autoevolution
 

Mircea Panait

20,321  ARTICLES

Personal motto:

"If in doubt, flat out." - Colin McRae

Senior Contributor
editor photo
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.
Ford Recalls the Escape Crossover for Misaligned Cruise Control Radar Module
Ford Recalls the Escape Crossover for Misaligned Cruise Control Radar Module

26 Jun 2024, 01:15 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Ford Motor Company has identified an issue plaguing a small number of Escape sport utility vehicles. The crossovers in question were produced for the 2023 and 2024 model years between April 19, 2023 and November 9, 2023, with MY23 marking the mid-c...

 
Plug-In Hybrid 2025 BMW M5 Debuts With 717 HP, It's Slower Than Previous-Gen M5
Plug-In Hybrid 2025 BMW M5 Debuts With 717 HP, It's Slower Than Previous-Gen M5

26 Jun 2024, 00:26 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The seventh-generation BMW M5 is here with M Hybrid power comprising a twin-turbo V8 and a single electric motor integrated into the ZF-supplied automatic transmission. Scheduled to make its dynamic debut at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the...

 
Rivian "Recalls" the R1S and R1T for Incorrect Weight Capacity on the Tire Placard Label
Rivian "Recalls" the R1S and R1T for Incorrect Weight Capacity on the Tire Placard Label

25 Jun 2024, 22:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Rivian Automotive has identified a rather small problem affecting 666 vehicles produced for the 2022 and 2023 model years. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the recall population doesn't comp...

 
McLaren's Upcoming Electric Supercar Will Have "That Perfect McLaren Feeling"
McLaren's Upcoming Electric Supercar Will Have "That Perfect McLaren Feeling"

25 Jun 2024, 22:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As you're well aware, Ferrari will debut its first-ever production battery-electric vehicle in 2025 for model year 2026. Rival automaker McLaren Automotive wants in on the action as well, with chief executive Michael Leiters offering a status ...

 
Land Rover and Range Rover SUVs Recalled for Oil Filter Housing That May Crack
Land Rover and Range Rover SUVs Recalled for Oil Filter Housing That May Crack

25 Jun 2024, 20:46 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Jaguar Land Rover North America has issued a recall for 1,995 sport utility vehicles produced for the 2024 model year from November 28, 2023 through February 26, 2024. As it happens, the incorrect specification of plastic was used to manufacture th...

 
McLaren SUV Could Potentially Feature BMW Platform
McLaren SUV Could Potentially Feature BMW Platform

25 Jun 2024, 19:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / McLaren had to sell the Applied Technologies division back in 2020, followed by the headquarters in 2021, to remain financially stable. Mumtalakat, which is the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, controls the McLaren Group since March 2024. Under th...

 
Tesla Cybertruck Windshield Wiper May Fail, Recall Comprises 11,688 Vehicles
Tesla Cybertruck Windshield Wiper May Fail, Recall Comprises 11,688 Vehicles

25 Jun 2024, 17:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Cybertruck is a rather – shall we say – interesting truck in many respects. For example, it features a single wiper that measures a tremendous 62 inches, which is 157 centimeters in metric. Based on a recently published report on th...

 
LaFerrari-Replacing 2025 Ferrari F250 Due Soon, Says Vice Chairman Piero Ferrari
LaFerrari-Replacing 2025 Ferrari F250 Due Soon, Says Vice Chairman Piero Ferrari

25 Jun 2024, 17:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / How Soon Is Now? by The Smiths is – hands down – one of the greatest songs ever recorded, partly due to Morrissey's delivery and Marr's guitar work. A similar question applies to the successor of the LaFerrari, which – a...

 
Tesla Recalls the Cybertruck for Loose Trunk Bed Trim Sail Applique
Tesla Recalls the Cybertruck for Loose Trunk Bed Trim Sail Applique

25 Jun 2024, 16:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The butt joke of the battery-electric truck world has been hit with a safety recall affecting 11,383 vehicles produced in the period from November 13, 2023 through May 26, 2024. Turns out the cosmetic applique along the exterior trunk bed trim, whi...

 
Porsche Recalls 2020 – 2025 Taycan Electric Sedans Over Brake Hoses That May Crack
Porsche Recalls 2020 – 2025 Taycan Electric Sedans Over Brake Hoses That May Crack

25 Jun 2024, 15:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Porsche Cars North America recall ARB0 concerns all Taycan electric sedans produced from October 21, 2019 through June 13, 2024 for the United States market, including a number of facelifted 2025 models. All of these vehicles feature VINs beginning...

 
2014 Ford F-150 Recalled Over Unexpected Downshift Into First Gear, 552,000 Units Affected
2014 Ford F-150 Recalled Over Unexpected Downshift Into First Gear, 552,000 Units Affected

25 Jun 2024, 14:25 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Ford Motor Company has identified an iffy powertrain control module calibration affecting the 2014 model year F-150 to the tune of 552,188 pickup trucks. In case of a loss of signal between the output shaft sensor and the powertrain control mod...

 
Ford Delays 2025 Bronco Sport and Maverick Shipments for Additional Quality Checks
Ford Delays 2025 Bronco Sport and Maverick Shipments for Additional Quality Checks

24 Jun 2024, 23:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Back in May 2023, during the 68th Annual Meeting of Shareholders, big kahuna Jim Farley made it clear that quality is job number one at Ford Motor Company. To this effect, Dearborn's favorite son implemented a build-and-hold campaign for the 2...

 
Modern GMC Jimmy With Sierra 1500 AT4 Underpinnings Is One Sweet Conversion
Modern GMC Jimmy With Sierra 1500 AT4 Underpinnings Is One Sweet Conversion

24 Jun 2024, 20:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Remember the Jimmy? That body-on-frame icon was GMC's take on the Chevrolet K5 Blazer, an off-road SUV sporting a full convertible top until model year 1975. The Jimmy we're covering today isn’t a restomod, but rather a modern-day G...

 
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV Dealer Launch Postponed To Address Electrical Issues
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV Dealer Launch Postponed To Address Electrical Issues

24 Jun 2024, 19:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Dodge revealed the all-new Charger Daytona in March 2024, highlighting that summer 2024 is when the first unit would arrive in dealer showrooms. According to dealer sources, the dealer launch of the zero-emission muscle car has been pushed back som...

 
Suzuki Reportedly Developing New Cappuccino With Toyota-Sourced 1.3L Turbo Engine
Suzuki Reportedly Developing New Cappuccino With Toyota-Sourced 1.3L Turbo Engine

24 Jun 2024, 19:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Suzuki produced a kei-sized roadster between 1991 and 1998, that kei car being the Cappuccino. Just over 28,000 were produced, of which a handful were imported to the United States under the 25-year import rule that waives the safety and emission r...

 
2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Manual Confirmed, Will Debut June 25
2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Manual Confirmed, Will Debut June 25

24 Jun 2024, 18:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Rowing your own is a thing of the past for many automakers, with manuals being replaced by fast-shifting DCTs and torque-converter autos. Over at Volkswagen, the German automaker offers two models with a manual tranny as of June 2024, those being t...

 
Heavily Modified Toyota GR Yaris Times Three Drag Race Takes Just Over 11 Seconds
Heavily Modified Toyota GR Yaris Times Three Drag Race Takes Just Over 11 Seconds

24 Jun 2024, 17:14 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Jamie Sonuga and the Officially Gassed crew have found three heavily modified examples of the GR Yaris, with outputs ranging from 570 ps (562 hp) to a staggering 700 ps (690 hp). All three had their bone-stock manuals replaced with sequential trann...

 
This 165-Mile 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series Isn't Your Usual Grand Tourer
This 165-Mile 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series Isn't Your Usual Grand Tourer

24 Jun 2024, 15:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / From the very beginning, the AMG-branded GT was more than simply a grand tourer. From the front mid-engine spaceframe chassis derived from that of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG to the quick-shifting transaxle dubbed AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7G, the first-gen...

 
Ford Bronco Raptor Drag Races Explorer ST, Should Have Stayed Put
Ford Bronco Raptor Drag Races Explorer ST, Should Have Stayed Put

24 Jun 2024, 15:36 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Sam CarLegion has recently tested a badass Ford Bronco in the form of the Raptor, which is the most powerful application of the Ford Motor Company's 3.0-liter Nano V6 engine. Derived from the 2.7-liter mill that's available in the Bronco ...

 
Toyota GR Corolla Wagon Masterfully Rendered, Sadly Isn't Feasible
Toyota GR Corolla Wagon Masterfully Rendered, Sadly Isn't Feasible

24 Jun 2024, 14:36 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A very different animal from the regular Corolla hatchback, the GR Corolla rolled out in 2022 for the 2023 model year with a more powerful version of the 1.6-liter turbo three-pot engine introduced by the GR Yaris back in 2020. Produced on a dedica...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait