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Mircea Panait

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Personal motto:

"If in doubt, flat out." - Colin McRae

Senior Contributor
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Little did he knew back then, but a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO is what sparked Mircea’s interest for cars when he was just a kid. Despite studying mathematics and informatics in high school and economics in university, Mircea turned his passion for all things automotive into a job.
 
Interning for Top Gear was his first foray in automotive journalism, and not long after that, a full-time position was opened for Mircea to seal the deal. Just about three years later, autoevolution became his new home.
 
Especially interested in American ponies and muscle cars, Mircea also finds the Japanese domestic market appealing thanks to the quirkiness of kei cars. Full-size pickups like the Ram 1500 and off-roaders such as the Ford Ranger Raptor and Jeep Gladiator Rubicon are much to his liking as well.
 
A self-described master of pasta and an avid CCG player, Mircea’s past-time activities include playing his Epiphone Les Paul Special Vintage Edition electric guitar, discovering the wonders of the Carpathian mountains by foot, and driving to the Black Sea to get a well-deserved tan.
Tuned Honda Integra Type R Drag Races Tuned G80 BMW M3, They're Both Stupidly Quick
Tuned Honda Integra Type R Drag Races Tuned G80 BMW M3, They're Both Stupidly Quick

7 Jul 2024, 01:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The fourth-gen Honda Integra Type R came with a pretty rad K-series engine, a four-cylinder lump that produces maximum power at 8,000 revolutions per minute. How many ponies? That would be 217 horsepower fully stock, with torque coming in at 152 lb...

 
2025 Chevrolet Camaro Rendering Proposes S650 Ford Mustang Rival With GTD Influences
2025 Chevrolet Camaro Rendering Proposes S650 Ford Mustang Rival With GTD Influences

6 Jul 2024, 01:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Twinned with the Pontiac Firebird, the Chevrolet Camaro launched in September 1966 for the 1967 model year as GM's take on the Ford Mustang. But as opposed to the best-selling pony car of them all, the Camaro was discontinued twice. Dwindli...

 
Mercedes-AMG ONE Continues Testing at the Nurburgring Nordschleife as a Pair
Mercedes-AMG ONE Continues Testing at the Nurburgring Nordschleife as a Pair

5 Jul 2024, 14:22 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The most insane AMG entitled to wear a plate is back at the Nurburgring Nordschleife for additional testing. Two distinct examples of the breed are featured in the spy video below, joined by Mercedes-AMG and Multimatic personnel. Why Multimatic?...

 
This Unique Caterham Seven 360R Features Repurposed Helicopter Parts
This Unique Caterham Seven 360R Features Repurposed Helicopter Parts

5 Jul 2024, 13:05 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As far as driver's cars are concerned, it rarely gets better than a well-sorted Caterham. The pictured Seven isn't your usual Seven, though, for it's a truly one-off spec built in collaboration with the United Kingdom's Royal Ai...

 
H1 2024 Sales Report: Ford Mustang Outsells All Other RWD Coupes
H1 2024 Sales Report: Ford Mustang Outsells All Other RWD Coupes

5 Jul 2024, 11:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As expected, the rear-drive coupe segment is dominated by the seventh-generation Mustang. According to Ford's Q2 2024 sales report, the pony car moved 27,444 units in H1 2024 stateside, representing a 7.7% improvement from the 25,471 deliverie...

 
This Ram 1500 TRX Regular Cab Is One Sweet Pickup Truck
This Ram 1500 TRX Regular Cab Is One Sweet Pickup Truck

4 Jul 2024, 21:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The one and only Cleetus McFarland is the proud owner of a 2021 Ram 1500 TRX. Described as "a $100,000 mistake" by the YouTube personality, said off-road truck was immediately converted to a regular cab. According to McFarland, the body s...

 
Chevrolet Corvette Posts Best First-Half Sales Since H1 2015
Chevrolet Corvette Posts Best First-Half Sales Since H1 2015

4 Jul 2024, 20:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / General Motors released the quarterly sales numbers for all their marques, along with the first-half delivery numbers for the US market. Said release confirms the best first-half sales for the Chevrolet Corvette since H1 2015, with GM referring to ...

 
Jeep's Toledo Assembly Complex Will Be Retooled in Preparation for a New Model
Jeep's Toledo Assembly Complex Will Be Retooled in Preparation for a New Model

4 Jul 2024, 19:15 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The automotive colossus formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA has announced that Toledo South will be temporarily down starting the week of July 8. According to Stellantis, production will resume August 19. WTVG repor...

 
H1 2024 Sales Report: Jeep Wrangler Is America's Most Popular BOF SUV
H1 2024 Sales Report: Jeep Wrangler Is America's Most Popular BOF SUV

4 Jul 2024, 18:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Compared to the first half of 2023, sales for the Wrangler and Bronco are down in their home market. Even so, the Wrangler soldiers on as the nation's favorite body-on-frame SUV. Deliveries contracted from 84,642 units in H1 2024 to 77,204 ...

 
Ford Recalls 2025 Super Duty F-650 and F-750 for Potential Tie Rod Failure
Ford Recalls 2025 Super Duty F-650 and F-750 for Potential Tie Rod Failure

4 Jul 2024, 17:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Ford F-Series trucks come in three distinct flavors. First, the Blue Oval offers the half-ton F-150 and its Lightning all-electric sibling. The Super Duty F-250 through F-550 are considered heavy-duty trucks, whereas the Super Duty F-650 and F-750 ...

 
H1 2024 Sales Report: Chrysler Pacifica Dominates Competing Minivans
H1 2024 Sales Report: Chrysler Pacifica Dominates Competing Minivans

4 Jul 2024, 16:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Minivans were all the rage back in the 1980s, but as of July 2024, this genre of automobile is a dying breed. Or is it? Although Pacifica and Odyssey sales are down in the first six months of the year compared to H1 2023, both the Sienna and Carniv...

 
2024 Ford Mustang Recalled Over Brake Control Module Software Issue
2024 Ford Mustang Recalled Over Brake Control Module Software Issue

4 Jul 2024, 14:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As you're well aware, Ford Motor Company postponed 2024 Mustang shipments back in May 2023 due to quality concerns reported to the media by the S650's launch team. Ever since, Dearborn's favorite son issued no fewer than four safety ...

 
GM Recalls Incorrectly Updated Chevrolet Bolt Electric Vehicles Over Battery Fire Risk
GM Recalls Incorrectly Updated Chevrolet Bolt Electric Vehicles Over Battery Fire Risk

4 Jul 2024, 13:16 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Bolt EV and Bolt EUV battery fire risk saga continues with yet another safety recall. Back in 2020, dealers were required to install monitoring software for early detection of iffy cells, which proved ineffective after two updated vehicles caug...

 
Koenigsegg Jesko Dyno Test Reveals More Power Than Advertised, Regera Follows Suit
Koenigsegg Jesko Dyno Test Reveals More Power Than Advertised, Regera Follows Suit

3 Jul 2024, 23:46 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / You might have seen motoring publications quote 1,600 horsepower for the Jesko, but said ponies are metric because Koenigsegg is headquartered in a country that adopted the metric system in 1878. Even the Wikipedia entry for the Jesko got it wrong,...

 
H1 2024 Sales Report: Ford F-Series Remains America's Favorite Large Truck
H1 2024 Sales Report: Ford F-Series Remains America's Favorite Large Truck

3 Jul 2024, 21:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Once again, the Ford Motor Company waxes lyrical about F-Series delivery figures. More specifically, the Dearborn-based automaker claims that F-Series remains the best-selling truck in the United States, which is correct. From January 1 through...

 
2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV Hit With Third Recall, Right Front Lower Control Arm May Fracture
2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV Hit With Third Recall, Right Front Lower Control Arm May Fracture

3 Jul 2024, 20:50 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Produced at the Ramos Arizpe Assembly Plant in Mexico alongside the Equinox EV, the Blazer EV was first recalled in December 2023 for door strikers that may fracture. The second recall followed in May 2024 over rear electric motors with insufficien...

 
H1 2024 Sales Report: Toyota Tacoma Leads GM's Chevrolet Colorado
H1 2024 Sales Report: Toyota Tacoma Leads GM's Chevrolet Colorado

3 Jul 2024, 19:21 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As far as mid-size pickup trucks are concerned, Tacoma still tops the segment despite a massive drop from H1 2023. Picture this: 69,437 units delivered in the United States in the first six months of 2024 versus 116,845 during H1 2023. Of the 69...

 
Ford Recalling Certain 2024 F-150 Pickup Trucks Over Inadequate Windshield Adhesion
Ford Recalling Certain 2024 F-150 Pickup Trucks Over Inadequate Windshield Adhesion

3 Jul 2024, 18:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A small number of 2024 Ford F-150 trucks were produced in the period from April 28 through May 2 with potentially inadequate windshield adhesion. The front windshield may not have been properly bonded to the half-ton pickup, allowing it to detach i...

 
H1 2024 Sales Report: Ford Maverick Retains Small Truck Sales Crown
H1 2024 Sales Report: Ford Maverick Retains Small Truck Sales Crown

3 Jul 2024, 17:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A week prior to ending the second quarter of 2024, CDK Global was hit with a massive cyberattack whose impact was felt by car dealerships nationwide. Said attack impaired a system used by almost 15,000 dealers in the United States, including Ford M...

 
GM Recalls Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon for Improperly Secured Fuel Pump
GM Recalls Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon for Improperly Secured Fuel Pump

3 Jul 2024, 15:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Colorado entered its third generation in 2022 for the 2023 model year with underpinnings derived from the second generation. Although the midsizer is well into the 2024 model year, mistakes can – and will inevitably – happen. 6,1...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait