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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 Infiniti QX80 Coming With Available High-End Headrest Speakers From Klipsch
2025 Infiniti QX80 Coming With Available High-End Headrest Speakers From Klipsch

12 Mar 2024, 00:19 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The all-new QX80 is edging closer to its March 20 premiere. A step forward in terms of attention to detail and technology, the posher sibling of the Armada has been confirmed with headrest-integrated speakers for the front occupants. The picture...

 
Bugatti CEO Teases Hybrid V16-Powered Chiron Successor, Could Pack 2,000 Horsepower
Bugatti CEO Teases Hybrid V16-Powered Chiron Successor, Could Pack 2,000 Horsepower

11 Mar 2024, 23:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Founded by Ettore Bugatti in 1909, ultra-luxury automaker Bugatti made a name for itself with its road cars, but came to prominence with its racing cars. The French automaker's original incarnation ceased to exist in 1952, only for Italian bus...

 
Faraday Future FF 91 Hit With First Recall, OTA Software Update Will Fix Recall Condition
Faraday Future FF 91 Hit With First Recall, OTA Software Update Will Fix Recall Condition

11 Mar 2024, 21:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Faraday Future can be summed up as nearly $4 billion in losses over almost 10 years. Few peeps gave this company a chance, and fewer believe that Faraday Future will survive into 2025 without a substantial cash infusion. As if the current situation...

 
Rumor: 2025 Nissan GT-R Will Be R35 Generation's Last Hurrah
Rumor: 2025 Nissan GT-R Will Be R35 Generation's Last Hurrah

11 Mar 2024, 21:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As far as performance-oriented vehicles are concerned, nothing can match the sheer age of the R35. Deliveries for the Japanese market kicked off in December 2007, meaning that Nissan's halo model is 16 going on 17 years old. Insane, isn't...

 
Nissan Versa 6MT Under Investigation for Going Into Limp Mode After an Engine Stall
Nissan Versa 6MT Under Investigation for Going Into Limp Mode After an Engine Stall

11 Mar 2024, 19:14 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Nissan has been hit with a preliminary evaluation for no fewer than 20 complaints and multiple field reports alleging reduced power after an engine stall in the manual-equipped Versa. The NHTSA believes that 2,000 vehicles produced for model years ...

 
2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Dyno Test Reveals Great Baseline Numbers
2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Dyno Test Reveals Great Baseline Numbers

11 Mar 2024, 18:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Arguably the most polarizing Corvette of all time, the E-Ray is the first-ever production 'Vette with all-wheel drive and hybrid assistance. In the so-called Stealth Mode, which allows the E-Ray to be driven on electric power for three to four...

 
The 2019 to 2022 Honda Passport and Insight Are Under Investigation for Phantom Braking
The 2019 to 2022 Honda Passport and Insight Are Under Investigation for Phantom Braking

11 Mar 2024, 17:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is aware of 46 complaints alleging inadvertent automatic emergency braking activation in the 2019 to 2022 Honda Passport and Insight. As per the federal watchdog, the Office of Defects Investigatio...

 
Nissan Recalls 2024 Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 for Unsecured Lap Belt Pretensioner
Nissan Recalls 2024 Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 for Unsecured Lap Belt Pretensioner

11 Mar 2024, 16:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Slotted just below the body-on-frame Armada and QX80, the unibody Pathfinder and QX60 have been hit with a safety recall. No fewer than 12,019 vehicles produced for the 2024 model year are believed to have been produced with improperly secured driv...

 
2026 BMW iX3 Neue Klasse Shows a Tad of Rear-Wheel Steering
2026 BMW iX3 Neue Klasse Shows a Tad of Rear-Wheel Steering

11 Mar 2024, 16:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / BMW might be putting the finishing touches on the all-new X3 for late 2024 as a 2025 model, but the Munich-based automaker is also working on a completely electric sibling. Enter the iX3, a rear-biased crossover underpinned by the company's mu...

 
Upcoming BMW M Quad-Motor EV Spied Cold-Weather Testing With M3 CS Grille, i4 Bodyshell
Upcoming BMW M Quad-Motor EV Spied Cold-Weather Testing With M3 CS Grille, i4 Bodyshell

11 Mar 2024, 15:05 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / August 2022 saw BMW unleash the Ultimate Driving Machine of the future in the form of a quad-motor EV based on the i4 M50. Gifted with the sportier kidney grille of the M3 CS, the newcomer is believed to hit the market in 2027 with a megawatt of el...

 
Best Gas Mileage Cars, SUVs, and Trucks in the US (As of 2024)
Best Gas Mileage Cars, SUVs, and Trucks in the US (As of 2024)

10 Mar 2024, 21:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / This year, the most fuel-efficient car available new in the United States market returns up to 57 miles per gallon (4.1 liters per 100 kilometers) on the combined test cycle. But what about the types of vehicles that are especially popular in this ...

 
Toyota GR Corolla Drag Races Volkswagen Golf R, Sadly Doesn't Cut It
Toyota GR Corolla Drag Races Volkswagen Golf R, Sadly Doesn't Cut It

10 Mar 2024, 03:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / By definition, hot hatchbacks are immensely fun in the twisties. They're also rewarding at relatively normal speeds, allowing the driver to get closer to the limit than say a Corvette Z06 or a Cayman GT4 without getting a ticket or ending up w...

 
Ford Performance Coyote Gen 4 Aluminator Crate Engine Costs $15K, Two Versions Available
Ford Performance Coyote Gen 4 Aluminator Crate Engine Costs $15K, Two Versions Available

10 Mar 2024, 03:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In production since 2010 for the 2011 model year, the 5.0-liter Coyote V8 was updated for the 2024 model year Mustang. The biggest change over the Gen 3 Coyote is the introduction of dual throttle bodies. The fourth-generation Coyote further sports...

 
2024 Toyota Tacoma 1.5-Inch Leveling Kit From Rough Country Will Set You Back $99.95
2024 Toyota Tacoma 1.5-Inch Leveling Kit From Rough Country Will Set You Back $99.95

9 Mar 2024, 03:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Rough Country has introduced a front leveling kit for the all-new Tacoma, with said kit comprising two steel upper strut spacers, studs, and nuts. Produced in Tennessee, the 1.5-inch leveling kit isn't compatible with the Trailhunter and TRD P...

 
Rendering: Maserati MC20 All-Terrain Spec Challenges the 911 Dakar and Huracan Sterrato
Rendering: Maserati MC20 All-Terrain Spec Challenges the 911 Dakar and Huracan Sterrato

9 Mar 2024, 03:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The MC20 is anything but a direct successor to the fabulous MC12. Powered by a twin-turbo V6 rather than a free-breathing V12, the Italian automaker's carbon-tubbed supercar also has a plethora of critics. For starters, Maserati somehow dev...

 
2026 Mercedes-AMG CLA EV Spied Cold-Weather Testing, Sports Concept CLA Class Design Cues
2026 Mercedes-AMG CLA EV Spied Cold-Weather Testing, Sports Concept CLA Class Design Cues

9 Mar 2024, 02:50 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Amid cooling demand for EVs, the big kahuna of Mercedes warned that price parity between electric vehicles and internal combustion vehicles won't be attained in the near future. Considering that Merc previously bragged about going fully electr...

 
Next DS Flagship Spied With Sloping Roofline, STLA Medium-Based Model Is 100% Electric
Next DS Flagship Spied With Sloping Roofline, STLA Medium-Based Model Is 100% Electric

9 Mar 2024, 01:14 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / DS Automobiles, the premium-oriented marque created by PSA in June 2014, is currently testing what appears to be a crossover-inspired sedan. The newcomer is expected replace the brand's current flagship, namely the China-built DS 9 midsizer. ...

 
TFL's 2024 Toyota Tacoma Confirmed To Have Suffered Front Differential ADD Failure
TFL's 2024 Toyota Tacoma Confirmed To Have Suffered Front Differential ADD Failure

8 Mar 2024, 23:24 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Fast Lane's Roman Mica and Andre Smirnov took delivery of a 2024 Toyota Tacoma in February 2024. Less than a month later, while they were off-roading in sub-zero conditions, Roman heard a loud pop. The resulting 4WD system failure resulted...

 
Mercedes Recalls Certain G 550 and G 63 SUVs to Replace the Flammable Refrigerant
Mercedes Recalls Certain G 550 and G 63 SUVs to Replace the Flammable Refrigerant

8 Mar 2024, 21:27 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / R134a succeeded R12 almost 30 years ago due to the latter's potential for damaging the ozone layer. In recent years, certain automakers turned to R1234yf. Although it's better for the environment, R1234yf is a flammable refrigerant. Merce...

 
2024 Honda Prologue Starts at $39,900 After the $7,500 Federal Tax Credit for EVs
2024 Honda Prologue Starts at $39,900 After the $7,500 Federal Tax Credit for EVs

8 Mar 2024, 20:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Japanese automaker Honda confirmed that all specifications of the 2024 Prologue qualify for the federal tax credit. Reducing one's tax burden by $7,500 means $39,900 for the EX Single Motor as opposed to the suggested retail price of $47,400. ...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait