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.
Lancia Ypsilon Elefantino Freshens Up for the Summer
8 Apr 2014, 08:28 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Emphasizing the link between the small city car from Turin and the world of Italian fashion, the updated Lancia Ypsilon Elefantino '14 Collection made its debut at the "Lancia Fashion Apartment" event in Milan. This update of the spe...
Honda Vezel Crossover to Be Named HR-V in North America
7 Apr 2014, 16:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If certain reports are to be believed, the Japanese carmaker's Fit-based crossover will take the HR-V name when it will arrive on American soil later this year. According to Temple of VTEC forum, the SUV's production and assembly will be ...
Microsoft Challenges Apple CarPlay with "Windows in the Car"
7 Apr 2014, 13:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Quite a few car infotainment systems have been powered by Microsoft in recent years, including units made for BMW, Ford, Fiat, Kia and Nissan. But the software giant is stepping it up a notch with the new "Windows in the Car" Concept unve...
Support American Farming by Test Driving a Ram Truck
7 Apr 2014, 13:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Most test drives are usually the boring affair in the process of selecting your future ride. Inarticulate car salesmen that don't let you properly put the vehicle to the test on way too short routes put off most people ready to cash out on a b...
New Focus RS Delayed, Next-Gen Mondeo to Arrive Later This Year
7 Apr 2014, 12:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Although Ford initially promised it would launch the new Focus RS in 2015, the brand's European president Stephen Odell recently told Autocar: "There's nothing to talk about. It’s great that we have a proud past with RS, and it...
Ex-Stirling Moss Maserati Racer Going Under the Hammer
7 Apr 2014, 10:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The 1956 Maserati 450S Prototype by Fantuzzi will cross the block on May 10 during the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique weekend. RM Auctions estimates a selling value between $5.5 and $7.5 million (€4 to €5.5 million) for the Italian racer...
Ford Transit Connect Wagon Earns Five-Star Safety Rating
7 Apr 2014, 08:48 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) awarded Ford's 2014 Transit Connect Wagon a five-star Overall Vehicle Score in its New Car Assessment Program. This comes as no surprise after the European version of the vehicle, know...
Abarth 500 to Get Automatic in North America
7 Apr 2014, 08:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Fiat's expansion across the Atlantic continues with the Italian automaker promising to add a new transmission option on top-spec 500 models. The six-speed Aisin automatic will be available starting July on the 2015 model year range-topping 500...
New Corvette Variant to Debut at New York Auto Show
6 Apr 2014, 11:48 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / With the New York Auto Show just around the corner, American automakers are preparing to unveil all sorts of facelifted and all-new models. General Motors makes no exception on its home turf. According to Chevrolet, a new variant of the seventh-gen...
Gas Mileage on New Cars Hits All-Time High
6 Apr 2014, 11:33 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute reported that the average fuel economy of new cars sold in the U.S. has reached 25.4 miles per gallon in March 2014. To put that figure into perspective, the national average barely crept...
Why Ayrton Senna Was Brilliant, Sam Posey's Take
6 Apr 2014, 09:56 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / When debating who was the greatest driver to ever race in Formula One, a few names come to mind: Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari and Ayrton Senna are favorites among fans and racing drivers alike. Of course, it's difficu...
AM/FM Radio Alive and Kicking Thanks to Our Cars
5 Apr 2014, 13:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Recent years saw a revolution in music entertainment unlike any other before. With all the Sirius satellite radio stations, Bluetooth direct media streaming, the vast Pandora Internet Radio library just a fingertip away and iTunes car integration,&...
McLaren Ends 12C Production
4 Apr 2014, 16:18 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After previously pausing 12C production to start 650S offensive, the Woking sports car manufacturer has now announced customers that it is discontinuing the supercar. McLaren has sent a letter to 12C owners, which you can find below. The main re...
Tesla Model S Tops Norwegian Sales Charts in March
4 Apr 2014, 15:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Surprisingly enough, the electric vehicle manufacturer has moved 1,493 Model Ss this March in Norway. To put that into perspective, that's more than every Ford model sold in the Scandinavian country last month. Impressive stuff from Tesla, ...
Outgoing Mustang Outsold the Camaro and Challenger in March
4 Apr 2014, 14:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Even if the new generation Mustang is just around the corner, Ford's outgoing model is still selling by the bucketload for the second straight month. In total, the bestselling sports car in the US moved 9,305 units the former month, a 21 perce...
Superstars Choose the Greatest Coupes Ever Made
4 Apr 2014, 12:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Wonder what's the best ever sports coupe of all time? The Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation will host an exhibition on April 10 in sunny Los Angeles in order to find an answer to this question. Organisers have invited world-renown rock sta...
2015 Subaru WRX STI Configurator Goes Online
4 Apr 2014, 11:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Barely out of the corral, both the 2015 Subaru WRX and WRX STI can now be configured online at Subaru of America's consumer website. Prices for the WRX start from $26,295, which is exactly $300 more expensive than the 2014MY, while the brutish...
Dodge Scat Pack Kits Boost Performance, also Preserve Car Warranty
4 Apr 2014, 08:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After making their debut at SEMA 2013, Chrysler announced that all three Scat Pack performance stage kits from Mopar will be supported by vehicle warranty if installation is made at an authorized dealer. The Stage 3 kit will pump out an extra 58 ho...
Tesla Gigafactory to Use Materials Sourced in North America
3 Apr 2014, 17:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Tesla Motors Inc. plans to build a 10 million square feet factory, in order to manufacture its own battery packs. The Palo Alto-based company intends to stop importing raw materials from overseas by opening its own graphite and cobalt mines in the ...
Ram Heavy Duty Now Available with Black Package
3 Apr 2014, 14:43 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Great demand for the Ram 1500 Black Express convinced the truck manufacturer to port the visual package to the Heavy Duty model. This is now here to please those who like the menacing looks, but need that extra bit of capability. Our more eagle-eye...