Mircea Panait
20,032 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.
SRT Viper GTS Anodized Carbon Special Edition Undergoes the Time Attack Group Treatment
16 Apr 2014, 18:20 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Shown for the first time at the New York International Auto Show today, the all-new Anodized Carbon Special Edition takes all of the functional chassis and aero parts from the Time Attack Group Special Edition and makes them available on the GTS pr...
2014 Moab Easter Jeep Safari Kicks Off in Style
16 Apr 2014, 17:14 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Off-road enthusiasts from all over the world gathered this Monday in Utah to take part in the 48th Annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari. The week-long event consisting of adventurous trail rides is also the perfect place for Jeep and Mopar to showcase th...
Take a Closer Look at the 2015 Jeep Renegade · Video
16 Apr 2014, 15:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Jeep released a set of two videos showcasing the exterior and interior features of the all-new 2015 Renegade. After it was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March, the small B-Segment SUV made its North American debut today at the New York Inter...
Here's the Mustang Atop the Empire State Building · Video
16 Apr 2014, 13:48 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In 1964, Ford and DST Industries teamed up in order to display the iconic Mustang on the 86th floor observation deck of the Empire State Building. Fast-forward a number of decades and here they are doing it again, this time displaying the 2015 Must...
European Ford Sales On the Rise for the 10th Consecutive Month
16 Apr 2014, 12:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Blue Oval's European division is enjoying its fourth successive quarter of year-over-year sales gains. Ford's market share rose to 8.9 percent in March 2014, while its share in the commercial vehicles market rose to 10.4 percent in th...
How Ford Got the '15 Mustang Atop the Empire State Building · Video
16 Apr 2014, 11:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / What better way to celebrate 50 years of Ford Mustang than putting the all-new model on top of New York City's Empire State Building? 1,050 feet (320 meters) above the streets of Manhattan, on the landmark building's 86th floor observatio...
All-New 2015 Chevrolet Trax Breaks Cover · Video
16 Apr 2014, 09:33 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After the GM subsidiary teased us it will bring no less than three new models to the New York Auto Show this week, it looks like the 2015 Corvette Z06 Convertible and 2015 Cruze will share the spotlight with this encore of the Buick Encore (pun int...
2015 Ford Mustang 50th Anniversary Edition Heading to New York Auto Show
16 Apr 2014, 08:33 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Based on the 2015 Mustang GT fastback with the optional Performance Pack, the brand-new 50th Anniversary Edition pays homage to the illustrious half-century history of America's favorite pony car. Because the original model was launched at the...
Two '60s Mustangs Head from Michigan to the New York Auto Show
15 Apr 2014, 17:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In anticipation of the New York International Auto Show and the "50 Years of Mustang" set of celebratory events, two first-gen Mustangs will be driven from their spiritual home of Michigan to the New York City auto event. This journey rec...
Camaro Sends a Cheeky 50th Birthday Card to the Mustang
15 Apr 2014, 16:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Ever since the beginning of time, mankind's greatest rivalries were born out of spite, revenge or pure competition. In American car culture, we have a prime example of such rivalry: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang. The never-ending fanboy...
Aston Martin Will Bring Two Special Edition Cars at the New York Auto Show
15 Apr 2014, 15:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The 101-year-old British sports car marque announced it will unveil two exclusive new special editions for North American markets this week, at the 84th New York International Auto Show. One of them is a motorsport-honed V8 Vantage GT, while the ot...
Check Out This Three-Wheel Ford Mustang Driving On the Freeway
15 Apr 2014, 13:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Getting a flat tire while driving on the freeway isn't that unusual these day. If you like to drive in the slow lane, you should be prepared for an imminent puncture because the side of the road is chuck-full of rusty nails, torn beer cans and...
First 2015 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Raises $500,000 for Charity
15 Apr 2014, 11:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In addition to the $1 million 2015 Corvette Z06 Coupe, another first retail production Chevrolet was sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Palm Beach. The winning bidder paid no less than $500,000 for the VIN No. 1 2015 Camaro Z/28. Earlier this y...
Peugeot Unveils the 2008 DKR Dakar Buggy · Video
15 Apr 2014, 10:23 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The French manufacturer announced last month that it will return to the Dakar Rally in 2015. It was about time it did so, after dominating the rally in the late '80s. In order to once again reclaim the much-revered Dakar title, Peugeot will us...
Second Oldest Ford GT40 Auctioned for $7 Million · Video
15 Apr 2014, 09:18 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As we're sure you know, the GT40 was Ford's first model ever to win the challenging 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was born from the ambition of Henry Ford II to do one thing only: utterly destroy Enzo Ferrari's racers on the French track. ...
NCE to Chop the Roofs Off 100 Tesla Model S Vehicles
15 Apr 2014, 08:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Newport Convertible Engineering (NCE) is a tuning company specialized in scalping production cars. The Huntington Beach-based company has done some crazy stuff over the years, from your run-of-the-mill Dodge Challenger Convertible to really special...
Custom 1967 Shelby GT500 with 800+ Horsepower to Be Revealed on April 18
14 Apr 2014, 17:23 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / We've told you before that the Ford Motor Company plans to celebrate "50 Years of Mustang" by organizing the largest multiday Mustang celebration in history. The series of events will kickstart on April 16 at the Charlotte Motor Spee...
Lincoln's Chief Designer Replaced by David Woodhouse
14 Apr 2014, 16:18 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In an effort to overhaul the once great Lincoln automobile brand, chief designer Max Wolff will step down from his position, letting David Woodhouse take over the design department. Like Wolff, the Australian is a veteran in the world of car design...
Saleen-Tuned Tesla Model S Coming Summer 2014
14 Apr 2014, 15:28 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The American specialty manufacturer of high performance vehicles just released the first sketches of the manic Saleen Tesla Model S. Saleen Automotive announced that the first Saleen Tesla Model S will be completed during the Summer of 2014. Let...
Celebrities Choose the World's Greatest Sports Coupes Ever Made
14 Apr 2014, 14:28 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / For its newest exhibit, the Petersen Automotive Museum invited twelve celebrities, ranging from rock music legends, critically acclaimed film directors, actors and world renown car collector, to guest curate one sports coupe each. The World's ...