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Sebastian Toma

4,523  ARTICLES

Personal motto:

"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." - Mike Tyson

Senior Contributor
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Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. He cannot put a finger on what started it all, but it was there, and it grew day by day. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver).

It all started with him pointing at cars on the street and asking what make and model they were. Sebastian couldn't wait to be tall enough to see over their steering wheel and be allowed to drive them.

When was ready to hit the road, Sebastian was left without a potential first car after his family's '72 Mercedes-Benz was rolled by his father. While the early '70s sedan proved unexpectedly safe, Sebastian was left without a ride, so he took various jobs and saved up for an E30 BMW 3 Series. Months later, he got his dream job – writing about cars for a local website while he was getting a bachelor's degree in Journalism.

Fourteen years had passed since Sebastian started writing about cars and motorcycles, and his job took him behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles, as well as through some of the most important local publications.

Just before returning to autoevolution, he was the editor-in-chief of the country's most-read car magazine and its website. Sebastian took on the challenge and started writing for us again, so sit back and enjoy the read!
Colin McRae's 1997 Subaru Impreza WRC Is for Sale
Colin McRae's 1997 Subaru Impreza WRC Is for Sale

7 Apr 2016, 08:39 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / Every once in a while, a used race car pops up for sale on the internet. And we are not referring to “regular” vehicles driven in competitions by just any driver, but cars that were pushed to the limit and beyond by racing legends. I...

 
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay - What Do They Do, and Are They for You?
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay - What Do They Do, and Are They for You?

6 Apr 2016, 16:05 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / Apple and Google started an infotainment revolution a few years ago when carmakers began introducing enhanced smartphone compatibility in their models. As some of you already know and even use, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are two systems inst...

 
Jaguar's PR Director Does Not Exclude EVs and Smaller Engines from SVR Badge
Jaguar's PR Director Does Not Exclude EVs and Smaller Engines from SVR Badge

6 Apr 2016, 12:21 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / Jaguar’s performance division might make cars with engines other than V8s, says Richard Agnew, the brand’s director of public relations. While all of the Jaguar models that wear the SVO badge have a V8 engine today, the Special Vehic...

 
Quadricycle Safety Is Still a Big Issue, EuroNCAP Says
Quadricycle Safety Is Still a Big Issue, EuroNCAP Says

6 Apr 2016, 10:45 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / EuroNCAP warns interested customers of quadricycles about the low level of safety provided by these vehicles. The organization has benchmarked four models currently available on the market, and the results show that these vehicles have barely i...

 
Audi A3 Got a Facelift and Looks like a Smaller A4, but Comes with Improvements
Audi A3 Got a Facelift and Looks like a Smaller A4, but Comes with Improvements

6 Apr 2016, 09:25 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / Audi has showcased the facelifted version of the A3 today, and it comes with much more than design changes. Before we get into particulars, let’s take a look at how the facelifted A3 looks. The compact model from Audi has borrowed the appe...

 
Upcoming 2018 BMW M5 and M6 Will Ditch Manuals for Good
Upcoming 2018 BMW M5 and M6 Will Ditch Manuals for Good

6 Apr 2016, 08:39 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / BMW’s M5 and M6 will not be available for order with a manual transmission once the new generation of the two models is launched. Currently, the M5 and M6 are available with an optional six-speed manual transmission, but demand for this un...

 
GM to Auction the First 2017 Corvette Grand Sport Collector's Edition
GM to Auction the First 2017 Corvette Grand Sport Collector's Edition

5 Apr 2016, 17:46 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / General Motors will auction off the first production 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Collector’s Edition. The American corporation has pledged to donate the proceeds from this sale to the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. The auct...

 
Ford Everest SUV Confirmed for Africa Factory, Company Will Invest $170 Million
Ford Everest SUV Confirmed for Africa Factory, Company Will Invest $170 Million

5 Apr 2016, 16:46 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / Ford has confirmed a substantial investment in its Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, South Africa. The Blue Oval will invest $170 million in the expansion of the plant, which will manufacture the Ford Everest SUV and the upcoming Ranger pick...

 
Rally-Spec 1985 Porsche 911 Is Up for Auction, Proceeds Go to Charity
Rally-Spec 1985 Porsche 911 Is Up for Auction, Proceeds Go to Charity

5 Apr 2016, 16:23 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / In the market for a rally-ready Porsche 911? We have excellent news for you, as Porsche racer Patrick Long has a pristinely resto-modded example that will be for sale this month. He called it the Luftauto, and it will be sold at an auction orga...

 
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn Says He Is Happy About Tesla's Model 3 Pre-Order Success
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn Says He Is Happy About Tesla's Model 3 Pre-Order Success

5 Apr 2016, 15:22 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of one of the first mainstream manufacturers to launch a modern electric car for the masses, was asked about his opinion on Tesla’s impressive number of registered orders for the Model 3. With remarkable tact and look...

 
PSA Peugeot Citroen Becomes Groupe PSA, Plans Global Campaign with 26-Car Range
PSA Peugeot Citroen Becomes Groupe PSA, Plans Global Campaign with 26-Car Range

5 Apr 2016, 14:36 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / The French group that controls the Peugeot, Citroen, and DS brands has decided to change its name to Groupe PSA. The newly named company has a new logo, and it has plans to increase its operating profit by the year 2021. Along with these change...

 
Faraday Future Teases Production Line, Might Have a Five-Car Lineup
Faraday Future Teases Production Line, Might Have a Five-Car Lineup

5 Apr 2016, 14:17 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / Faraday Future, the American start-up automaker funded by a Chinese billionaire, has published a teaser video of its upcoming range. It appears that the company plans a crossover, a large SUV, an SUV with coupe design influences, and a sports ca...

 
Nissan GT-R Nismo World Record Teased
Nissan GT-R Nismo World Record Teased

5 Apr 2016, 12:03 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / Nissan’s Middle East branch has published a teaser video on its YouTube account. It teases a GT-R Nismo, and it also mentions the term “World Record.” It is natural to believe Nissan’s GT-R Nismo has broken a world record, b...

 
Tesla's Q1 Deliveries Miss Out on Expectations, Shares Drop Slightly
Tesla's Q1 Deliveries Miss Out on Expectations, Shares Drop Slightly

5 Apr 2016, 09:52 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / Tesla has announced its delivery results for the first quarter of this year. The American carmaker did not do as well as expected, and its shares sustained a slight drop. The automaker announced in February that it would sell 16,000 Model S and ...

 
2017 BMW M5 Prototype Still Testing on the Nurburgring
2017 BMW M5 Prototype Still Testing on the Nurburgring

5 Apr 2016, 08:32 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / BMW is preparing the next-generation 5 Series, and its performance version is also in the testing phase. Our spy photographers have spotted the upcoming BMW M5 on the famous Nurburgring, and it looks like business as usual for the engineers driv...

 
Tesla Autopilot Explained - The Most Advanced Self-Driving Feature on the Market
Tesla Autopilot Explained - The Most Advanced Self-Driving Feature on the Market

30 Mar 2016, 19:17 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / Autonomous cars are more tangible than ever, and Tesla seems to be the brand that is closest to achieving this. While Mercedes-Benz and other carmakers have been experimenting with self-driving technology since the 1980s, Tesla was the first com...

 
British Company Is Building Smart Electric Car for 5 to 10-Year-Old Children
British Company Is Building Smart Electric Car for 5 to 10-Year-Old Children

30 Mar 2016, 13:48 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / A British company claims to have developed the first car for 5 to 10-year-olds that is not just a toy. Instead, the creation of “Young Driver Motor Cars Limited” is a two-seat electric vehicle. It has two electric engines, disc brake...

 
Google Has Patented a System That Detects Road Flares in Real Time
Google Has Patented a System That Detects Road Flares in Real Time

30 Mar 2016, 11:55 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / One small step for man, one giant leap for autonomous vehicle technology. Google has been granted a patent for a system that allows self-driving cars to detect road flares. The American company filed the patent request last November, and the app...

 
Waze Introduces Speed Limit Alert in Several Markets, Worldwide Rollout Is Next
Waze Introduces Speed Limit Alert in Several Markets, Worldwide Rollout Is Next

30 Mar 2016, 09:22 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / Waze, the popular and helpful navigation app for drivers, has announced the introduction of a new feature - a speed limit warning. The idea of this new function is to warn users if they are driving above the speed limit on a road segment. This i...

 
GM Recalls 6,300 Chevrolet Caprice Police Cars over Steering Defect
GM Recalls 6,300 Chevrolet Caprice Police Cars over Steering Defect

30 Mar 2016, 08:14 UTC · By: Sebastian Toma / General Motors has announced another recall, but this time it does not target vehicles that have been sold to regular customers. Instead, the recall is focused on Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit cars, like the one in the photo attached to this ...

 

Stories by Sebastian Toma