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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...
Toyota Hilux Build Brings “Invincibility” to Overlanding
Toyota Hilux Build Brings “Invincibility” to Overlanding

3 Nov 2021, 15:34 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / If you're looking to launch a new business and don't know what field to get in, building overlanding rigs doesn't seem to be such a bad shout. As people get more and more dissatisfied with their city lives, the prospect of spending a...

 
Land Rover Tries Its Hand at ASMR in Series of Clips, Is Surprisingly Good at It
Land Rover Tries Its Hand at ASMR in Series of Clips, Is Surprisingly Good at It

3 Nov 2021, 13:57 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Land Rover is still riding the wave caused by the recent release of the all-new 2022 Range Rover, and, given how promising its latest luxury SUV appears to be, we'll allow it. After the flop that was the Discovery 5 – the latest...

 
Porsche 911 GT3 RS Drag Races Tesla-Powered VW Beetle Tire Shredder
Porsche 911 GT3 RS Drag Races Tesla-Powered VW Beetle Tire Shredder

3 Nov 2021, 12:36 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Everybody knows how quick Teslas are and how formidable drag racing opponents they can make for almost any other car out there, but there is one catch: you need at least a dual-motor version, if not a Performance one, to make the most out of the el...

 
Lexus IS 350 F Sport Gets a Scott Pruett-Coordinated Track-Ready Makeover
Lexus IS 350 F Sport Gets a Scott Pruett-Coordinated Track-Ready Makeover

3 Nov 2021, 10:41 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / SEMA must feel like the automotive community's big day out, a break from all the seriousness that comes with being involved in a multi-billion industry where every tiny decision can have very non-tiny repercussions. Events such as this one ...

 
Modernized 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Rendering Looks Like It'd Be an Instant Classic
Modernized 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Rendering Looks Like It'd Be an Instant Classic

2 Nov 2021, 15:13 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / There's nothing wrong in returning to one's roots – in fact, it's the one thing most wise people will recommend to anyone who maybe feels a little lost. Based on the design of the current 2022 Chevrolet Camaro, we wouldn...

 
Ever Wondered Why People Use Tesla's FSD Beta? Here's What They Have to Say
Ever Wondered Why People Use Tesla's FSD Beta? Here's What They Have to Say

2 Nov 2021, 12:46 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Tesla's "Full Self-Driving Beta" advanced driver assistance system has received a lot of stick during the relatively short life it's had so far. While some people think its lifespan has already been longer than it should, others...

 
The World's Quickest Car Gets 22-Inch Forged Wheels, Doesn't Look Back
The World's Quickest Car Gets 22-Inch Forged Wheels, Doesn't Look Back

2 Nov 2021, 10:42 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Say what you want about Tesla – and there's plenty to be said – but you can't take away from it the fact it's making the world's quickest production car at the moment, and the only other model threatening its crown i...

 
Third-Gen Range Rover Tortured Off-Road - Will the 2022 Model Still Do This?
Third-Gen Range Rover Tortured Off-Road - Will the 2022 Model Still Do This?

2 Nov 2021, 09:11 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Land Rover claims its vehicles were – and still are – built for off-roading, but when it comes to the Range Rover, this type of scenery isn't exactly what the SUV's makers had in mind. The top model is meant as the vehicle...

 
Is This GT-R-Powered VW Beetle Junker a Waste of a Skyline Engine? In Short, No
Is This GT-R-Powered VW Beetle Junker a Waste of a Skyline Engine? In Short, No

1 Nov 2021, 18:33 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / There is nothing cooler than building your own car, even if the result will likely be less than perfect, to put it mildly. Still, the satisfaction of knowing every inch of the vehicle's body, every little wire, and each of the hundreds of bolt...

 
1994 Audi RS2 Avant Is the Porsche Co-Production That Started the Whole RS Range
1994 Audi RS2 Avant Is the Porsche Co-Production That Started the Whole RS Range

2 Oct 2021, 07:26 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / When you hear the term "iconic cars," you usually think of models such as the Eleanor Mustang, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL, or maybe the champion of longevity, the Volkswagen Beetle. The list is almost endless, which means that if you scour i...

 
Citroen DSe Rendering Is Proof of the Classic French Car’s Timeless Design
Citroen DSe Rendering Is Proof of the Classic French Car’s Timeless Design

1 Oct 2021, 13:31 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / There are two ways in which you can look at Citroen's decision to stop making the DS: on the one hand, it's sad to see such an iconic model disappear for good, but on the other, its legacy could have been tainted if the sequel hadn't...

 
2021 Ford Bronco Gets One European Seal of Approval, Though Not the One It Needs
2021 Ford Bronco Gets One European Seal of Approval, Though Not the One It Needs

1 Oct 2021, 11:58 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Traditionally, there have been two things that kept a lot of U.S. car models from making a successful transition over the pond: their big engines and their XXL size. Running a big naturally aspirated V8 engine in Europe is akin to burning money....

 
This Is What MINI's All-Electric Future Might Look Like
This Is What MINI's All-Electric Future Might Look Like

30 Sep 2021, 14:52 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / The new cool thing for big carmakers these days is to have one brand, usually on the smaller side, that has already announced it would go all-electric in just a few years. Mercedes-Benz – well, Daimler – has smart, the Volkswagen Gro...

 
Audi e-tron GT RS Avant Rendering Looks Like It Could Give the RS 6 a Run for Its Money
Audi e-tron GT RS Avant Rendering Looks Like It Could Give the RS 6 a Run for Its Money

30 Sep 2021, 11:20 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz seem to take turns in coming up with great designs. There was a clear moment of resurgence from BMW after Bangle left, then Mercedes-Benz reinvented its appearance when it launched the completely redesigned A-Class, and...

 
Lucid Kicks Off Air Production with Test Drives on Public Roads, Hype Is Building Up
Lucid Kicks Off Air Production with Test Drives on Public Roads, Hype Is Building Up

30 Sep 2021, 09:27 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Midway through this month, Lucid Motors announced the official EPA ratings for the range of its upcoming EV, the Air. To put it bluntly, the startup is basically offering today what Tesla promised to deliver two years from now. The maximum range...

 
Tesla Model S Plaid Gets Gutted on the Spot in Search of a 9.0X Run, It's Eights Next
Tesla Model S Plaid Gets Gutted on the Spot in Search of a 9.0X Run, It's Eights Next

29 Sep 2021, 15:04 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / There are two ways you can go for records in the Tesla Model S Plaid: you can try to squeeze the most out of the EV in its stock form, or you can hunt the absolute best time, in which case anything is accepted. However, since tuning the powertra...

 
AMG-Powered Lotus Exige Is a Frightening Car Built on a Seemingly Forgotten Recipe
AMG-Powered Lotus Exige Is a Frightening Car Built on a Seemingly Forgotten Recipe

29 Sep 2021, 13:16 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / These days, Lotus is busier making electric cars than staying true to the brand's core values, the very ones that gave the Norwich-based automaker the cult status it still enjoys. Whenever you heard the name "Lotus", you knew exac...

 
BMW iX Media Launch Gets Positive Reviews. BMW Needs to Sack Its Photographers?
BMW iX Media Launch Gets Positive Reviews. BMW Needs to Sack Its Photographers?

29 Sep 2021, 11:30 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / We've spent the good part of last year thinking BMW should fire its designers, but it turns out it might be its photographers that need to get the boot instead. Or at least share some of the blame. Don't get us wrong, the iX isn't...

 
Mercedes-Benz Is Actually Putting 2.5 Tons Worth of Batteries on the Roof of a Bus
Mercedes-Benz Is Actually Putting 2.5 Tons Worth of Batteries on the Roof of a Bus

28 Sep 2021, 18:25 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / Back in 1997, the Mercedes-Benz A-Class famously failed the moose test by tipping over before entering the final straight section, prompting the company to issue a recall after first attempting to deny there was a problem. Twenty-four years have...

 
2022 Ford Maverick XL Vs Lariat First Edition – $16k Apart Models Compared
2022 Ford Maverick XL Vs Lariat First Edition – $16k Apart Models Compared

28 Sep 2021, 13:38 UTC · By: Vlad Mitrache / The 2022 Ford Maverick looks like it might just be the best offering in the growing segment of small pickup trucks, and the model's versatility can't be overlooked as one of the main reasons behind that. The discrepancy between the mos...

 

Stories by Vlad Mitrache