in the B-segment was recently given a sticker price for the supermini crazy British market. Without further ado, the second-gen i20 will set UK customers back at least £10,695 OTR. That tiny dribble of money w...
Galpin Rocket Mustang Teased, Will Be Unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show
12 Nov 2014, 13:17 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Deliveries of the 2015 Ford Mustang just started, yet the tuning world is mad in love with the Blue Oval’s all-new pony. Big outfits like Roush, RTR, Steeda and so on had their way with tuning it, but now is the time for Galpin Auto Sports to...
Corvette Vision GT Concept Coming to Gran Turismo 6
12 Nov 2014, 11:19 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / For those of you that aren’t too familiar with of console games, the PlayStation crowd with a love for realistic racing simulators have a lot to choose from. It’s debatable, but if we were to choose our favorite game of the lot, that wo...
Maserati SUV Prototype Spied Up Close
12 Nov 2014, 10:49 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The House of the Trident is currently on a bit of a roll. The Granturismo may be getting a little bit old now, but the Italian luxury brand’s four-door offerings are selling like hot cakes nowadays. In the third quarter profit battle, Maserat...
New Cadillac ATS-V Coupe is a 450 HP Twin-Turbo Brute
12 Nov 2014, 09:32 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / It took numerous spy shots and an even greater amount of rumours to finally get the 2016 ATS-V Coupe undressed of its secrets. Finally, the half luxurious and half performance-oriented Caddy leaked on the Internet in all its brutal glory. BMW ...
Fiat Bravo Facelift is a Brazil-Only Affair
11 Nov 2014, 17:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In a continent called Europe, a company called Fiat makes a compact hatchback called the Bravo since 2007 or so. Wait, scrap that, it’s actually made due to the fact the Cassino assembly plant ceased producing it in July. The only way one can...
Q by Aston Martin Unveils DB9 Volante Morning Frost One-Off
11 Nov 2014, 17:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Aston Martin DB9 has been with us since 2004 and even to this day, every Aston except for the One-77 and Cygnet is underpinned by the VH platform. For the unknowing, that chassis technology debuted on the original Vanquish about 13 years ago. W...
2017 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible - Soft Top Roof Spied
11 Nov 2014, 15:48 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / At this year’s SEMA show, Chevrolet got fans of the fifth-generation Camaro a bit teary-eyed thanks to a swan song model called the Commemorative Edition. But you know what some say about an end also being a beginning. It seems that applies t...
Qoros 3 City SUV Teased, to Debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show in November
11 Nov 2014, 14:56 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If you’re not familiar with Qoros, this is a Chinese-Israeli automaker established in 2007. Although the brand has a long way to go in terms of recognition and worldwide dealership network, Qoros is preparing to launch its third model after t...