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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.
2025 BMW M5 Touring Gets Rendered Inside & Out, Superwagon Will Be Available Stateside
2025 BMW M5 Touring Gets Rendered Inside & Out, Superwagon Will Be Available Stateside

4 May 2024, 15:21 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / To be revealed this coming summer, the G90 sedan will be joined by a family-sized version that BMW refers to as G99. The all-new BMW M5 Touring has big shoes to fill because BMW's last M5 Touring was the V10-powered E61 from 2007 through 2010....

 
2024 Nissan Sentra Recalled Over Driveshaft That May Not Be Fully Seated
2024 Nissan Sentra Recalled Over Driveshaft That May Not Be Fully Seated

4 May 2024, 14:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Nissan identified an issue affecting certain 2024 model year Sentra vehicles produced for the United States market between July 21, 2023 and January 18, 2024. More specifically, the front left-side driveshaft may not be fully seated in the JATCO XT...

 
Genesis Says 2025 GV80 Facelift Starts at $57,700, Configurator Shows $58,700
Genesis Says 2025 GV80 Facelift Starts at $57,700, Configurator Shows $58,700

3 May 2024, 22:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Excluding the $1,350 destination freight charge, Genesis Motor North America confirmed the starting price of the 2025 GV80 facelift as being $57,700. The problem is, the starting MSRP in the attached press release doesn't match that of the con...

 
Watch a Tuned C8 Corvette Stingray Drag Race New and Old-School Muscle Cars at Zandvoort
Watch a Tuned C8 Corvette Stingray Drag Race New and Old-School Muscle Cars at Zandvoort

3 May 2024, 19:32 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Carspotter Jeroen has recently published a racing video starring a blue-painted Stingray doing its thing on the main straight of a European racing circuit. A modified C8 rather than a completely stock 'Vette, the small block-engined sports car...

 
Jeep CEO Finally Confirms 2025 Jeep Gladiator 4xe
Jeep CEO Finally Confirms 2025 Jeep Gladiator 4xe

3 May 2024, 18:14 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Antonio Filosa, the big kahuna of Jeep at Stellantis, confirmed what everyone and their dog knew about what's in the offing for the 2025 Jeep Gladiator. The recently discontinued 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 will be indirectly succeeded by a plug-in...

 
2025 Kia EV6 Facelift Design Teaser Shows Revised Front Lighting Signature
2025 Kia EV6 Facelift Design Teaser Shows Revised Front Lighting Signature

3 May 2024, 17:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Hyundai E-GMP electric vehicle platform rolled out in 2021 with the Ioniq 5. Sister brand Kia also uses this architecture in the award-winning EV6, which launched a bit later in 2021 for the 2022 model year with both rear- and dual-motor setups...

 
Mercedes-Benz GLC 300e Drag Races Volvo XC60 T6 Recharge, Winner Needs 13.34 Seconds
Mercedes-Benz GLC 300e Drag Races Volvo XC60 T6 Recharge, Winner Needs 13.34 Seconds

3 May 2024, 16:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As you're well aware, Mercedes dropped six- and eight-cylinder powertrains from the GLC with the second generation of the luxury sport utility vehicle. Four-cylinder lumps will have to suffice, even for the go-faster 43 series and the no-nonse...

 
Mercedes-Benz Recalls Older ML, GL, R-Class Vehicles Over Brake Booster Corrosion
Mercedes-Benz Recalls Older ML, GL, R-Class Vehicles Over Brake Booster Corrosion

3 May 2024, 15:05 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A little over 15,600 examples of the ML, GL, and R-Class from the 2006 through 2012 model years may experience reduced braking performance or brake failure due to brake booster corrosion. The root cause for said corrosion is moisture accumulating i...

 
Hyundai Recalls Venue, Kona, Elantra Over EGR Valve That May Short Circuit
Hyundai Recalls Venue, Kona, Elantra Over EGR Valve That May Short Circuit

3 May 2024, 13:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Hyundai Motor America has identified an issue affecting 13,511 examples of the 2024 Elantra sedan, Venue crossover, and slightly larger Kona. The manufacturer's American division says that an electrical short may occur in the EGR valve assembl...

 
2025 Ferrari 12Cilindri Goes Live With 819 HP, Daytona Styling Cues, Four-Wheel Steering
2025 Ferrari 12Cilindri Goes Live With 819 HP, Daytona Styling Cues, Four-Wheel Steering

3 May 2024, 01:20 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Just ahead of the Miami GP weekend, the Prancing Horse of Maranello has unleashed the long-awaited replacement for the 812 series. Baptized 12Cilindri, with the latter word being Italian for cylinders, the super grand tourer uses a rather familiar ...

 
2024 Hyundai Sonata Rated Poor in the IIHS Updated Moderate Overlap Front Crash Test
2024 Hyundai Sonata Rated Poor in the IIHS Updated Moderate Overlap Front Crash Test

2 May 2024, 21:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Although the 2024 Hyundai Sonata has received the coveted Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Virginia-based nonprofit identified two problems with the $27,500 sedan. First of all, the midsizer flunked the upd...

 
2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Receive Top Safety Marks From the IIHS
2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Receive Top Safety Marks From the IIHS

2 May 2024, 19:49 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has awarded Top Safety Pick accolades to both the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the internal combustion-engined 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. Be that as it may, not all TSP awards are created equal. The reason why ...

 
The New INEOS Grenadier Commercial Will Carry One Standard Euro Pallet
The New INEOS Grenadier Commercial Will Carry One Standard Euro Pallet

2 May 2024, 18:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Until May 2, 2024, the INEOS Grenadier lineup for the United Kingdom started with the Utility Wagon specification. A two-seat utility vehicle with off-road chops, the Utility Wagon has been replaced by the Grenadier Commercial. Now available at ...

 
2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Sound Check: Twin-Turbo V8 Supercar Idles High
2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Sound Check: Twin-Turbo V8 Supercar Idles High

2 May 2024, 17:33 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Scott Fisher of C8 Corvette Owners (And Friends) recently came across three camouflaged ZR1 prototypes. A short video captured by Scott reveals a relatively high idle after startup, as well as the aural qualities of a flat-plane crankshaft V8 engin...

 
BMW Recalls MINI Cooper SE Over Potential Battery Damage From Water Intrusion
BMW Recalls MINI Cooper SE Over Potential Battery Damage From Water Intrusion

2 May 2024, 16:54 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A small number of MINI Hardtop 2-Door Cooper SE vehicles produced for the 2021 through 2023 model years for the US market have been hit with a safety recall. According to BMW of North America, the high-voltage battery housing may not have been impr...

 
Tuscadero Paint Color Adds $895 to the Final Price of the 2024 Jeep Gladiator
Tuscadero Paint Color Adds $895 to the Final Price of the 2024 Jeep Gladiator

2 May 2024, 15:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Following in the footsteps of the Wrangler, the Gladiator is now available in Tuscadero as well. The $895 paint color is an eye-catching magenta that joins another new-for-2024 paint color, that being the $595 Anvil. The 2024 Jeep Gladiator'...

 
Alfa Romeo Giulia Recalled Over Potential Fuel Leak From Fuel Line Sensor Housing
Alfa Romeo Giulia Recalled Over Potential Fuel Leak From Fuel Line Sensor Housing

2 May 2024, 14:48 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A small number of Giulia sedans have been produced for the US market with a fuel line sensor housing prone to cracking. The suspect vehicles were sold as 2021 models, and their production dates are March 23, 2021 through April 28, 2021. FCA US L...

 
Ford Recalls Transit Connect Over Detaching Panoramic Roof Panel
Ford Recalls Transit Connect Over Detaching Panoramic Roof Panel

1 May 2024, 20:46 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Back in September 2016, the Ford Motor Company recalled a number of 2014 Ford Transit Connect for panoramic roof panels that may detach while driving. The Dearborn-based automaker issued yet another safety recall over the very same problem in May 2...

 
2025 BMW X5 Earns Top Safety Pick Accolade, Headlight Performance Deemed Acceptable
2025 BMW X5 Earns Top Safety Pick Accolade, Headlight Performance Deemed Acceptable

1 May 2024, 20:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Facelifted in early 2023 for the 2024 model year, the X5 has been recently tested by Virginia-based nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The mid-size luxury sport utility vehicle performed as expected in the crashworthiness tests, whic...

 
Ferrari F167 Rendering Proposes 812 Successor With 365 GTB/4 Daytona-Inspired Front End
Ferrari F167 Rendering Proposes 812 Successor With 365 GTB/4 Daytona-Inspired Front End

1 May 2024, 19:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As you're well aware, Il Commendatore used to race for Alfa Romeo prior to 1932, after Alfredo was born. He founded Scuderia Ferrari back in 1929, yet Ferrari the automaker would have to until the 1940s. The very first automobile to be produce...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait