autoevolution
 

Aurel Niculescu

9,659  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.
2025 Nissan Frontier Hybrid and Y63 Armada Hybrid Sparkle Brightly Across Imagination Land
2025 Nissan Frontier Hybrid and Y63 Armada Hybrid Sparkle Brightly Across Imagination Land

8 Jan 2024, 10:41 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Toyota was the runner-up to US automotive sales in 2023 as it failed to overturn GM's reign - 2.6 versus 2.24 million vehicles delivered. However, that doesn't mean it didn't get any crowns at all. One of them, and for good me...

 
Reborn Subaru WRX STI High-Performance Sedan Lives On, Albeit Only Virtually
Reborn Subaru WRX STI High-Performance Sedan Lives On, Albeit Only Virtually

8 Jan 2024, 09:56 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Subaru is diligently preparing for the start of the automotive season in 2024 with apparitions at the first events that make fans jump with joy. However, they're not trying to charm the audience in America but rather the one at home. In...

 
Leaked Tesla Model Y Juniper Makes People Wonder if It's the Real Deal or Just AI
Leaked Tesla Model Y Juniper Makes People Wonder if It's the Real Deal or Just AI

8 Jan 2024, 09:11 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / People have grown fond of Tesla and its quirks over the years – the wild promises that were met only after severe delays are just one of the many things that made this company extremely famous. That and its ability to conquer the autom...

 
Revived Buick Regal T-Type Feels Ready to Bring Out Its Turbo Chops From the Virtual World
Revived Buick Regal T-Type Feels Ready to Bring Out Its Turbo Chops From the Virtual World

8 Jan 2024, 07:37 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / General Motors just announced it retained leadership of American automotive sales with 2.6 million deliveries against Toyota's 2.24 million and Ford's almost 2 million. But can they resist the ongoing assault? For example, the first...

 
This First Week of 2024 Was Riddled With Big Awards and Positive Sales Records
This First Week of 2024 Was Riddled With Big Awards and Positive Sales Records

7 Jan 2024, 16:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The North American Car of the Year (NACTOY) jury has levied its expertise, and most automakers have reported their full 2023 deliveries – let's see how they fared. 2024 is still young, but we can already talk about some big announc...

 
Twin-Turbo Nissan 300ZXX Restomod Is a Completely Different Type of Virtual Breadvan
Twin-Turbo Nissan 300ZXX Restomod Is a Completely Different Type of Virtual Breadvan

7 Jan 2024, 02:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Nissan group recently announced its sales figures for the 2023 calendar year in the United States, and the namesake Nissan division totaled over 834k units delivered, while the premium Infiniti brand rocked almost 65k. All in all, Nissan...

 
Redesigned 2025 Ford Bronco Gets Unofficially Revealed With Hypothetical PHEV Option
Redesigned 2025 Ford Bronco Gets Unofficially Revealed With Hypothetical PHEV Option

6 Jan 2024, 23:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Once the most hyped new vehicle in North America, the reinvented sixth-generation Ford Bronco has since settled into its playing field – and brawls incessantly with the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota 4Runner, among others. The revival of one...

 
First-Ever 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ TRD and EV Come Rugged From the Virtual Realm
First-Ever 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ TRD and EV Come Rugged From the Virtual Realm

6 Jan 2024, 22:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Japanese automaker Toyota had a fruitful 2023, and they are probably planning on keeping the pedal to the metal and the pressure on their rivals for 2024, both in the real world as well as across the parallel universes of vehicular CGI. ...

 
Let's Start the Year With Something Quirky, Like an Apocalypse Dark Horse 6x6
Let's Start the Year With Something Quirky, Like an Apocalypse Dark Horse 6x6

6 Jan 2024, 16:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Apocalypse 6x6 has a massive roster following an extremely fruitful 2023: Hellfire, Juggernaut, Nirvana, Strikeforce, Warlord, Sinister 6, Super-Truck, Knightmare, and Dark Horse 6x6. The idea of making your SUV or pickup truck a massively e...

 
2025 Chevrolet Impala 'Finale' Is Actually the Unofficial Beginning of a New Two-Door Era
2025 Chevrolet Impala 'Finale' Is Actually the Unofficial Beginning of a New Two-Door Era

6 Jan 2024, 02:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / After a few sad decisions in December, the start of 2024 is unlike any other for the American pony and muscle cars sector. Alone, the S650 seventh-generation Ford Mustang is soldiering on with virtually no threats to its existence. Competiti...

 
All-New Subaru Baja Hybrid Looks Stylish, Rugged and Efficient Across Imagination Land
All-New Subaru Baja Hybrid Looks Stylish, Rugged and Efficient Across Imagination Land

5 Jan 2024, 23:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Not long ago, almost every new EV and plug-in hybrid across the US market qualified for a federal tax credit of up to $7,500, plus additional local incentives, if it was produced locally. Now, the rules are changing in a big way. The arrival...

 
Would the Third-Gen Honda Ridgeline Look Great as a Unibody Mid-Size EV Pickup Truck?
Would the Third-Gen Honda Ridgeline Look Great as a Unibody Mid-Size EV Pickup Truck?

5 Jan 2024, 22:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Japanese automaker Honda recently updated the 2024 Ridgeline mid-size unibody pickup truck. Also, it introduced the asphalt-avoiding TrailSport variant – the base models kick off at almost $40k, and the all-new rugged trim goes out from a...

 
Refreshed 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee Hybrid and Hurricane Shines Brightly in CGI
Refreshed 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee Hybrid and Hurricane Shines Brightly in CGI

5 Jan 2024, 09:07 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Many automakers across the US market are currently busy presenting their 2023 sales performance – both good and bad. Most of the companies involved in the region had a great year over the past twelve months and achieved many records in the pr...

 
Defunct Chevy Camaro ZL1 Lives On as a Rugged 4x4 Coupe Utility Truck in Fantasy Land
Defunct Chevy Camaro ZL1 Lives On as a Rugged 4x4 Coupe Utility Truck in Fantasy Land

5 Jan 2024, 07:57 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / December was a sad month for the American automotive market last year – Ford was left alone to keep the banner up for pony and muscle cars as GM and Stellantis ordained for Chevy and Dodge to end production of Camaro, Challenger, and Charger ...

 
2024 Dacia Duster Pricing Announced In One of Its Biggest Markets: It's Still Cheap
2024 Dacia Duster Pricing Announced In One of Its Biggest Markets: It's Still Cheap

4 Jan 2024, 15:28 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / In this day and age, seeing a crossover SUV tucked below the €20k mark (almost $22k) is a big reason to rejoice - and the new Dacia Duster has more going for it than just a relatively affordable MSRP. Back at the end of November, Romani...

 
General Motors Wraps 2023 With 2.6 Million Sales, Toyota Lags Behind With 2.24
General Motors Wraps 2023 With 2.6 Million Sales, Toyota Lags Behind With 2.24

4 Jan 2024, 14:46 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / So far, at the time of writing, Stellantis and Ford Motor Company hadn't presented their conclusions for the sales evolution of 2023 – but there's little chance that GM and Toyota aren't number one and two overall. The U...

 
2025 Nissan GT-R Comes Out From Behind the Digital Curtain, Looks Ready for R36 Lifestyle
2025 Nissan GT-R Comes Out From Behind the Digital Curtain, Looks Ready for R36 Lifestyle

4 Jan 2024, 12:44 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Quite a lot of 'zombie' cars were sold across the US market last year, including one heroic Alfa Romeo 4C, two Dodge Vipers, and five Acura NSX hybrids! However, despite its age, the 2024 Nissan GT-R wasn't among them. In fact...

 
Naughty VW Golf GTI Drags Ford Mustang Mach 1 and Genesis G80, Someone Takes a Beating
Naughty VW Golf GTI Drags Ford Mustang Mach 1 and Genesis G80, Someone Takes a Beating

4 Jan 2024, 10:58 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Due to its front-wheel drive, the European Volkswagen Golf GTI hot hatchback is not precisely the most common sight at the local quarter-mile dragstrip. So, it's clear that it will also easily stand out in any crowd. Volkswagen hasn...

 
2025 Kia EV Pickup Truck Concept Unofficially Sits at the Top of the Zero Emissions Range
2025 Kia EV Pickup Truck Concept Unofficially Sits at the Top of the Zero Emissions Range

4 Jan 2024, 09:53 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Curiously, instead of the explosion of sales everyone expected, the EV sector is at a crossroads today. However, some daredevils seek to conquer the market just like Tesla has already done. About a year ago, the perspectives for 2023 were pr...

 
Refreshed 2025 Subaru Ascent Hybrid Three-Row CUV Gets Revealed Early, Only in CGI
Refreshed 2025 Subaru Ascent Hybrid Three-Row CUV Gets Revealed Early, Only in CGI

4 Jan 2024, 08:58 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Going into 2024, three-row crossover SUVs will remain a staple of the North American automotive market. Sure, they won't save the planet or encourage the most extreme adventures on mountain trails. But they are, nonetheless, indispensable tool...

 

Stories by Aurel Niculescu