autoevolution
 

Aurel Niculescu

9,657  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.
Virtually Classic Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe Is Oblivious to CLE, Thinks It's the 1990s
Virtually Classic Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe Is Oblivious to CLE, Thinks It's the 1990s

3 Feb 2024, 02:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Do you want to know my problem with the German premium triumvirate? If my two cents are allowed on the matter, there's a potential rift between Mercedes and Audi on one side and BMW on the other. Not long ago, everyone could choose some...

 
Ford Explorer ST Drags Acura MDX Type S And Genesis GV80 With Surprising Results
Ford Explorer ST Drags Acura MDX Type S And Genesis GV80 With Surprising Results

3 Feb 2024, 00:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Sam, the host of the Sam CarLegion channel on YouTube, has prepared yet another drag-and-roll race skirmish on unprepped Canadian tarmac with American and Asian DNA – this time between mid-size SUVs! Typically, the Ford Explorer do...

 
Seventh-Gen 2025 Subaru Outback Arrives Early, Albeit Only Across Imagination Land
Seventh-Gen 2025 Subaru Outback Arrives Early, Albeit Only Across Imagination Land

2 Feb 2024, 23:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Sure, the Japanese automaker Subaru can't compete (yet) with the peers active in America – Toyota sold in 2023 over 2.24 million units, Honda delivered around 1.3 million vehicles, and Nissan reached almost 899k. But it certainly didn�...

 
Third-Gen Toyota Fortuner Morphs Into a Boxy Off-Road SUV. It Could Double as a 4Runner?
Third-Gen Toyota Fortuner Morphs Into a Boxy Off-Road SUV. It Could Double as a 4Runner?

2 Feb 2024, 22:06 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Japanese automaker Toyota had an impressive run last year in America when it finished second with 2.24 million vehicles behind General Motors, which delivered 2.6 million units to the market. The company has many high-riding vehicles in ...

 
GM Design Proposes Flip-Down Mid-Gate Small Truck, Who Wants a Maverick Hunter?
GM Design Proposes Flip-Down Mid-Gate Small Truck, Who Wants a Maverick Hunter?

2 Feb 2024, 21:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / General Motors has some of the best-selling pickup trucks in America, both from GMC and Chevrolet. As such, is anyone surprised that GM enthusiasts want even more workhorse and adventure partners from the company? Last year, the 2023 US autom...

 
Chevy Corvette Z06 Drags Ford Mustang GT, Toyota 86, Easily Obliterates Everything
Chevy Corvette Z06 Drags Ford Mustang GT, Toyota 86, Easily Obliterates Everything

2 Feb 2024, 11:36 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / These days, the landscape of the American pony and muscle car sector is looking a bit deserted. Luckily, you can still find a couple of models for some good old-fashioned quarter-mile dragstrip brawls. Last year's December wasn't t...

 
All-New Ford Tourneo Active and Titanium X Launches Down Under, Priced From $44k
All-New Ford Tourneo Active and Titanium X Launches Down Under, Priced From $44k

2 Feb 2024, 11:07 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Blue Oval company launched the Tourneo Custom minivan and Transit Custom panel van siblings on the European market late last year, in October 2023. Now, a few months later, only one of them reaches the shores of the Land Down Under. The ...

 
2025 Ford Explorer ST Gains Two-Tone Attire and Larger Shoes, Fits Them in a Dream
2025 Ford Explorer ST Gains Two-Tone Attire and Larger Shoes, Fits Them in a Dream

2 Feb 2024, 09:51 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The 2025 Ford Explorer was refreshed with new looks, additional tech features, and a $41,220 starting MSRP. Even better, it's already up for order, and the updated model will start reaching nationwide dealerships during the second quarter of t...

 
2026 Rivian R2S Gets Imagined Based on Recent Leaks, Could Launch With $40k MSRP
2026 Rivian R2S Gets Imagined Based on Recent Leaks, Could Launch With $40k MSRP

2 Feb 2024, 08:06 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Rivian Automotive is an American electric vehicle manufacturer and one of the very few (along with Lucid) of the many startups that have enjoyed success after popping up like spring daffodils in the wake of Tesla's immense popularity. C...

 
Hypothetical Toyota Tacoma-Based Subaru Baja Looks Like a 4x4 Charm in Fantasy Land
Hypothetical Toyota Tacoma-Based Subaru Baja Looks Like a 4x4 Charm in Fantasy Land

2 Feb 2024, 07:29 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Toyota and Subaru are very good partners, and that shows – in America, they have the GR86 and BRZ sports cars plus the bZ4X and Solterra all-electric compact crossover SUVs together. However, is that enough? Last year, Toyota sold more th...

 
Cadillac ATS-V Drags Colorful Audi TT RS, One of Them Should Have Stayed at Home
Cadillac ATS-V Drags Colorful Audi TT RS, One of Them Should Have Stayed at Home

1 Feb 2024, 10:58 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Curiously, Cadillac now counts on the mid-size CT5 sedan series as its best-selling worldwide model – probably mostly thanks to China's love for it. However, it also grew a lot at home in America. That's probably one of the m...

 
Pricey Ford Mustang GT and Dark Horse Are Coming to Europe With Less Powerful Coyote V8s
Pricey Ford Mustang GT and Dark Horse Are Coming to Europe With Less Powerful Coyote V8s

1 Feb 2024, 09:51 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The good news is that Old Continent Ford Mustang fans are getting both the S650 seventh generation GT and Dark Horse variants, plus a choice of Fastback or Convertible body styles. The bad news is that they're running low on power compared to ...

 
Virtual Ram 3500 REV Arrives Early as the First All-Electric Heavy-Duty Truck in America
Virtual Ram 3500 REV Arrives Early as the First All-Electric Heavy-Duty Truck in America

1 Feb 2024, 09:13 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Stellantis is busy making big changes to its American roster. Still, unlike Chrysler (which is left with just one model currently) or Dodge (which retired the Charger sedan and Challenger coupe), Ram Trucks is not too worried about anything in part...

 
2025 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Sports a Radical Design, Albeit Only Across Imagination Land
2025 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Sports a Radical Design, Albeit Only Across Imagination Land

1 Feb 2024, 08:36 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Surprisingly – or not (depending on your POV) – Toyota's RAV4 compact crossover SUVs has not only helped make the sector one of the most important across the worldwide automotive market but also kept its lead as one of the best-sel...

 
Everyone Wants a Subaru Truck Back in the Family, But Surely Not a BRAT Like This One!
Everyone Wants a Subaru Truck Back in the Family, But Surely Not a BRAT Like This One!

1 Feb 2024, 07:52 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Toyota, still the world's largest automaker after it handily beat Volkswagen AG by almost two million units (11.23 to 9.24 million) last year, is a company with many facets. It loves partnerships, for example. Let's take America, fo...

 
Eleventh-Gen Honda Accord Finally Arrives Down Under, Exclusively Sold As an e:HEV
Eleventh-Gen Honda Accord Finally Arrives Down Under, Exclusively Sold As an e:HEV

1 Feb 2024, 07:15 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / At long last, Honda Australia confirms the impending launch of the latest Accord sedan on the local market. However, customers will have little choice but to buy it as a hybrid because it will arrive exclusively in e:HEV form. Born in 1976, ...

 
Tesla's $25k Compact Affordable Model '2' Comes Out From Behind the CGI Curtain
Tesla's $25k Compact Affordable Model '2' Comes Out From Behind the CGI Curtain

31 Jan 2024, 22:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / A few years ago, no one would have dreamed of seeing Tesla models cost less than $100k. Nowadays, even the flagship 1,020-horsepower Plaids sit comfortably below that major threshold. Before any incentives, you can buy a Tesla Model S Plaid ...

 
Hypothetical Next-Gen Toyota Corolla Gets Imagined as the Definitive Tesla Model 3 Rival
Hypothetical Next-Gen Toyota Corolla Gets Imagined as the Definitive Tesla Model 3 Rival

31 Jan 2024, 21:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Last year, the Japanese automaker Toyota emerged as the runner-up behind the eternal General Motors leader of the American automotive market. So, what needs to change to claim the throne? GM delivered around 2.6 million vehicles while the Jap...

 
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Drags Challenger and Charger, the Difference Is Preposterous
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Drags Challenger and Charger, the Difference Is Preposterous

31 Jan 2024, 11:19 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Right now, the only American pony or muscle car officially in production is the S650 seventh-generation Ford Mustang. Meanwhile, the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger plus Charger are all playing cards together while 'enjoying' their forc...

 
Not Even Imaginative Virtual Artists Can Do Much to Enhance the Boring Audi Q7
Not Even Imaginative Virtual Artists Can Do Much to Enhance the Boring Audi Q7

31 Jan 2024, 10:17 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / If you want to know my two cents on the matter, I seriously believe that Germany's Audi is the most boring automaker out there. However, its US division fared pretty well in 2023. During the fourth quarter of last year, Audi marked the ...

 

Stories by Aurel Niculescu