Bogdan Popa
13,305 ARTICLES
Personal motto:
"Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow" - Jeff Valdez, Stand-up Comedian.
He typically carries both an iPhone and Android device because there’s no such thing as the perfect phone, and he drives a car that some say is blue, others say is green.
His guilty pleasure is finding bugs in Android Auto (cc @Google, you’d better keep an eye on his reports, as these could actually help you refine the experience behind the wheel), and he occasionally tries out all kinds of weird gadgets that many people didn’t even know they exist.
His daily tech arsenal also includes a smartwatch and earbuds because that’s how geeks rock, as well as a laptop that has nothing in common with fruit.
Bogdan’s long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space in the trunk for his kid’s toys, as well as convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as the phones that these two companies build.
When he’s not writing about cars, Bogdan’s probably trying to fit a bike in the 375-liter trunk of his car or posting tech stuff for autoevolution’s sister site Softpedia.
Opel Suitors Asked to Improve Bids
3 Aug 2009, 09:56 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / It happens again and it will most likely happen in the future as well. Opel's suitors, now counting only two of them, are asked one more time to improve their bids in case they really want to buy the German brand. This is what German Economy M...
GM in China, Best July Ever
3 Aug 2009, 09:12 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Things are going well in China, one of the largest markets for many automakers out there who got lured into this country thanks to a continuous grow in demand. Despite the global economic recession, General Motors, the former bankrupt US car manufa...
Ford to Cut Spanish Workforce by 600
3 Aug 2009, 08:35 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Ford, the only US giant who survived without government funding in the domestic market, wants to reduce workforce in Spain by around 600 employees. The company has already informed unions of its plans, but it's still unclear whether the decisi...
Toyota Adds New Staff to Cope with US High Demand
3 Aug 2009, 08:31 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Mission accomplished for the US scrapping scheme as it not only improved car and truck sales, but also convinced automakers to hire new staff in order to cope with high demand across the country. Such an example is Toyota, whose Camry and Venza mod...
Lightweight Aluminum on All Future Jaguars
3 Aug 2009, 07:30 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / All cars produced by Jaguar Land Rover will make use of lightweight aluminum bodies, Ratan Tata, chairman of the parent company Tata Motors revealed a few days ago. This way, the future models will be lighter, thus achieving better performance figu...
Mazda Applauds Cash for Clunkers Results
3 Aug 2009, 07:00 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / There's no doubt the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) established by the US government and rolled out last Monday brought at least surprising results. At least from our point of view, the consumers, who burned all the money in approximately ...
Subaru Expects Best Month Ever in the US
3 Aug 2009, 06:35 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Subaru of America expects a 30 percent increase in sales in July compared to the same month of the previous years, citing, of course, the shockingly successful CARS scrapping scheme as the main reason. Such a boost would translate into the best eve...
Chrysler PT Cruiser Saved from Death
2 Aug 2009, 08:56 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / If you’re one of those guys who don’t believe in miracles, you should change your mind because one has just happened. Chrysler announced it won’t kill the PT Cruiser after all so production of the small car will continue. The reas...
$2 Extra Billion for Cash for Clunkers
1 Aug 2009, 11:07 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / The White House administration has decided to inject an extra $2 billion in the Cash for Clunkers nationwide scheme after dealerships across the country raised concerns that the initial funding package could run out before the weekend. The CARS, (C...
VW Projects Zero Growth in 2010
31 Jul 2009, 15:02 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / 2010 is going to be a difficult year for the automotive industry. At least, this is what Volkswagen believes, projecting a zero growth in the car market next year. After unveiling a drop in sales in the second quarter, Volkswagen hopes it could kee...
GM Recalls 2004-2009 Chevrolet Colorado
31 Jul 2009, 14:49 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / General Motors is recalling several models in the United States after discovering that a brake lamp switch might work incorrectly and have serious consequences over both the affected car and the other motorists on the road. According to a notificat...
PSA Plans Second Joint Venture in China
31 Jul 2009, 13:54 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / PSA continues its global expansion with a new mission: the French alliance wants to form a new joint venture in China. The second one, to be more specific... According to The Financial Times, PSA Peugeot Citroen wants to establish a new agreement i...
BAIC Keeps an Eye on Volvo
31 Jul 2009, 13:28 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / BAIC, who has been most recently linked with an Opel takeover proposal, is now interested in purchasing the Swedish ailing manufacturer Volvo. The Chinese manufacturer has already announced it is looking to buy or partner with a company overseas an...
GM Won't Buy Opel Back
31 Jul 2009, 10:59 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / After RHJ International this week admitted it would sell Opel back to GM after it completes restructuring, John Smith GM group vice president and GM’s chief negotiator for the sale of Opel said the company does not want to rebuy the German br...
Opel Negotiations Could Take "Longer Than Expected"
31 Jul 2009, 10:35 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Is somebody out there who still believes Opel will be sold soon? Because this sounds like a neverending story, as reports on the matter keep coming, revealing all kind of deadlines for the German manufacturer to find a new investor. This time, a me...
Honda Insight Hybrid Tuned by Exclusive Zeus
31 Jul 2009, 10:04 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Hybrids are not quite the cars you would expect to get aftermarket packages, even if some of them look, let's be gentle... "different". Well, the guys over at Exclusive Zeus actually managed to gather multiple tuning parts into a sin...
Fiat Partner Builds Plant in Russia
31 Jul 2009, 10:02 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Sollers, who was previously known as Severstal-Avto, will build a new production facility in Russia to manufacturer commercial vehicles for several carmakers. Sollers, who is Fiat's Russian joint venture partner, will build the plant in the ea...
Daihatsu Leaves China
31 Jul 2009, 09:26 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / While other automakers see rivers of milk and honey in China and try anything possible to expand their presence in the country, Daihatsu is continuously losing ground following the economic chaos. As a result, Japan's Daihatsu Motor decided to...
Ford Craves Opel's Leftovers
31 Jul 2009, 08:54 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Even if some people believe that Chinese Geely is close to buying Volvo, there's no way to see that in the near future, at least not until Opel's situation gets clarified. What's the connection between Opel and Volvo? you might ask. ...
Pricing for 2010 Avalon, Yaris, Highlander, FJ Cruiser, RAV4, and Tacoma
31 Jul 2009, 08:23 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Japanese manufacturer Toyota today announced pricing for the 2010 Avalon full-size sedan, Yaris subcompact, FJ Cruiser off-road sport utility vehicle (SUV), Highlander mid-size SUV, RAV4 compact SUV, and the Tacoma pickup truck. All models besides ...