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.
Mercedes Recalls E-Class, CLS, and GT 4-Door Coupe for Potentially Loose 48V Ground Cable
19 Feb 2024, 18:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Mercedes-Benz USA has issued a recall concerning 12,191 vehicles that share the MRA I platform. The list begins with the E 450 All-Terrain, E 450, and E 53 versions of the 213-series Executive Class. The remainder comprises the CLS 450, CLS 53, GT ...
2025 Lamborghini Urus PHEV Spied With Revised Signature Lighting
19 Feb 2024, 18:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Urus may not be Lamborghini's first SUV, but it certainly is the most commercially successful product in the Raging Bull's current lineup. The Italian automaker from Sant'Agata Bolognese cracked 10,000 sales last year, and the Ur...
Fisker Ocean EV Investigated Over Complaints Alleging Unintended Vehicle Movement
19 Feb 2024, 17:18 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If you're in the market for a long-range crossover with electric muscle rather than a combustion engine or a hybrid setup, the Fisker Ocean is a good choice. However, the zero-emission crossover is currently under investigation for multiple co...
Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe and Wrangler 4xe Recalled for Software Error, 200K Units Affected
19 Feb 2024, 16:14 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / FCA US LLC determined that 199,143 vehicles from the Jeep brand may have been produced with an incorrectly programmed hybrid control processor. As implied, the affected vehicles are plug-in hybrids. The software error disables the windshield's...
R35 Nissan GT-R Drag Races C8 Corvette Stingray Z51, Old Dog's Still Got It
18 Feb 2024, 14:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / It's hard to believe how old the R35 is. Revealed at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, the first standalone GT-R was a rocket ship on wheels back then. Few series-production vehicles could get close to Nissan's halo car, which came with a dual-c...
More Than 90,000 Hyundai Genesis Vehicles Recalled Over Fire Risk
17 Feb 2024, 20:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Hyundai has issued a safety recall for nearly 91,000 vehicles due to a fire risk caused by an electric short. As it happens, the starter solenoid in the subject vehicles could be contaminated with water, resulting in an electrical short while drivi...
Singer Vehicle Design's 300th Restomod Is This Achingly Beautiful 1990 Porsche 911 Targa
16 Feb 2024, 21:25 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Not to be confused with the sewing machine manufacturer or the British motor vehicle manufacturer, Singer is a Los Angeles-based firm that specializes in 964-gen 911 restomods. Founded in 2009, the company is called Singer Vehicle Design after Germ...
GM Recalls 2011 – 2012 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Tahoe, Suburban Over Airbag Issue
16 Feb 2024, 19:29 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The largest automaker in the United States of America has recalled a handful of 2011 to 2012 model year Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Tahoe, and Suburban vehicles due to improperly manufactured airbag inflators. The driver airbag modules in question we...
987-HP Brabus Rocket 1000 "1 of 25" Edition Belts Out More Torque Than HD Trucks
16 Feb 2024, 18:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A vehicle manufacturer accredited with the German Federal Motor Transport Authority rather than a mere tuner, Brabus rolled out a hybrid sedan with a staggering 1,000 metric ponies on deck from a plug-in hybrid twin-turbo V8 powertrain. The 987-hp ...
2024 Hyundai Palisade Recall Issued Over Incorrectly Manufactured Valve Springs
16 Feb 2024, 16:16 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Twinned with the Kia Telluride, yet manufactured in South Korea rather than the United States of America, the Hyundai Palisade has been hit with a safety recall. Valve springs produced by South Korean supplier Daewonkangup may have been damaged dur...
Bugatti Recalls 156 Chiron Hypercars in the United States for a Minor Compliance Issue
16 Feb 2024, 15:15 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A genre-defining automobile, the Bugatti Veyron was replaced by the Chiron at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. Although the Volkswagen Group-owned French automaker promised to assemble no more than 500 units, the Profilée took the grand total to ...
First EX VIN 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Reportedly Produced at Bowling Green Assembly
15 Feb 2024, 20:05 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Earlier this month, the National Corvette Museum suspended assembly plant tours at the Corvette's production facility due to manufacturing advancements. According to MidEngineCorvetteForum admin and co-founder John, the assembly line has been ...
GM Recalls Chevrolet Silverado EV Due to Safety Concern
15 Feb 2024, 19:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV production kicked off last year, with General Motors delivering a grand total of 443 units last year. As if the slow production rate wasn't bad enough, the Silverado EV is currently limited to commercial and fleet c...
Lucid Recalls Air Electric Sedan Over Software Error Causing a Sudden Loss of Motive Power
15 Feb 2024, 18:19 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The closest rival to the Tesla Model S there is has been hit with a safety recall. Documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal that Lucid has identified an error in software versions 2.1.2 through 2.1.26, with sai...
Lamborghini Spied Testing Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano
15 Feb 2024, 16:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Automobili Lamborghini wouldn't be a thing had Enzo Ferrari not been a bit rude to Ferruccio Lamborghini. Rivals for more than six decades, the Prancing Horse of Maranello and the Raging Bull of Sant'Agata Bolognese also happen to take in...
Honda Ridgeline Rearview Camera Failures Prompt NHTSA Investigation
15 Feb 2024, 14:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Ridgeline is the largest unibody truck you can buy in the United States of America. Pricier yet better in terms of towing and payload than its compact-sized peers, the Ridgeline has come under scrutiny over 27 reports of rearview camera failure...
Honda Civic Type R vs Toyota GR Corolla vs Leon VZx vs i30 N Drag Race Isn't Exactly Fair
15 Feb 2024, 12:26 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Two manual-equipped hot hatchbacks against two with dual-clutch transmissions. Three front-wheel-drive hot hatchbacks with four-cylinder engines against one with all-wheel drive and a three-pot turbo. As the headline implies, CarExpert's lates...
2025 Nissan Navara Rendered With Interstar Styling Cues, Features Mitsubishi Underpinnings
15 Feb 2024, 11:05 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Originally a compact-sized pickup, the Navara entered the mid-size truck segment in 2004 with the D40. Joined at the hip with the Frontier for the US market, the Navara was updated yet again in 2014. Referred to as D23, the current generation al...
Volvo P1800 Cyan Restomod Gets New GT Option, Still Weighs Under 1,000 Kilograms
15 Feb 2024, 09:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Singer Vehicle Design made a name for itself with its unbelievably comprehensive restomodded 911s. The folks at Cyan Racing specialize in the bite-the-back-of-your-hand pretty Volvo P1800, which is only natural given that Cyan Racing used to be Vol...
Lingenfelter Magnuson Supercharger Adds 150+ RWHP to GM's Truck-Based SUVs
14 Feb 2024, 20:22 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As you're well aware, General Motors currently sells truck-based sport utility vehicles under its Cadillac, GMC, and Chevrolet brands. For some reason or another, only the Caddy has been treated to a supercharged performance version. The good ...