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.
Michelin Recalls Tires Due to Missing DOT
29 Jan 2009, 16:32 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / When we thought we had enough on our minds dealing with economic crisis and other such shortcomings, here comes news that will further mess with your plan for a family weekend. It concerns your car. Or rather its rubbers. If you are a bit used t...
Americans to Get the Audi Q5 in March
29 Jan 2009, 14:50 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The Audi Q5, an IHG Small SUV vehicle, a class which is forecasted to grow dramatically over the next few years, will make its debut in United States' showrooms this March. The crossover will be powered by a 3.2 V6 FSI direct injection engine...
Aston Martin Shortens the Workweek
29 Jan 2009, 13:51 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Three days of work, four days of weekend. This is what employees of Warwickshire based Aston Martin will have to get used to for an undisclosed period of time, as the company has decided to go to a 3 day workweek. Aston Martin had 1,850 workers...
Highest Federal Tax Credit for 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
29 Jan 2009, 11:15 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Buying a hybrid could not only help you protect the environment, but can also save you some money. The federal tax credit for hybrid vehicles was set in place to do just that. This incentive could even help the automotive industry, as more and mor...
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Passes ALMS Test
29 Jan 2009, 11:05 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR passed its race track winter test at the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in Sebring. The Flying Lizard Motorsports and Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche teams conducted an intensive three-day test schedule and worked on a ...
Ford to Post Big Loss for Q4
29 Jan 2009, 08:51 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Problems keep on piling up for the U.S. automotive industry, the biggest in the world. Ford Motor Co. is expected to post its fourth quarter financial report on Thursday and figures are likely to indicate major losses. Not at all surprising, ...
Alfa Romeo 149 Hatchback to Be Based on BMW 1-series
28 Jan 2009, 18:17 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Following last week's announcement that Chrysler and Fiat have joined forces in a strategic alliance, the Italian manufacturer is expected to make public a future cooperation with BMW for the development of its Alfa Romeo subsidiary new 149 ha...
Massive Yaris Recall by Toyota
28 Jan 2009, 17:32 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / No less than 1.35 million Toyota Vitz (Yaris), Belta and Ractis are being called back due to problems in the seatbelt, a component in the exhaust system or both. The units in question have been produced from January 2005 until April 2008. That is a...
Sales of Family Cars in Spain Plummet
28 Jan 2009, 15:59 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The crisis has pushed Spain's auto industry back to 1994's production levels. Asociación Española de Fabricantes de Automóviles y Camiones (Anfac) forecasts a continuous decrease in family car sales, which could go do...
West Nexco and Nissan to Increase Safety with Phones
28 Jan 2009, 14:25 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Nissan and West Nippon Expressway ( NEXCO ) have joined forces to research systems that could help prevent accidents and provide drivers with realtime information. The joint project counts on the widespread of mobile phones. Using the Global Positi...
General Motors Gives Up on Dealers
28 Jan 2009, 11:53 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / American giant General Motors tries to escape the crisis' grip by adopting tough methods at all levels of its structure. Following this week's announcements of job cuts in the U.S. and shorter workweeks in Russia, GM plans to get rid of 4...
Truck Engine Supplier Navistar Closes Plant
28 Jan 2009, 11:29 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Navistar International Corp., the 175 year old truck and mid-range diesel engine manufacturer, has decided to close its Indianapolis engine plant and foundry. The announcement comes one week after the company decided that its Kentucky Truck Plant ...
500,000 Milestone Reached by Land Rovers Sold in the US
28 Jan 2009, 10:45 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / In the middle of a total economic crisis, the Tata owned Land Rover finds reason for celebration. Last weekend, the producer announced at the annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention in New Orleans it has sold its 500,000th ...
General Motors Introduces the Three Day Workweek
28 Jan 2009, 08:28 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / General Motors will cutback the workdays at its Shushary flexible assembly plant, near St. Petersburg, Russia, for “a few months”, as Sergei Lepnukhov, company's spokesman said. The decision is motivated by current economical devel...
Canadian Car of the Year Finalists Announced
27 Jan 2009, 19:21 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / AJAC, The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada, have announced the finalists of the 2009 Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Sports Utility Vehicle of the Year competition. So, without further ado, here are the lucky finalists: Hyundai...
Crisis Puts All in Standby, PSA and Kia Work Harder
27 Jan 2009, 18:42 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The economic crisis that started last year had still has a big impact on us all. The automotive industry in particular saw all of their forecasts turned upside down, their investment plans stopped and their hopes for a increasing market ruined. ...
Audi Continues to Pause Production
27 Jan 2009, 16:16 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Audi Hungaria Motor Kft. will suspend operations for one week, between Feb. 23 and 28, as most of the industry's players have done. “Suspending production was regular at this time of year but due to the uncertain market conditions som...
New Information on the 2010 BMW 5 Series
27 Jan 2009, 15:08 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The new 5-Series sedan from BMW is to be seen in showrooms starting May of next year, with the station wagon version set to appear in October. The new version will take much of its look from the CS Concept, first displayed in 2007 and later in A...
Nissan Idles Mexico Assembly Plants
27 Jan 2009, 14:19 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Finding itself under the pressure from the economic unrest, Nissan has decided to close its operations in North America, a temporary move aimed to balance the decrease in demand. The move comes after the decision to lay off 1,200 workers in ...
BMW, the Top Eco-Friendly Premium Car
27 Jan 2009, 11:17 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / For the second year in a row, independent research has placed BMW at the top of the list of premium cars with lowest average CO2 emissions. The list has BMW at the top, with an average of 159.4g/km CO2 emissions – the average was measured...