autoevolution
 

Aurel Niculescu

9,656  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.
Fresh Ford Transit Custom MS-RT and Ranger MS-RT Are Workhorses With Sporty Genes
Fresh Ford Transit Custom MS-RT and Ranger MS-RT Are Workhorses With Sporty Genes

13 Feb 2024, 10:09 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Ford Pro, the American carmaker's commercial vehicle-dedicated division, has just announced a couple of new workhorses that have embedded motorsport DNA - Transit Custom MS-RT and Ford Ranger MS-RT. But what does MS-RT mean, anyway? For ...

 
2025 Tesla Model Y 'Juniper' Gets Rendered, Looks Spot On With Highland's Upgrades
2025 Tesla Model Y 'Juniper' Gets Rendered, Looks Spot On With Highland's Upgrades

13 Feb 2024, 09:26 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Tesla, the American electric vehicle and clean energy company that no one thought could make a difference just a decade ago, had a very busy year in 2023 – and it was mostly for positive reasons. Sure, there were some recalls, but Tesl...

 
Updated Audi S3 Hatchback and Sedan Coming Soon With 328 Ponies on Tap
Updated Audi S3 Hatchback and Sedan Coming Soon With 328 Ponies on Tap

13 Feb 2024, 08:50 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Usually, whenever there's something new coming from Audi, I tend to lament the Ingolstadt-based automaker's inability to present something striking from a design perspective. That's because, secretly, I really hope they can find a wa...

 
2025 Lincoln Town Car Aims to Make American Land Yachts Great Again, Though Only in CGI
2025 Lincoln Town Car Aims to Make American Land Yachts Great Again, Though Only in CGI

13 Feb 2024, 08:01 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Ford Motor Company recently took care of a critical Lincoln model – the Aviator mid-size three-row luxury SUV, which sports a more refined yet attractive design plus various tech-related improvements inside the cabin. It's a g...

 
Alfa Romeo Vulcano Design Concept Is an Intriguing Off-Road Pickup Truck Proposal
Alfa Romeo Vulcano Design Concept Is an Intriguing Off-Road Pickup Truck Proposal

13 Feb 2024, 07:21 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Alfa Romeo is in a curious situation – it's one of the most beloved Italian automotive brands, but until recently, it was in dire need of a little bit of TLC. Now that it got what it deserved, could it be the ripe time to spread its wing...

 
2025 Audi Q9 Showcased Inside-Out Features a Heap of Ritzy Colors in Fantasy Land
2025 Audi Q9 Showcased Inside-Out Features a Heap of Ritzy Colors in Fantasy Land

12 Feb 2024, 21:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Hopefully, Audi is coming out of its self-imposed lethargy and will bring a bundle of interesting models in America to better face off with the more popular BMW and Mercedes-Benz brands. Already, we have heard good news coming from the sport...

 
C8 Chevy Corvette Drags Tesla Model 3, Someone Should Have Stayed at Home That Night
C8 Chevy Corvette Drags Tesla Model 3, Someone Should Have Stayed at Home That Night

12 Feb 2024, 10:03 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Right now, there are very few sports car options on sale in the United States that can compete with the Performance and Plaid versions of Tesla's Model S, 3, X, or Y. With the Chevrolet Camaro (especially the ZL1) sent into retirement a...

 
Shorter Three-Door 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser Dreams of Fighting Tiny Broncos and Wranglers
Shorter Three-Door 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser Dreams of Fighting Tiny Broncos and Wranglers

12 Feb 2024, 09:08 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / As per tradition, Toyota is the world's largest automotive manufacturer, and in 2023, the company destroyed the second-placed VW AG with 11.23 million vehicles instead of 9.24 million deliveries. In fact, the namesake brand and Lexus co...

 
Redesigned 2025 Acura RDX Comes Out Fresh From Behind the CGI Curtain as a Type S?
Redesigned 2025 Acura RDX Comes Out Fresh From Behind the CGI Curtain as a Type S?

12 Feb 2024, 08:23 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / American Honda started the year 2024 very strong, with a solid 10.3% delivery growth in January, but that was all from the namesake brand – Acura instead dropped nine percent. However, the premium Japanese automaker had some quirky dat...

 
Affordable Off-Road 2026 Ford EV Sport Utility Morphs Bronco Sport the Right Way
Affordable Off-Road 2026 Ford EV Sport Utility Morphs Bronco Sport the Right Way

12 Feb 2024, 07:31 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Ford recently made a lot of waves by announcing the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean with its 2024 Mustang GT and Dark Horse for European fans, as well as the introduction of the refreshed 2025 Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator at home. There&...

 
Dodge Polara Pursuit Land Yacht Gets Imagined as the Perfect C-Body Hemi Restomod
Dodge Polara Pursuit Land Yacht Gets Imagined as the Perfect C-Body Hemi Restomod

11 Feb 2024, 22:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Stellantis is preparing to enter the novel EV era in America, and most of its brands have abandoned the old ways in favor of a new philosophy. But is that necessarily a good thing? Chrysler has ceased production of the 300 sedan, Dodge has en...

 
There's a New High-Performance EV Triumvirate in the Sedan World: Taycan, Plaid, Air!
There's a New High-Performance EV Triumvirate in the Sedan World: Taycan, Plaid, Air!

11 Feb 2024, 16:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / "For the 2025 model year, Porsche is giving the all-electric Taycan a particularly extensive update," says the company. It doesn't necessarily look the part because the styling changes are extremely subtle, but they hide a near-revol...

 
Lucid Gravity Designer Has an Unofficial Side Gig, Envisions Saab's EV Resurrection
Lucid Gravity Designer Has an Unofficial Side Gig, Envisions Saab's EV Resurrection

11 Feb 2024, 02:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Back in the day when Opel was still part of General Motors, another important European car manufacturer that belonged to the biggest of the Big Detroit Three wasn't Britain's Vauxhall – it was Sweden's Saab, instead. Saa...

 
Volkswagen Tarok Finally Arrives, Takes Imagination Land by Storm In Search of Mavericks
Volkswagen Tarok Finally Arrives, Takes Imagination Land by Storm In Search of Mavericks

10 Feb 2024, 23:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / After years of thriving in South America, the compact pickup truck sector finally mounted a rebirth in North America, too, all thanks to just a couple of entries. While unibody compact pickup trucks like the Renault Oroch, Chevrolet Montana,...

 
Conceptual 1966 Chevy Nova Widebody Craves For a Builder's Undivided Attention
Conceptual 1966 Chevy Nova Widebody Craves For a Builder's Undivided Attention

10 Feb 2024, 22:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Chevrolet Chevy II – or Nova – was one of the smallest automobiles produced by the General Motors subsidiary and lived a not-so-quite-and-peaceful life between 1962 and 1979, then again from 1985 to 1989. Of course, the fifth...

 
What's Better: Cheaper 2025 Ford Explorer ST or Luxurious Lincoln Aviator Black Label?
What's Better: Cheaper 2025 Ford Explorer ST or Luxurious Lincoln Aviator Black Label?

10 Feb 2024, 16:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / This week, Ford Motor Company was busy again, although this time at home in America - where it introduced the refreshed seven-seat Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator siblings for the 2025 model year. Not long ago, we cheered for the arrival (f...

 
8-Seat Mitsubishi Endeavor Feels Like a Perfect CGI Answer to Bronco, Wrangler, 4Runner
8-Seat Mitsubishi Endeavor Feels Like a Perfect CGI Answer to Bronco, Wrangler, 4Runner

10 Feb 2024, 02:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / With the first seven best-selling nameplates in America being trucks and SUVs in 2023, it is clear that passenger cars are not exactly a priority anymore. However, it seems that even when you have a few CUVs and SUVs, they're still not enough....

 
2025 or 2026 Rivian R2S Is Showcased Across Imagination's Realm as a Model Y Rival
2025 or 2026 Rivian R2S Is Showcased Across Imagination's Realm as a Model Y Rival

9 Feb 2024, 23:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Last year, Rivian proved it could survive on its own, with production exceeding most expectations and sales in tow for record numbers. But the company has a long way to go before escaping the startup label. Of course, with more than 50k sale...

 
Toyota Prius EV Seems Like Wishful Thinking Now but Could Happen Sooner Than We Think
Toyota Prius EV Seems Like Wishful Thinking Now but Could Happen Sooner Than We Think

9 Feb 2024, 22:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / While it didn't beat GM to snatch its American automotive sales crown in 2023, Toyota still had a record year with 11.23 million vehicles sold across its subsidiaries – swiftly beating Volkswagen AG on a worldwide level. And yet, very fe...

 
Widebody Toyota Prius 'Shooting Brake' Would Look Great Alongside GR Models If Real
Widebody Toyota Prius 'Shooting Brake' Would Look Great Alongside GR Models If Real

9 Feb 2024, 21:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Presented late in 2022 but introduced in most markets last year, the XW60 Toyota Prius was a 'Hybrid Reborn' that harnesses the entire experience of its four ancestors to morph into the best electrified vehicle possible. And the popularit...

 

Stories by Aurel Niculescu