Daniel Patrascu
18,861 ARTICLES
Personal motto:
"I truly believe men and fish can coexist peacefully" – George W. Bush
Following several years off the grid, Daniel is back at autoevolution, and seeing how the great crisis of the past decade made the auto industry boring, he grew bored with it too, so he slowly shifted his focus to custom cars, custom motorcycles, and other weird stuff. He also loves ranting about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
During his time at autoevolution, Daniel put his name on more news articles, coverstories, auto guides, reviews, and editorials than we care count. To slow him down a bit, he was given more responsibilities not long ago, so he is now also in charge with coordinating the editorial team on autoevolution.com.
Long time ago, Daniel also translated Arthur C. Clarke’s novel “The Fountains of Paradise” to Romanian for Paladin Publishing.
Porsche Sales Down, Cayenne Figures Up
5 Feb 2009, 09:08 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The US market brings no surprises in terms of sales reports. This was the case with all car manufacturers and subsidiaries, January 2009 saw Porsche AG continue to move in a difficult market environment in both USA and Canada. The total number ...
PSA Delays Launch of Plug-in Hybrids
5 Feb 2009, 08:55 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The ever growing need to save money and cut costs could result in the delay of PSA's hybrid vehicles launch. The delay could take as long as two years, but will not interfere with the company's plans to develop hybrid cars. Ladimir P...
GAZ 51 Retro Hot Rod, the Russian Style
4 Feb 2009, 17:03 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Using a Cadillac Escalade's platform and the cab of an old 2.5 ton 4x2 pre-war truck, Russian Aleksey Chvokin and his Pemespiba (now called Grand Garage) team took it upon themselves to create what they call the GAZ 51 Hot Rod. The rod idea c...
The Apple in Saab
4 Feb 2009, 16:53 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Saab will soon be out of the General Motors Group and intends to use its newly re gained independence to become the “Apple of car brands”. Saab’s director of Global Brand and Sales, Knut Simonsson says future Saab models will be r...
Toyota and GM in Awe, Kia Announces Increasing US Sales
4 Feb 2009, 14:49 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The first good news of the day comes from Kia Motors America (KMA) who announced today an 3.5 percent increase in sales, compared to the same month of 2008. January 2009 will make it into the history books of the company, as KMA officials say it w...
German Car Sales Fall, but Are Expected to Rise Again
4 Feb 2009, 13:59 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The new car sales in Germany have fell by 14 percent in January in the domestic market, while exports took a 39 percent plunge, compared to the same period in 2008. Automakers believe this is the third consecutive year in which sales reach record l...
Toyota January Report (US) - Drop It Like It's Hot
4 Feb 2009, 13:29 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As was to be expected and in line with all other car manufacturers all over the world, Toyota Motor Sales's (TMS) January report shows a 34.9 percent drop for the Toyota Division and a 30.3 decrease for the Lexus Division, compared to the same...
Fiat-Chrysler Alliance - a Good Way, but Not the Only Way
4 Feb 2009, 11:40 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Chrysler says the upcoming alliance with Italian automaker Fiat could be very prosperous, but it is not the only option it has. The company refrained from other comments and made no reference as to what the second option would be, but they admited ...
Why Bangle Left BMW
4 Feb 2009, 10:07 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Bangle's radical design ideas are what might be behind his decision to part ways with BMW. Project i, a concept meant to develop city cars and look into transportation solutions for urban areas, seems to be to blame. According to BMWblog.com, ...
Chrysler January Sales Report: The Steady Way Down
4 Feb 2009, 09:40 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Chrysler LLC made public today its January sales report and things don't look good at all. Having a 55 percent drop in units sold, compared to the same period in 2008, Chrysler's sales are the lowest of all car makers in the US. Total uni...
Chrysler Got Three Offers for Viper
4 Feb 2009, 08:35 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Chrysler received three offers for its Viper business, co-President Jim Press was quoted as saying by CNNMoney.com, but the matter is being look at with “due diligence.” The company first announced its plans to sell the Viper last Augu...
Scania Says "Nej" to Porsche Takeover
3 Feb 2009, 17:36 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Scania officials advised today company's shareholders to decline the takeover offer made by Porsche, under the pretext that the price offered per share is too low. Scania has taken this decision after consulting with Deutsche Bank and Morgan S...
Fiat Sketches Chrylser Alliance Plan
3 Feb 2009, 17:26 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Fiat plans to finish its review of Chrysler's operations by February 17, in order to help the American counterpart to get a green light with this vital point in the viability report expected by the US Government. The alliance doesn't mean...
Citroen Rebranding - Three Years to Impress the World
3 Feb 2009, 15:52 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / In the middle of the survival battle, some car manufacturers find the time to plan for major makeovers. This is the case with Citroen, which announced its global re-branding initiative the same year the company celebrates its 90th anniversary. Re-b...
Chris Bangle Quits BMW, Auto Industry
3 Feb 2009, 14:38 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Christopher Edward Bangle, BMW Group's chief designer is quitting his job “to pursue his own design-related endeavors beyond the auto industry”, said BMW officials according to Autonews. The now 52 year old American started his...
2009 Geneva Show to Witness Mazda3 i-stop and MPS
3 Feb 2009, 14:14 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The 10 days long Geneva International Motor Show will be the place where all manufacturers will try to get a glimpse of what lies ahead. All of those who chose to take part in the event will try to capture the visitors' eyes with new designs a...
BorgWarner-Bosch Coalition: Go Diesel!
3 Feb 2009, 11:47 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As the battle between fossil and green fuels rages on, the day has come for a new domestic front to open. Two companies, BorgWarner Inc., US based turbocharger manufacturer, and Robert Bosch LLC, worldwide car parts supplier, got together last wee...
Ford Confirms Selling of Blanquefort Transmissions Plant
3 Feb 2009, 10:50 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / After the news being made public yesterday, by French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde, Ford Motor Co. confirmed its intention to sell its automatic transmission plant in Blanquefort, near Bordeaux. Initially, a German company was said to have bo...
Touareg Turns Hybrid, Passat Finds BlueMotion
3 Feb 2009, 10:12 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Growing concern about environmental issues, as well as better than predicted market response to Hybrid vehicles, made all car producers occupy themselves with the creation of either hybrid or more fuel efficient engines. Volkswagen, for instance, h...
GM Truck Production Pumped Up to Save the Day
3 Feb 2009, 09:30 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Spring is fastly approaching and with it comes hope of renewal, wormer days and money for GM. Following one of the worst winters in economic history, GM is looking forward with great expectation to the upcoming selling session. "As f...