Mircea Panait
19,999 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.
2016 Cadillac XT5 Spied, Will Replace the SRX
30 Oct 2014, 15:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Some of you might remember that Cadillac has previously announced it will rename its entire lineup of vehicles in the near future - coupes and sedans will bear CT-numeral monikers, while SUVs except for the Escalade will be known as XT something. ...
2015 Ford Everest to be Revealed on the 14th of November, New Details Emerge
30 Oct 2014, 14:16 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The 2016 Ford Explorer mid-size sport utility vehicle may be the hottest new model from the American carmaker. However, just days before its reveal at the L.A. Auto Show, a recent report is hinting there's a new Blue Oval model slated to make ...
GM Lansing Delta Township Assembly Begins $63 Million Expansion
30 Oct 2014, 13:34 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Although it's only 8 years old, the GM LDT will see a whopping $63 million go into expanding its vehicle building capabilities. The company's newest Stateside facility will expand by 263,000 square feet, hiking its workforce population in...
Maserati Topped Ferrari in Q3 Profit Battle
30 Oct 2014, 12:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / For a long number of years now, luxury Italian brand Maserati was always overshadowed in every possible way by Ferrari, the biggest name in the business. Nevertheless, for the first time ever since the two became sister companies, the House of the ...
Here's the First US Delivery of the 2015 Nissan GT-R Nismo · Video
30 Oct 2014, 10:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / It's already been confirmed that the R36 GT-R will land in Nissan dealer inventory in 2017 as a high-performance hybrid supercar. But until the time comes and we'll get an all-new model, the current Nissan halo model still has a lot to bo...
Dacia Sandero RS Wearing Renault Badges Rendered
30 Oct 2014, 09:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If you are not familiar with the Dacia Sandero, this is basically the cheapest supermini hatch you can buy these days. With prices starting at €7,190 in Romania and at £5,995 in the UK, this is as low as you can go if you want a new car ...
2016 Ford Explorer to Debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 19th
30 Oct 2014, 08:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Well, well, well, the Blue Oval finally let the bird slip after a way too long period of more or less official rumors. Ford confirmed a new Explorer will make its first outing at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. The fifth-generation of the mid-si...
New Land Rover Defender to Arrive in 2016 as a Concept
29 Oct 2014, 19:21 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Ever since a Land Rover concept called DC100 was unveiled three years ago, the rumor mill steadily churned out a number of more or less official launch dates for the heavily-anticipated all-new Defender. This time around, a report says the next-gen...
New 2015 Ford Focus ST Pricing Revealed for the UK
29 Oct 2014, 18:26 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Following its public debut at this year's edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the newest hot hatchback on the block now has a price tag for the UK market. The least expensive variant of the 2015 Ford Focus ST can be had for £22,19...
ESP Mandatory in Europe Starting November 1st, 2014
29 Oct 2014, 17:39 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Between 1987 and 1992, engineering big shots Bosch and Continental joined forces with BMW and Mercedes-Benz to co-develop a vehicle safety feature called Elektronisches Stabilitätsprogramm. 22 years since then, the European Union decided th...
Fiat-Chrysler Not Selling Ferrari, Just Raising Cash to Pay Debt
29 Oct 2014, 16:38 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / FCA's announcement made many publications erroneously title the bit of info as "Ferrari is for sale" and such. But that clickbait style of titling doesn't hold water. There's a lot of background to this story and the fine d...
Chrysler Recalls Over 550,000 Trucks and SUVs in Two Separate Campaigns
29 Oct 2014, 15:52 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After Ford announced only recently it's calling back approximately 205,000 crossovers due to premature rusting, Chrysler just beat that with two fell swoops. One of them affects a lot of Ram pickup trucks, while the second covers over 180k Dod...
Ford Recalls Old Crossover Vehicles Over Rusty Fuel Tank
29 Oct 2014, 14:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Dearborn-based automaker just issued a new voluntary recall campaign. Blue Oval engineers found out through a thorough internal investigation that over 200,000 cars are prone to rust prematurely. Covering an estimated 204,448 examples of the...
Ultimate Burnout - Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Celebrates the 4th of July in October
29 Oct 2014, 13:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Every year, the 4th of July is the day when we flaunt Uncle Sam hats, watch fireworks shoot bright sparks into the endless night sky and salute the ol' red, white & blue. But the Dodge boys aren't traditionalists by nature and the fol...
New 2015 Cadillac ATS-V Spied Uncamouflaged in Coupe Format
29 Oct 2014, 13:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After months of speculation, the luxury manufacturer confirmed at the end of August that the refreshed 2015 Cadillac ATS-V is going to make its first public outing at the Los Angeles Auto Show. But mysteries still envelop the new rocket from the Am...
Grabber Blue Stripes on 2015 Ford Mustang GT Fastback are a Must-Have
29 Oct 2014, 10:40 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As I'm sure every S550 Mustang enthusiast is aware, the sixth generation of the iconic pony cannot be had in one of the coolest exterior finishes of the previous model. Yes, Grabber Blue is what I'm referring to. Unfortunately, the Blu...
Tesla Leather Apparel in the Pipeline - Bags & Wallets to Match Your Model S
29 Oct 2014, 09:32 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Virtually every exotic car manufacturer boasts with an extensive line of branded goods. Bags, jackets, you name it, there are lots of ways for automakers to rip you off $100 for a simple pair of slippers or a branded beach towel. And guess what - T...
Hennessey Jaguar F-Type R Coupe Has 623 Horsepower
29 Oct 2014, 08:24 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / With 550 British stallions and 502 lb-ft of twist coming as standard, the supercharged 5-liter V8 propelling the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe is what petrolhead dreams are made of. But does that suffice for the tuning world? To be blunt, not exactly. A...
2016 Chevrolet Volt Propulsion System Detailed · Video
28 Oct 2014, 17:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In advance of its 2015 Detroit Auto Show official debut, the golden bowtie manufacturer informs that the second-generation Volt will have "an increased EV range" and many other eco-friendly goodies. Boasting with a newly-developed Volt...
2016 Camaro Rendering Shows Us the Profile of the New Pony From Chevrolet
28 Oct 2014, 16:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After some juicy renderings with the front and rear three quarters of the new-gen Camaro were released on the Internet earlier this month, we are now happy to show you how the Chevy-branded, Transformers-inspired pony car will look like from t...