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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.
2024 Dodge Charger Coupe vs 2023 Dodge Challenger Comparison: Big Changes Ahead
2024 Dodge Charger Coupe vs 2023 Dodge Challenger Comparison: Big Changes Ahead

5 Mar 2024, 21:15 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / It's hard to accept the Challenger isn't coming back anytime soon, and it's harder still to come to terms with the lack of eight-cylinder powertrain options for the new Charger. Available in three- and five-door guises, the newcomer ...

 
2025 Dodge Charger Sedan vs 2023 Dodge Charger Comparison: Moving the Yardstick
2025 Dodge Charger Sedan vs 2023 Dodge Charger Comparison: Moving the Yardstick

5 Mar 2024, 19:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / More than 4.3 million units of the L-platform Charger, Challenger, and 300 were produced between 2004 and 2023 at the Brampton Assembly Plant in Canada. During this period, Chrysler was known as DaimlerChrysler, Chrysler LLC, the Chrysler Group, Fi...

 
Ferrari Continues Testing 812 Replacement, Upcoming F167 Expected With 838 HP
Ferrari Continues Testing 812 Replacement, Upcoming F167 Expected With 838 HP

5 Mar 2024, 16:37 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Ferrari closed the order books for the 812 Superfast and 812 GTS in February 2022. Internally referred to as F152M, the flagship V12 grand tourer will be replaced at the beginning of May 2024 by a more powerful successor, internally referred to as ...

 
2024 Toyota Sequoia Races Land Rover Defender and GMC Yukon, It's Over in 14 Seconds
2024 Toyota Sequoia Races Land Rover Defender and GMC Yukon, It's Over in 14 Seconds

5 Mar 2024, 14:32 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Closely related to the Tundra pickup truck, the Sequoia comes with hybrid assistance by default. With 437 horsepower and 583 pound-feet (790 Nm) at its disposal, the body-on-frame sport utility vehicle should be relatively fast over the quarter. ...

 
Nissan Reduces Ariya EV Prices by up to $6K for MY 2024, Base Grade Starts at $39,590
Nissan Reduces Ariya EV Prices by up to $6K for MY 2024, Base Grade Starts at $39,590

4 Mar 2024, 21:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Closely related to the Renault Megane E-Tech Electric for Europe, the Nissan Ariya has entered the 2024 model year with – surprisingly enough – lower prices in the US market. According to Nissan North America, the compact electric cross...

 
The 2024 BMW XM's Tailgate Panel May Detach While Driving, 267 Vehicles Recalled
The 2024 BMW XM's Tailgate Panel May Detach While Driving, 267 Vehicles Recalled

4 Mar 2024, 18:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Quite polarizing by design, the BMW XM has been hit with a safety recall. As it happens, the Bavarian automaker identified 267 units equipped with tailgate panels that may detach while driving. Due to improper adhesive bonding, the original tailgat...

 
Confirmed: 2025 Infiniti QX80 Gets New 3.5L TT V6, Nine-Speed Automatic Transmission
Confirmed: 2025 Infiniti QX80 Gets New 3.5L TT V6, Nine-Speed Automatic Transmission

4 Mar 2024, 18:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Care to guess which is the least fuel-efficient vehicle in the Infiniti lineup for model year 2024? The answer is QX80, a body-on-frame sport utility vehicle with Armada underpinnings and oily bits. The Z62 rolled out in 2010 for the 2011 model ...

 
Lamborghini Countach Sterrato Rendering Proposes All-Terrain Supercar With NA V12 Muscle
Lamborghini Countach Sterrato Rendering Proposes All-Terrain Supercar With NA V12 Muscle

4 Mar 2024, 17:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Lamborghini has a long and seriously convoluted history of all-terrain vehicles. It all started with the 1977 Cheetah, built on a contract from Mobility Technology International. Turns out MTI blatantly copied the 1970 XR311 from FMC, a military ve...

 
The 2015 – 2016 Hyundai Elantra's Trunk Emergency Release May Fail, 186K Cars Recalled
The 2015 – 2016 Hyundai Elantra's Trunk Emergency Release May Fail, 186K Cars Recalled

4 Mar 2024, 16:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Hyundai Motor America has recalled 186,588 examples of the 2015 to 2016 model year Elantra after identifying a noncompliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 401. As per the South Korean automaker, the trunk latch pawl is prone to contrac...

 
Range Rover Electric SUV Prototype Spied, Low-Slung EV Gives Off Station Wagon Vibes
Range Rover Electric SUV Prototype Spied, Low-Slung EV Gives Off Station Wagon Vibes

4 Mar 2024, 15:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Jaguar Land Rover launched its first battery-electric vehicle in 2018 under the Jaguar brand. Unfortunately, the I-Pace received little in the way of updates in the past six years or so, meaning that it fell behind the competition by a dramatic mar...

 
2020 Kia Telluride Recalled Because Halogen High Beams May Fail
2020 Kia Telluride Recalled Because Halogen High Beams May Fail

4 Mar 2024, 13:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Kia America Inc. has identified an issue affecting a little over 35,000 units of the 2020 model year Telluride. As per documents published by the NHTSA, vehicles equipped with halogen headlights may experience high beam failures due to high beam sh...

 
Lexus, Acura, and Other Asian Luxury Brands Still Going Strong in the US, 30 Years Later
Lexus, Acura, and Other Asian Luxury Brands Still Going Strong in the US, 30 Years Later

3 Mar 2024, 21:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Luxury automobiles can trace their roots back to the late 1800s, an era during which the self-propelled carriage targeted the most affluent of people. The luxury car segment took a turn for the mainstream in the period after Oldsmobile introduced t...

 
2025 Porsche 718 Boxster EV Shows Production Headlights and Taillights in Latest Spy Pics
2025 Porsche 718 Boxster EV Shows Production Headlights and Taillights in Latest Spy Pics

2 Mar 2024, 00:17 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Porsche has big plans for its model range going forward. Electrified vehicles will play an increasingly vital role in the lineup due to increasingly stringent emission and fuel economy regulations. The Macan comes to mind, a sporty crossover that b...

 
Feds Investigate Chrysler Pacifica PHEV Recall Remedy
Feds Investigate Chrysler Pacifica PHEV Recall Remedy

1 Mar 2024, 23:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Back in July 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation opened a preliminary evaluation into the Chrysler Pacifica PHEV over complaints alleging a loss of motive power due to a transmission malfunction. FCA US LLC recalled the 2017 to 2023 Chrysler ...

 
Tuned BMW M5 CS Drag Races Tuned BMW M3 Touring, Traction Not Found
Tuned BMW M5 CS Drag Races Tuned BMW M3 Touring, Traction Not Found

1 Mar 2024, 21:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As of March 2024, the most powerful series-production BMW is the 738-hp XM Label plug-in hybrid sport utility vehicle. When it comes to purely internal combustion models, the M5 CS is king of the hill. Its twin-turbo V8 pushes out 627 horsepower fr...

 
Ford Recalls F-150 Lightning Over Improperly Secured High-Voltage Battery
Ford Recalls F-150 Lightning Over Improperly Secured High-Voltage Battery

1 Mar 2024, 20:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Dearborn's favorite son has issued a safety recall for 216 units of the F-150 Lightning. More specifically, 2023 models produced at the Rouge EV assembly plant from October 31, 2022 to August 2, 2023. The recall condition is loose or missin...

 
2025 Infiniti QX80 Rendered With Concept Design Cues, Real Thing Coming March 20
2025 Infiniti QX80 Rendered With Concept Design Cues, Real Thing Coming March 20

1 Mar 2024, 19:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In three weeks, Infiniti will unleash the next-generation QX80 with a completely different engine from the naturally aspirated V8 of the 2024 model. Previewed by the QX Monograph concept last year, the body-on-frame sport utility vehicle sports a t...

 
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee Recalled Over Improperly Machined Steering Knuckle
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee Recalled Over Improperly Machined Steering Knuckle

1 Mar 2024, 18:38 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / It's been a rough week for FCA US LLC in terms of safety recalls, but even more so for the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Previously recalled to the tune of 338,238 vehicles for potentially damaged upper control arm pinch bolts, the mid-sized sport util...

 
Ford Recalls Bronco Vehicles Equipped With Hard Tops Due to Detaching Rear Glass Panels
Ford Recalls Bronco Vehicles Equipped With Hard Tops Due to Detaching Rear Glass Panels

29 Feb 2024, 21:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Ford Motor Company sold 105,665 units of the Bronco last year in the United States of America, of which 7,527 examples have been hit with a recall. Optioned with hard tops, the suspect vehicles were produced at the Wayne-based Michigan Assembly...

 
Acceleration Test: Nissan Skyline NISMO Takes on BMW M3 Competition and Lexus IS 500
Acceleration Test: Nissan Skyline NISMO Takes on BMW M3 Competition and Lexus IS 500

29 Feb 2024, 20:56 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / On paper, the BMW M3 Competition xDrive is quicker from zero to 100 kilometers per hour (make that 62 miles per hour) than both the Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance and Nissan Skyline NISMO. Real-world testing didn't get even close to the adve...

 

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