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.
Is Drake Fed Up With His Bugatti Veyron Sang Noir? · Video
6 May 2014, 08:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / He started from the bottom and now he's here - famous, rich and driving one of the rarest Bugatti Veyrons ever made, among other super fast exotics. However, it seems that not even a Sang Noir special edition Veyron is able to rock Drake'...
Ford China to Launch All-New Everest SUV Next Year
5 May 2014, 18:18 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / First showcased in Australia in August 2013, the Ford Everest Concept was also present at this year's Beijing Auto Show. Recent inside info hints that the production version of the SUV will be launched in China as soon as May 2015, with sales ...
Cadillac ATS-L Loses Its Camo
5 May 2014, 17:45 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A few days ago we've reported that Shanghai GM is prepping a stretched version of the ATS mid-size luxury sedan. At last, the China-only model was spotted by the carparazzi without a bit of camouflage on it. Styling-wise, it's the usua...
Godzilla Developed an Appetite for Fiat 500s
5 May 2014, 16:32 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Set to debut on national television on Monday, Fiat North America's latest advert is leading up to the May release of the massively anticipated Godzilla reboot. "Godzilla Craves Italian" will also be present in social media, offering...
Agent 47 Harbringer Mustang Spotted on the Street
5 May 2014, 15:40 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / There's nothing in the world of retro modern Stangs quite like the Harbringer. Only 250 were made, so seeing one on the public streets is quite of an event. First thing's first: even though they share the same name, this car has nothin...
Superman's Ram Power Wagon Hits the Auction Block · Video
5 May 2014, 14:40 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If you saw the movie and fell in love with Superman's ride of choice, good news! Chrysler put the one-off Man of Iron Ram Power Wagon up for auction on Charitybuzz. If you want to make it yours, you'd better hurry: the auction ends Wednes...
Chevrolet Impala Sales Grew 113 Percent Since Q1 2013
5 May 2014, 13:41 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Detroit manufacturer announced that its flagship sedan has gained 7.8 percentage points of retail market share since its launch, measuring 14.7 percent at the end of Q1 2014 compared to 6.9 percent in Q1 2013, when the model first arrived in sh...
Peel P50 Performs Y-Turn Inside a Ford Transit
5 May 2014, 11:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Ever wondered if the world's smallest road-legal production vehicle can do a three-point turn inside the 2015 Transit van? Neither did we, but Ford did in its latest marketing stunt. Even though the 2015 Ford Transit features best-in-segmen...
Ford Sells 500,000th EcoBoost-powered F-150 Pickup Truck
5 May 2014, 11:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Three years after it was introduced, the increasingly popular 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 is now the best-selling engine in the lineup that powers the F-150 pickup. Marking a major milestone with the sale of its 500,000th EcoBoost-equipped F-150, Ford...
2015 Cadillac CTS Spied Without Camo
5 May 2014, 09:38 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Meant to bring the larger CTS in line with the aesthetic identity of the 2015 ATS Coupe, the updated mid-size luxury sedan boasts a fresh front fascia. Even though Cadillac unveiled the third-gen CTS at the beginning of 2013 and sales commenced ...
Spyshots: 2015 Cadillac ATS Spied Up Close
5 May 2014, 08:51 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As the ATS is nearing the second half of its production life-cycle, the Detroit-based manufacturer breathes new life into the compact luxury sports sedan with a mild facelift. However, the nip and tuck job isn't as major as we've expected...
1969 Ford GT40 for Sale on eBay
4 May 2014, 13:51 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / When it comes to multi-million dollar historic vehicles, you'd normally expect them to be sold at fancy events organized by notable specialists such as Coys, RM Auctions or Barrett-Jackson. However, the owner of this late Mk1 Ford GT40 chose t...
1990 ZR-1 Corvette Commemorated by Mercury Marine
4 May 2014, 12:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / To celebrate 75 years since its establishment in 1939, Mercury Marine opened a new museum in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, that features exhibits and interactive displays tracing the company's heritage decade by decade. But what does a boat engines ...
IIHS Crash Tests: Behind the Scenes
3 May 2014, 14:17 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / We bet most of our readers know what the men and women working for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety usually do for a living. But their line of work isn't as simple as most of us imagine it to be. For the unknowing, we remind you t...
2015 Chrysler 200 To Get Stop-Start System
3 May 2014, 13:21 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / First implemented on the Ram pickup truck range, Chrysler's first-ever Stop-Start fuel-saving feature will also be added to the 2015 model year 200 sedan this fall. Already available in dealer showrooms, customers can opt between four diffe...
C7 Corvette Customers Love to Shift Gears Manually
2 May 2014, 16:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Recently surfaced inside info from General Motors hints that a staggering 40 percent of U.S. buyers choose their 2014MY Chevrolet Corvettes with the standard seven-speed manual gearbox. In the United States, the choice between a manual or an aut...
Chevrolet Builds 1 Millionth US-Spec Cruze; Upgrades Factory for Next-Gen Model · Video
2 May 2014, 14:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / On April 10th, 2014, the General Motors Lordstown Complex in Ohio produced the 1 millionth Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan. In preparation for the North American arrival of the next generation Cruze, GM announced today that a $50 million investment w...
2013 Cadillac SRX Recalled for Transmission Flaw
2 May 2014, 13:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Along with the affected SRX units, General Motors announced that 51 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD pickup trucks will also be recalled for fuel pipe connections not properly torqued. Circa 56,400 Cadillac SRX vehicles built between May...
1972 Ferrari Dino 246GT First Owned By Keith Richards Up for Auction
2 May 2014, 13:17 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Historic automobiles specialist Coys will offer at auction two very special vehicles previously owned by famous people. A '72 Ferrari Dino 246GT, which was puschased new by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, as well as Tazio Nuvolari...
Wireless Charging for Electric Vehicles Explained
2 May 2014, 11:46 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Since the early days of the 20th century, the internal combustion engine and electricity progressively became two of the most important comfort features aiding life as we know it today. By the time the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle arrived in ...