Mircea Panait
20,321 ARTICLES
Personal motto:
"If in doubt, flat out." - Colin McRae
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.
Tesla Drops Model E Nameplate
16 May 2014, 13:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Slated for mass production by the end of 2016, Tesla's third generation vehicle won't bear the Model E moniker, which is a registered trademark of the Ford Motor Company. As it happens, the Blue Oval submitted trademark applications fo...
Disabled Man to Drive Chevrolet Corvette With Head Movements · Video
16 May 2014, 12:41 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Meet Sam Schmidt. After competing in the Indy Racing League for three years and netting a win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1999, Sam's racing career came to a dramatic full stop. On January 6th, 2000, while offseason testing at the Wa...
2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Convertible Startup Exhaust Sound
16 May 2014, 11:43 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Chevy's most capable drop-top yet - the all-new Corvette Z06 Convertible - sports a monstrous LT4 6.2-liter supercharged V8 under its bonnet and quad tailpipes. But how does it sound in real life? Beastly. Yeah, beastly is the perfect word ...
How to Prevent Premature Tire Wear
16 May 2014, 09:35 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The internal combustion car wouldn't have existed without the help of this simple invention, but have you ever wondered how much punishment a tire takes throughout its functional life span? Let's not beat around the bush: it doesn'...
Tesla Model S Reaches Chinese Dealerships
16 May 2014, 08:38 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Don't be fooled by the U.S. license plate on this factory fresh Model S. The luxury electric sedan you can see in the attached photo gallery is, as a matter of fact, the first Tesla Model S imported into China. However, the vehicle hasn...
2015 Chrysler 200 Secures 10K Orders At Launch
15 May 2014, 18:50 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The heavily anticipated 200 isn't just Chrysler's last resort at making a proper mid-size luxury sedan. As it turns out, more than 17,000 people ordered the model in the first two days since it was launched, with 10,000 orders registered ...
2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe Pricing Starts At $38,990
15 May 2014, 17:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The updated two-door luxury coupe from Caddy will go on sale in the United States at the end of this summer, holding an entry price of $38,990 including the $995 destination fee, which is $6,000 more than the ATS sedan. Naturally, there are...
Spyshots: 2016 Buick Verano Caught Testing
15 May 2014, 17:10 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Our carparazzi managed to capture the first ever spy photos of the all-new 2016 Buick Verano. Also marketed as the Excelle in some Asian markets such as China, this car also underpins the seventh generation Opel/Vauxhall Astra K, slated to arrive i...
GM Recalls An Extra 2.7 Million Vehicles Stateside
15 May 2014, 15:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Detroit giant informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration it has decided to call back nearly 2.7 million vehicles concerning safety issues. Out of the five new recall operations, the largest involves Chevrolet, Pontiac and Satur...
Elon Musk Shares Thoughts On Tesla's Early Days
15 May 2014, 14:33 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / During the two-day green energy business summit at the American manufacturer's assembly plant in Fremont, California, the Tesla CEO didn't offer any further info on the upcoming Model X full-size CUV. However, a re/code write-up hints ...
One-Of-A-Kind 1970 Plymouth Cuda For Sale · Video
15 May 2014, 13:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Restomodding is a big thing among classic American muscle car enthusiasts these days, but very few examples of the breed are as bangin' wicked as this sui generis "Conviction Cuda." Formerly displayed at the 2008 SEMA show, this cust...
Ford Racing Inaugurates New Technical Support Center
15 May 2014, 11:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Further increasing its motorsport commitment, the Blue Oval cut the ribbon off an all-new technical support facility in Concord, North Carolina, which will serve as a center for teams to develop and test their race cars for competition. With a 3...
Hackmobile and Happy Mutant Mobile Are Two Cool Ford Vans
15 May 2014, 09:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Ford teamed up with Make magazine and online publication Boing Boing for the construction of two very special Transit Connect Wagon vehicles. The blue Hackmobile and red Happy Mutant Mobile will make their first public appearance today, at the Tech...
AAA Study Reveals Car Ownership In America Got Cheaper
15 May 2014, 08:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / According to the American Automobile Association, costs related to car ownership in North America have fallen greatly in 2014. Dubbed "Your Driving Costs", the AAA study shows that most vehicle operating expenses are headed downwards. ...
Unique 1999 Packard Twelve Up For Auction
14 May 2014, 18:24 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Even though the iconic automaker ceased to exist at the end of the '50s, Packard wasn't out of business for good. After acquiring the brand for $50,000 in 1992, Roy Gullickson and his team created a working prototype in 1999, dubbed the P...
2015 Chevrolet Spark EV To Get New Battery Pack
14 May 2014, 17:46 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / General Motors is making final preparations before updating the Chevrolet Spark EV. The Detroit giant announced that its Brownstown Battery Assembly finished the development of an all-new battery system, with production slated to start shortly. ...
2015 Chrysler 200 Goes Through 3,500 Quality Control Tests
14 May 2014, 16:33 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / By significantly raising the quality levels at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, Chrysler hopes to boost customer satisfaction and reduce production flaws more than it ever did before. In order to do that, the Detroit automaker recently inaugura...
Dream Cars Exhibit at the High Museum of Art · Video
14 May 2014, 15:29 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / From May 21st through September 7th, the High will be running an amazing automotive exhibit titled 'Dream Cars: Innovative Design, Visionary Ideas'. Visitors of the Atlanta-based art museum will have the rare chance to feast their eyes up...
Cadillac Dealers Offered $5,000 Incentive To Promote the ELR
14 May 2014, 14:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / General Motors announced it will pay a cool five grand to every dealership that designates the 2014 Cadillac ELR luxury hybrid as a test-drive car. The incentive will be awarded only if the vehicle clocks at least 750 demonstration miles between Ma...
2015 Chevrolet Tahoe Almost Aces Crash Tests
14 May 2014, 12:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Both the Tahoe and Suburban full-size SUVs, as well as the 2015 GMC Yukon sister model, were awarded an overall four out of five stars in the NCAP crash-test rating system. The federal agency says that the body-on-frame SUVs still present a high ri...