autoevolution
 

Aurel Niculescu

9,645  ARTICLES

Staff Writer
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Once upon a time there was a little boy that didn't know his age but dreamed of reaching high in the sky alongside the absolute best aviators. He was passionate about reading books (action and Sci-Fi), grew up with many great authors and soon discovered the mirage of cinema.

There he understood anything is possible if you work hard and passionately strive to follow your imagination. This is how at the age of 16 he managed to fulfill the first dream – flying alone in a glider plane. He was no Tom Cruise, of course, so young adulthood brought him back to reality.

With every kick in the familiar *utt comes a chance to step forward, so a seemingly unimportant ad in one of his favorite automotive magazines brought a dilemma - follow through with the current job or dare to achieve greatness by deploying (previously) unknown literary skills.

Since 2006, he’s been perfecting them at Automondial, Supercar, Cox, Autoshow, Autopro, Auto Motor & Sport, and more magazines plus their online versions. After driving some of the best and worst cars in Europe and around the world, he’s part of the autoevolution team, where he aims to develop his best-ever form.
Hypothetical 2026 Chevrolet Traverse EV Feels Ready to Join Equinox and Blazer EVs
Hypothetical 2026 Chevrolet Traverse EV Feels Ready to Join Equinox and Blazer EVs

5 Jun 2024, 06:39 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Chevrolet has been abundant with first-ever stuff lately. Just think about the C8 Corvette's journey since its debut in 2019 or the fresh all-electric lineup currently consisting of the Equinox and Blazer EVs plus the big Silverado WT and RST ...

 
Ford Kicks Off Mass-Market Production of Its All-Electric Explorer in Cologne 
Ford Kicks Off Mass-Market Production of Its All-Electric Explorer in Cologne 

4 Jun 2024, 12:25 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Ford of Europe's main plant in Cologne, Germany, starts assembly of the Explorer EV - a model with American heritage through its name but otherwise rocking more Volkswagen DNA than anything else. About three years ago, Ford of Europe annou...

 
Red Over Black 1969 Dodge Charger R/T 440 Wants Your Heart and Soul, Plus Your Wallet
Red Over Black 1969 Dodge Charger R/T 440 Wants Your Heart and Soul, Plus Your Wallet

4 Jun 2024, 11:07 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Late last year, Dodge did exactly what Chevrolet had done to its sixth-generation Camaro icon. At the behest of its parent, Stellantis, it pulled the plug from the production of the third generation Challenger coupe and seventh iteration of the leg...

 
Clean, Aggressive Mazda MX-5 Miata Widebody Dwells Around Fantasy Land Waiting to Get Real
Clean, Aggressive Mazda MX-5 Miata Widebody Dwells Around Fantasy Land Waiting to Get Real

4 Jun 2024, 10:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / We heard that the Japanese automotive industry took a blow to the heart because Toyota, Mazda, Honda, and Yamaha admitted to faking safety tests. But do you think that Mazda MX-5 Miata owners care about safety when they're inside a little ...

 
Refreshed Audi RS Q8 Digitally Rocks Some Massive Wheels and Many Dazzling Colors
Refreshed Audi RS Q8 Digitally Rocks Some Massive Wheels and Many Dazzling Colors

4 Jun 2024, 08:51 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Just recently, Audi debuted in Europe the RS 4 Avant edition 25 years and the RS 5 Sportback performance edition with just 500 examples offered across the Old Continent and the United Kingdom. No worries, though, as more Audi Sport models are c...

 
Second-Gen 2026 Hyundai Palisade Gets Virtually Revealed Inside-Out in Dazzling Colors
Second-Gen 2026 Hyundai Palisade Gets Virtually Revealed Inside-Out in Dazzling Colors

4 Jun 2024, 07:32 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Hyundai Motor America just reported its May 2024 sales and year-to-date deliveries – the South Korean automaker is slowly but steadily reverting to its more positive habits. So, while the January through May sales are only up by 2%, the t...

 
Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Drags Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Someone Gets Crushed
Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Drags Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Someone Gets Crushed

4 Jun 2024, 06:51 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The videographer behind the Wheels Plus channel on YouTube is a big fan of The (four-lane) Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but this time around, the action is from Bandimere Speedway, aka Thunder Mountain in the NHRA. Fans of the Mile-Hi...

 
2024 Mercedes-Benz E 450 4Matic All-Terrain Station Wagon Costs $75k in America
2024 Mercedes-Benz E 450 4Matic All-Terrain Station Wagon Costs $75k in America

4 Jun 2024, 06:20 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / If you add the $1,150 destination charge that makes the sixth generation E-Class cross-wagon no less than $3,450 more expensive than its predecessor – that's how these automakers live the premium lifestyle, of course. Naturally, if y...

 
Kia Reveals Picanto, Stonic, and Sportage 'Shadow' Special Editions For the UK
Kia Reveals Picanto, Stonic, and Sportage 'Shadow' Special Editions For the UK

3 Jun 2024, 13:45 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / In America, Hyundai and Kia easily dominated the Top 10 most stolen vehicle list two South Korean brands have had their fair share of challenges because of a social media trend and what could only be described as (major) oversight. Well, the United...

 
Mansory Dramatically Turns Bespoke P900 Mercedes-AMG G 63 Into a Crazy Gold Bar
Mansory Dramatically Turns Bespoke P900 Mercedes-AMG G 63 Into a Crazy Gold Bar

3 Jun 2024, 12:55 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The luxury car, SUV, and truck modification experts from Brand, Germany, have done it again. Mansory now has a one-of-one G 63 that looks like nothing else on planet Earth: a gold bar fitted with wheels. I don't know if we should laugh or ...

 
Third-Gen Nissan Leaf Chills Out Across Imagination Land Ahead of Its Market Arrival
Third-Gen Nissan Leaf Chills Out Across Imagination Land Ahead of Its Market Arrival

3 Jun 2024, 11:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Japanese automaker was an initial promoter of the EV lifestyle, and back in 2010, when Tesla was still in its infancy, it launched the battery-powered Leaf compact hatchback with zero emissions. At the time of release, it was the world'...

 
Ford F-150 XL Drags F-Series, Falcon Gasser, and Beetle Hot Rod, Someone's in a Hurry!
Ford F-150 XL Drags F-Series, Falcon Gasser, and Beetle Hot Rod, Someone's in a Hurry!

3 Jun 2024, 09:12 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Ford recently slapped a humongous wing to the back of its F-150 Lightning along with a host of other aerodynamic and powertrain enhancements, put record holder Romain Dumas behind the wheel, and wants to conquer Pikes Peak with it. So, are we surpr...

 
2025 Land Rover Range Rover Facelift Comes From Behind the CGI Curtain, See it Inside-Out
2025 Land Rover Range Rover Facelift Comes From Behind the CGI Curtain, See it Inside-Out

3 Jun 2024, 08:36 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / While Land Rover is a bit secluded in its specialty 4x4 bubble, there are some novelties worthy of mentioning as of late. More precisely, they're making the Defender even greater with the new Octa V8 version and also preparing for the EV revol...

 
2025 Jeep Compass Hybrid or EV Brings the Third Generation Base CUV in Fantasy Land 
2025 Jeep Compass Hybrid or EV Brings the Third Generation Base CUV in Fantasy Land 

3 Jun 2024, 07:12 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Well, a lot is happening at Jeep right now - in Europe, they just launched the Avenger 4xe; in the Land Down Under, they have the "pioneering" Compass e-Hybrid and 4xe ready to advance the brand towards a zero-emissions lifestyle; and in ...

 
2025 Hyundai Kona Electric Arrives in the Land Down Under Complete With N Line
2025 Hyundai Kona Electric Arrives in the Land Down Under Complete With N Line

3 Jun 2024, 06:30 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The South Korean automaker has added some "specification upgrades and refinements" for the entire Kona Electric range in addition to the introduction of the optional N Line performance package. The all-new Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Time Attac...

 
What's So Different About The Refreshed Porsche 911, Including the Hybrid GTS?
What's So Different About The Refreshed Porsche 911, Including the Hybrid GTS?

2 Jun 2024, 15:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Well, it's time for a historic moment - at the end of May 2024, Porsche revealed the first-ever electrified 911 GTS equipped with the T-Hybrid powertrain. So, do we think that the 992.2 has what it takes to overthrow its predecessor from its p...

 
Audi TT RS Races Corvette, Mach 1, Tesla, A8, Hellcat, R35 GT-R, a Golf Was Closest!
Audi TT RS Races Corvette, Mach 1, Tesla, A8, Hellcat, R35 GT-R, a Golf Was Closest!

2 Jun 2024, 06:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Audi might prepare an onslaught of new models like the 2026 RS 5 Avant, 2026 Q7, or the freshly released Q6 e-tron Performance plus the Audi RS 4 Avant edition 25 years and RS 5 Sportback performance edition, but this time around, we're here t...

 
Land Rover Range Rover Family Also Gains Evoque and Velar EV Models in Fantasy Land
Land Rover Range Rover Family Also Gains Evoque and Velar EV Models in Fantasy Land

2 Jun 2024, 01:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Late last month, Stellantis allowed Jeep to present their first globally-focused all-electric model, the 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S. It's a luxury item, by the way, unlike the upcoming Jeep Recon, which is supposedly a rugged offering. With the ...

 
All-New Third-Generation Mazda CX-5 Hybrid Shows Its Colorful Interior, Though Only In CGI
All-New Third-Generation Mazda CX-5 Hybrid Shows Its Colorful Interior, Though Only In CGI

1 Jun 2024, 22:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Everybody who's a diehard fan of the automotive industry loves the Japanese automaker Mazda because of two things – its audaciousness to introduce rotary engine-powered models and their love letter to the roadster, aka the Mazda MX-5 Mia...

 
1968 Dodge Charger Gets Digital Slammed Widebody Treatment, Looks Wickedly Cool
1968 Dodge Charger Gets Digital Slammed Widebody Treatment, Looks Wickedly Cool

1 Jun 2024, 21:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Dodge will try to change the paradigm of 'American muscle cars' with the eighth iteration of the legendary Charger – now a Daytona all-electric or a Sixpack Hurricane built in Canada instead of a V8-toting 'monster.' In...

 

Stories by Aurel Niculescu