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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.
Old Fiat 500 Recalled Over TPMS Electronic Control Unit Module Software Issue
Old Fiat 500 Recalled Over TPMS Electronic Control Unit Module Software Issue

28 Jun 2024, 16:16 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / FCA US LLC has identified a problem with Fiat 500 vehicles produced for the 2014 through 2019 model years between July 27, 2013 and February 9, 2019. As it happens, vehicles fitted with specific tire/wheel combinations may have been programmed with...

 
2025 DS 8 Crossback Spied Flaunting Watered-Down Aero Sport Lounge Concept Styling Cues
2025 DS 8 Crossback Spied Flaunting Watered-Down Aero Sport Lounge Concept Styling Cues

27 Jun 2024, 23:05 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Citroen's luxury brand is currently putting the finishing touches on the DS 8 Crossback, which is due this fall as a 2025 model. The French marque's first electric flagship is a mix of sedan and crossover, yet its design language is heavi...

 
2025 Corvette ZR1 Availability To Be Announced After July 25 Debut
2025 Corvette ZR1 Availability To Be Announced After July 25 Debut

27 Jun 2024, 22:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / According to a screenshot posted on MECF, vehicle availability for the C8-generation Corvette ZR1 will be announced at a later date, implying a date after the already confirmed July 25 debut. In said capture, GM also confirmed – for the first...

 
New Cupra Formentor and Leon Now in Production at SEAT's Martorell Plant
New Cupra Formentor and Leon Now in Production at SEAT's Martorell Plant

27 Jun 2024, 20:05 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Previously the motorsport and high-performance vehicle subsidiary of SEAT, the Cupra division is going from strength to strength. To keep the sales momentum going, Cupra has recently facelifted the Formentor and Leon, which are now in production at...

 
Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor Goes Live, First Polestar 3 Customer Vehicles Delivered
Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor Goes Live, First Polestar 3 Customer Vehicles Delivered

27 Jun 2024, 18:20 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / June 27, 2024 is a big day for Polestar. In addition to delivering the first Polestar 3 customer vehicles at the company's headquarters in Sweden, the BEV manufacturer has added the 403-mile Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor to the lineup. ...

 
Ferrari Battery Subscription for Hybrids and EVs Planned, It's Not Exactly Affordable
Ferrari Battery Subscription for Hybrids and EVs Planned, It's Not Exactly Affordable

27 Jun 2024, 17:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Prancing Horse of Maranello plans to launch a battery subscription for its hybrid models and upcoming EVs. First reported by the folks at Bloomberg, the extended warranty service is said to cost around €7,000 per annum. That’s cl...

 
BMW Neue Klasse Cabrio Rendered With Vision Neue Klasse Concept Styling Cues
BMW Neue Klasse Cabrio Rendered With Vision Neue Klasse Concept Styling Cues

27 Jun 2024, 16:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Taking its name from the Neue Klasse coupes and sedans from the 1960s and 1970s, the modern-day Neue Klasse is a platform developed specifically for battery-electric applications. BMW intends to launch the first model based on said architecture nex...

 
Kia Rolls Out 2025 Seltos With Higher Base Price, More Standard Kit
Kia Rolls Out 2025 Seltos With Higher Base Price, More Standard Kit

27 Jun 2024, 15:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Kia America has recently operated a few changes to the Seltos, bringing the small crossover into the 2025 model year. It's better across the board in terms of standard kit, although said equipment comes at higher prices than equivalent 2024s. ...

 
Nissan Recalls the Infiniti M35, M56, Q50, Q70 for Driveshafts That May Break
Nissan Recalls the Infiniti M35, M56, Q50, Q70 for Driveshafts That May Break

27 Jun 2024, 13:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Nissan North America has identified a problem with the driveshafts fitted to older Infiniti sedans produced for the 2011 through 2019 model years. Affected vehicles were specified with two-wheel drive rather than four-wheel drive. Their driveshafts...

 
2025 Ram 1500 RHO Build & Price Is Live, TRX Successor Features Seven Paint Choices
2025 Ram 1500 RHO Build & Price Is Live, TRX Successor Features Seven Paint Choices

27 Jun 2024, 02:27 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Introduced as a 2019 model, the DT-generation Ram 1500 was treated to a mid-cycle refresh for 2025. The latest member to join the party is the so-called RHO, which is essentially a V8-less TRX. Now available to configure, this 3.0L twin-turbo I6 tr...

 
Mercedes-AMG ONE Almost Maxes Out During Autobahn Top Speed Run
Mercedes-AMG ONE Almost Maxes Out During Autobahn Top Speed Run

27 Jun 2024, 01:21 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Codenamed R50 and previewed by the Project One concept, AMG's most ludicrous car yet is a very special thing. Not because it's produced in the United Kingdom rather than Germany. There is a precedent in this regard with the SLR McLaren, w...

 
2025 Ferrari F250 Twin-Turbo V6 Hybrid Hypercar Spied Testing With Sticky Michelin Rubber
2025 Ferrari F250 Twin-Turbo V6 Hybrid Hypercar Spied Testing With Sticky Michelin Rubber

26 Jun 2024, 21:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / What do the Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari 458 Speciale, and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series have in common? They all feature V8 muscle, and they all come with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires from the factory. Based on these spy photos, the Pranci...

 
Certain Jaguar F-Pace SUVs Recalled for Potential Engine Compartment Fire
Certain Jaguar F-Pace SUVs Recalled for Potential Engine Compartment Fire

26 Jun 2024, 20:42 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / 2024 is a pretty sad year for Jaguar enthusiasts. Not only did the British automaker discontinue its XE, XF, and F-Type models, but come late 2024, the brand's current utility vehicles will follow suit as Jaguar gears up for the EV-only future...

 
2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV Lease Options Include Very Tempting Hydrogen Fuel Credits
2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV Lease Options Include Very Tempting Hydrogen Fuel Credits

26 Jun 2024, 20:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The CR-V e:FCEV is a fuel-cell sport utility vehicle that you cannot buy. However, prospective customers are presented with lease options that include hydrogen fuel credits. $389 per month for six years and $2,889 due at signing is the longest p...

 
Modified Isuzu D-Max Drag Truck Races BMW M340i xDrive, Turbo Diesel Power Prevails
Modified Isuzu D-Max Drag Truck Races BMW M340i xDrive, Turbo Diesel Power Prevails

26 Jun 2024, 19:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Tang and company are back with a new quarter-mile showdown, which sees a bone-stock BMW M340i xDrive luxury sedan duke it out against an old yet modified Isuzu D-Max pickup truck. According to CSL AutoTime's host, said truck is a 2012 model th...

 
The Audi e-tron GT's Front Brake Hoses May Crack, Almost 10,000 Vehicles Recalled
The Audi e-tron GT's Front Brake Hoses May Crack, Almost 10,000 Vehicles Recalled

26 Jun 2024, 19:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After Porsche recalled 31,689 units of the all-electric Taycan for brake hoses that may crack and leak fluid onto the road, Audi issued a recall over the very same problem. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin...

 
Volkswagen Recalls the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport for Potentially Deactivated Airbag
Volkswagen Recalls the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport for Potentially Deactivated Airbag

26 Jun 2024, 16:37 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Revealed in November 2017 for the 2018 model year, the Atlas is Volkswagen's largest crossover for North America. Refreshed for model year 2021, then again for 2024, the mid-size utility vehicle has been hit with a recall that also comprises t...

 
2025 BMW M5 Touring Masterfully Rendered, 717-HP Sports Wagon Coming Late 2024
2025 BMW M5 Touring Masterfully Rendered, 717-HP Sports Wagon Coming Late 2024

26 Jun 2024, 15:52 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The G99 will be M's third wagon after the six-cylinder E34 and the V10-engined E61. Following the debut of the G90, the Bavarian automaker confirmed that its next M5 Touring will have its market launch in November 2024 as well. The Dingolfing ...

 
Stage 2 BMW M340i xDrive Drag Races Porsche Taycan Turbo S, Silent Victory Ensues
Stage 2 BMW M340i xDrive Drag Races Porsche Taycan Turbo S, Silent Victory Ensues

26 Jun 2024, 15:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Thailand's CSL AutoTime returns with a rather exciting quarter-mile showdown between a punchy internal combustion-engined sedan and a punchier electric sedan. Enter the pre-facelift M340i xDrive and pre-facelift Taycan Turbo S, two vehicles th...

 
GM Recalls Cadillac XT5 and XT6 Crossovers for Instrument Cluster Software Issue
GM Recalls Cadillac XT5 and XT6 Crossovers for Instrument Cluster Software Issue

26 Jun 2024, 13:40 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The front-biased XT5 and the mechanically similar XT6 have been hit with a recall over instrument cluster software that – under certain conditions – prevents the indicator lights for the turn signals, high beams, and hazard warning flas...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait