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Vlad Mitrache

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Having the memory of an elephant suffering from amnesia, I'm the exact opposite of an automotive encyclopedia. That's exactly why you can very often find me studying the spec sheets of cars or asking my colleagues who are very much more knowledgeable than me about facts and figures. On the bright side, though, that means I get to learn new things every day.


Contrary to most of the people here, I didn't get my driving license right after my 18th birthday, but it wasn't because I didn't want to. I won't get into details, but three years later I was the proud owner of that piece of plastic and a piece of trash car with which I quickly established a love and hate relationship. Mostly hate.

However, driving I loved, so that's what kept me going until my first decent car. By this time, I started thinking about mixing my degree in Journalism with my passion for driving, and so there I was working as an editor for a car magazine. A few good years later, nothing much has changed. But don't take my word for it, I tend to forget stuff. Now, if I could just remember where I parked my car...
Rezvani Beast Is a 500 HP Very Mean-Looking Little Donut Machine
Rezvani Beast Is a 500 HP Very Mean-Looking Little Donut Machine

31 Aug 2015, 08:27 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / You may have heard about the Rezvani Beast, an Ariel Atom-based miniature supercar that's been in development for quite a while. The boring part seems to be over now, as this behind the scenes video of the official shoot does very well to prov...

 
2017 Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe Gets Official Racecar Conversion Sketch for 2016 DTM Season
2017 Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe Gets Official Racecar Conversion Sketch for 2016 DTM Season

30 Aug 2015, 10:20 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / If Mercedes-AMG GT is the starting point for the car destined to represent the Stuttgart brand in GT3 competitions, for DTM, this honour has fallen on Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe's shoulders. It doesn't really come as a surprise since this ...

 
Fiat Ducato 4x4 Expedition Will Take You Camping where No One Has Ever Camped Before
Fiat Ducato 4x4 Expedition Will Take You Camping where No One Has Ever Camped Before

29 Aug 2015, 14:24 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / There's a reason this type of vehicles are one-offs and never enter mass production: nobody would buy them. But that's not because they're completely awesome, it's just that they would cost more than your average supercar. Be...

 
Citroen C3 Rendering Shows a Mini-C4 Picasso We'd Love to See Happening
Citroen C3 Rendering Shows a Mini-C4 Picasso We'd Love to See Happening

29 Aug 2015, 14:22 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache /  The current Citroen C3 model didn't receive much love and even though it's not a great car, it's still hard to understand why it was so badly received. After all, it was immensely better than the previous (and first) generation...

 
Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG Proves You Should Be Careful Who You Challenge at a Traffic Light
Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG Proves You Should Be Careful Who You Challenge at a Traffic Light

29 Aug 2015, 12:59 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Sleeper cars are the best kind of cars, period. Not only do they say you're a very confident man who doesn't feel the need to boast with a flashy car, but they also provide some wonderful occasions for humiliating those who do. In thi...

 
2016 smart fortwo cabrio Doesn't Care Winter Is Coming, Launches in September
2016 smart fortwo cabrio Doesn't Care Winter Is Coming, Launches in September

28 Aug 2015, 10:22 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / The 2016 smart fortwo cabrio is presented as the single cabriolet model in its class. Uhm, I wasn't even aware there were any other cars in its class. Or that there was such a class altogether. There's something about driving a small c...

 
Google Street View Car Sees the Dark (Red) Side of Spanish Traditions
Google Street View Car Sees the Dark (Red) Side of Spanish Traditions

27 Aug 2015, 17:03 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Sometimes when a Google Street View car is spotted, the crazy side of the human nature surfaces. We are talking about the occasional individual who goes crazy. Blinded by his chance at a minute of fame, he'll either dress up silly and chase th...

 
Really Cheap Stock Mazda MX-5 Goes Under Nine Minutes on the Nurburgring
Really Cheap Stock Mazda MX-5 Goes Under Nine Minutes on the Nurburgring

27 Aug 2015, 15:55 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / It's become common knowledge that the Mazda MX-5 is one of the most fun cars you can drive, but some guys with beards prove it can also be pretty darn quick. There are a lot of TV series where some chaps set off to buy cheap cars and then r...

 
2016 Mercedes-AMG GLS63 Is Getting Ready to Roll in a Bend Near You
2016 Mercedes-AMG GLS63 Is Getting Ready to Roll in a Bend Near You

27 Aug 2015, 15:44 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / What you see here is the new Mercedes-AMG GLS63, the top performance version of the facelifted Mercedes-Benz GL. This mid-life refreshment for the largest of posh Mercedes-Benz SUVs will also bring the dreaded new naming scheme, linking the old GL ...

 
There's a Bridge in Massachusetts That Turns Trucks into Cabriolets for Free
There's a Bridge in Massachusetts That Turns Trucks into Cabriolets for Free

27 Aug 2015, 14:57 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Being a trucker is no easy life: you have to worry about getting on time, sticking to the schedule, taking care of the goods and minding the other little ants driving around you. If you happen to pass through Westwood, Massachusetts, you have to...

 
Peugeot 3008 Replacement Caught In the First Spy Shots of the Production Model
Peugeot 3008 Replacement Caught In the First Spy Shots of the Production Model

27 Aug 2015, 12:51 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / The current Peugeot 3008 was an odd car that had many people scratch their heads and others shake them in disbelief. Back in 2009 when it was first launched, Peugeot wasn't going through the happiest part of its life and this didn't look ...

 
LeCar Is a Bad Name for a Possibly Good Tesla Rival from a Chinese Billionaire
LeCar Is a Bad Name for a Possibly Good Tesla Rival from a Chinese Billionaire

27 Aug 2015, 10:08 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Did you think LaFerrari sounded stupid? How's LeCar turning out for you, then? Actually, for those lacking even the most basic knowledge of the French language, it might pass as nothing out of the ordinary. As for the Mandarin speakers, th...

 
Lada Vesta Cross Concept Revealed in Moscow, Looks Surprisingly Good
Lada Vesta Cross Concept Revealed in Moscow, Looks Surprisingly Good

27 Aug 2015, 08:48 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / If you haven't spent most of your life in the Eastern part of Europe, you're completely forgiven if the name Lada means absolutely nothing to you. However, after they've launched this surprisingly apt concept, you might want to f...

 
2016 Kia Sportage Makes Official Debut, Looks Even More Ambitious than the Previous Model
2016 Kia Sportage Makes Official Debut, Looks Even More Ambitious than the Previous Model

27 Aug 2015, 08:06 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / We've been seeing all kinds of materials related to the 2016 Kia Sportage compact SUV lately, but now we're finally handed some official images ahead of its full debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Before we delve into a m...

 
2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe Goes on an Epic Trip Along the Baltic Coast
2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe Goes on an Epic Trip Along the Baltic Coast

25 Aug 2015, 16:29 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / The 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupé is still rare enough to guarantee most heads will turn when it passes by. It's also quite an apparition, even though that doesn't necessarily make it a beautiful car in the purest sense of the word....

 
Ken Block Talks About Drifting Before Actually Going All-Out on Silverstone
Ken Block Talks About Drifting Before Actually Going All-Out on Silverstone

25 Aug 2015, 15:43 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Over the last few years, Ken Block has become synonymous with the idea of drifting. His Gymkhana movies gather millions of views on a regular basis and watching any of them makes it easy to spot why. In this clip, he takes a break from all that...

 
BMW E30 and Audi TT Get Way Too Intimate on Nurburgring, But Who's at fault?
BMW E30 and Audi TT Get Way Too Intimate on Nurburgring, But Who's at fault?

25 Aug 2015, 14:24 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Apart from mules and camouflaged prototypes driving around on the 'Ring, carrying a camera around the Nordschleife can also land you this kind of footage: drivers acting like pilots and failing. On an open track day, the colorful Nurburgrin...

 
Land Rover Celebrates 20 Years of Rugby Involvement With Emotional Video
Land Rover Celebrates 20 Years of Rugby Involvement With Emotional Video

25 Aug 2015, 13:42 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Land Rover is a British brand and it never loses any occasion to remind us that. Rugby - along with the five-o-clock tea - is an equally British symbol, one that Land Rover is gladly associating with. Under the slogan #WeDealInReal, Land Rover i...

 
Mobile Phones, Public Enemy Number One for British Drivers, Survey Finds
Mobile Phones, Public Enemy Number One for British Drivers, Survey Finds

25 Aug 2015, 12:49 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Driving a car isn't the most difficult thing in the world, but you wouldn't guess it by looking at the traffic in some corners of the world. Western 'civilized' countries make no exception and British drivers are the first to...

 
Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Puzzle Piece Number Two Has Arrived, Is a lot More Showing
Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Puzzle Piece Number Two Has Arrived, Is a lot More Showing

25 Aug 2015, 12:06 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / So, we're guessing we should get used to Bugatti dropping teaser after teaser until the final reveal in September, but if the trend is to be maintained, we might be able to assemble the full car before that. The first image released last we...

 

Stories by Vlad Mitrache