Bogdan Popa
13,294 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.
Ford's SYNC Could Provide Pandora Streaming
19 May 2009, 09:12 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Ford's SYNC seems to be one of the key development areas at the American company, as the manufacturer plans to improve the infotainment system with several new features every once in a while. Take for example the statement Ford rolled out at C...
Chrysler Applauds Obama's National Fuel Standard
19 May 2009, 08:42 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Following Obama's Administration's announcement of a single national standard for fuel economy and CO2 emissions, most car manufacturer across the United States stepped in front of the media and applauded the decision. Including Chrysler,...
2010 Ford Mustang Gets Top IIHS Safety Rating
19 May 2009, 08:07 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / The 2010 Ford Mustang has just received the top 5-star safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which means the car was also awarded the maximum rating for driver and passenger in front and side crash tests, as well as ...
Ford Hires New Manager to Oversee EcoBoost Production
19 May 2009, 07:33 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / The over-discussed EcoBoost engine, the one which is said to reach new fuel consumption and CO2 emissions milestones, is playing a very important role in Ford's market strategy so the company struggles to make sure everything goes according to...
Sport Divisions in the Spotlight - Abarth
18 May 2009, 14:44 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Sport divisions continue to play a key role for every single automaker that owns one and, despite the difficult economic conditions we're now living in, sport and high-performance cars are still attractive in most regions of the world. Because...
Honda Workers Agree with 3% Pay Cut
18 May 2009, 12:24 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Honda is still struggling to tackle the economic recession and, as part of its efforts, it recently asked workers at the Swindon factory to agree with a temporary 3 percent pay cut. The reason? Honda might be otherwise forced to turn to job cuts wh...
VW to Discontinue Santana in 2012
18 May 2009, 10:44 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / The Chinese division of Volkswagen announced it will kill the highly-popular Santana in 2012, despite the fact that the company still has high expectations in the last years of production. According to a report by chinacartimes.com, Volkswagen proj...
Nissan Expands UK Production, Creates New Jobs
18 May 2009, 09:43 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Since we're living during recession times, reports telling us about companies that lower production and fire hundreds or maybe thousands of workers are quite natural. However, Nissan expects to perform better, especially in the United Kingdom,...
2009 Corsa EcoFlex - Vauxhall's Most Economical Car Ever
18 May 2009, 08:45 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Vauxhall has just announced the availability of the 3-door Corsa EcoFlex, a new car model - mostly known in Europe as Opel Corsa - that achieves new fuel consumption and CO2 emission milestones, as the British manufacturer mentioned in a release. T...
NADA on GM Dealership Cut: Sad and Disappointing
18 May 2009, 08:43 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Following GM's announcement that it will reject around 1,100 dealerships by the end of 2010, the National Automobile Dealers Association described the decision as sad and disappointing, especially because most dealers are "family-run busi...
Ventross Nissan GT-R R35 Skyline
18 May 2009, 07:55 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Nissan GT-R is surely a car that looks great and packs enough power to satisfy every adrenaline hungry drivers out there. But some tuning houses around the world simply believe that the GT-R can do a lot more than that and try to get both the appea...
Fiat Pledges to Protect Italian Jobs...
18 May 2009, 07:29 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / ... although this might sound far-fetched for some of you. The Italian automaker promised it would not cut jobs in the domestic market if it receives government assistance, the Italian Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said in a interview with dail...
Magna Could Use Opel to Build Cars for Peugeot, Ford
18 May 2009, 07:27 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Magna International, one of the interested parties to purchase the German manufacturer Opel, said it could use the ailing automaker to produce cars for other brands, including Ford and Peugeot. The report was published by the German newspaper Welt ...
GM Launches New Ecotec Engines in China
18 May 2009, 06:46 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / General Motors continues its efforts to make its product lineup a bit greener with two new engines with displacements of 1.6 and 1.8 liters that will be produced by its Shanghai GM Dong Yue Automotive Powertrain joint venture in Yantai, Shandong. ...
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid for $15,500? Only a Hoax
17 May 2009, 07:28 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Ever dreamed to snatch a 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid for a song? Well, some of us surely did and, according to a recent email that circulated on the web, buying a cheap 2010 Fusion hybrid might be a dream come true. However, representatives of Ford, a....
After Chrysler, GM Starts Killing Dealers Too
17 May 2009, 07:27 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Just as we told you in a previous report, as part of a broader campaign to reduce costs and tackle the economic recession, General Motors plans to get rid of more than 1,000 dealerships. Well, the moment has arrived and the American automaker today...
Geely Denies Bids for Volvo, Saab
15 May 2009, 15:05 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / The Chinese automaker Geely, who has been often linked with either a Volvo or Saab acquisition, recently denied all rumors claiming it has submitted bids for one – or even both as some media reports hinted – of the companies. But what&#...
Toyota Receives 75,000 Orders for the New Prius
15 May 2009, 14:07 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / With the hybrid battle still gaining attention every time it is brought back in the spotlights, Toyota and Honda, the two rival companies, announce enthusiastic results for their Prius and Insight hybrids, respectively. After some reports unveiled ...
Kia Cee'd Hybrid in the Works
15 May 2009, 13:25 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Although the hybrid sector is currently dominated by two over-discussed models, Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, South Korean manufacturer Kia is apparently holding an ace up its sleeve. We're talking about a hybrid version of the popular Cee&#...
Mazda Titan Truck Facelifted
15 May 2009, 10:50 UTC · By: Bogdan Popa / Although recession times aren't quite appropriate for improving trucks – which, let's be honest, are extremely affected by the economic turmoil – Mazda Motor Corporation today announced that its Titan medium-duty truck has bee...