autoevolution
 

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.
Ford F-Series Super Duty Crowned 2024 North American Truck of the Year
Ford F-Series Super Duty Crowned 2024 North American Truck of the Year

4 Jan 2024, 21:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In the heavy-duty truck segment, the Ford Motor Company is in a league of its own with the F-Series Super Duty. Introduced back in September 2022, this generation of the Super Duty has received the highly coveted North American Truck of the Year aw...

 
The Toyota GR86 Is America's Favorite Affordable Sports Car
The Toyota GR86 Is America's Favorite Affordable Sports Car

4 Jan 2024, 19:29 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Manufactured by Subaru at the Ota assembly plant in the Gunma Prefecture, the BRZ-twinned Toyota GR86 outsold the Subaru-branded sibling and the Mazda MX-5 in the United States market. According to Toyota, the GR86 moved 11,078 units in 2023. Su...

 
Audi Recalls Q7 and Q8 Vehicles Due to Improperly Mounted Driver's Seat Airbag
Audi Recalls Q7 and Q8 Vehicles Due to Improperly Mounted Driver's Seat Airbag

4 Jan 2024, 18:23 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Back in 2023, the folks at Faurecia merged with Hella to create a new company. The resulting Forvia supplies the Volkswagen Group with driver's seat airbags for the Audi Q7 and Q8, airbags that may have been incorrectly mounted into the seatba...

 
2025 Volkswagen Golf 8.5 Debut Is Only "a Few Weeks Away"
2025 Volkswagen Golf 8.5 Debut Is Only "a Few Weeks Away"

4 Jan 2024, 17:39 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / May 2024 will mark half a century since Volkswagen presented the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed Golf in May 1974. Series production of the Beetle's hatchback-bodied successor started in March 1974, and to date, more than 37 million examples have ...

 
Ford Recalls F-150 Over Rear Axle Hub Bolt That May Break, Fix Not Yet Available
Ford Recalls F-150 Over Rear Axle Hub Bolt That May Break, Fix Not Yet Available

4 Jan 2024, 16:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / America's favorite pickup has been recalled yet again. Under NHTSA campaign number 23V-896, the Dearborn-based automaker intends to repair a grand total of 112,965 examples of the F-150, namely vehicles produced for the 2021 to 2023 model year...

 
Daimler Vans USA Recalls 2019 – 2023 Sprinter Over Three Issues
Daimler Vans USA Recalls 2019 – 2023 Sprinter Over Three Issues

3 Jan 2024, 21:41 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Assembled in the United States from complete knock-down kits, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has been hit with a whopping three recalls encompassing 3,775 examples produced for the 2019 to 2023 model years. The largest of the bunch, namely 23V-875, com...

 
Mercedes-AMG GT Drag Races Mercedes-AMG C 63, Twin-Turbo V8 Brawl Ends as Expected
Mercedes-AMG GT Drag Races Mercedes-AMG C 63, Twin-Turbo V8 Brawl Ends as Expected

3 Jan 2024, 20:22 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The AMG GT rolled out in 2014 as the successor to the AMG SLS. Manufactured in Sindelfingen exclusively, the C190 and its open-top sibling – the R190 – ended production in 2023 due to the introduction of the second-generation AMG GT. ...

 
BMW Recalls 430i Convertible Over Potential Engine Oil Leak
BMW Recalls 430i Convertible Over Potential Engine Oil Leak

3 Jan 2024, 19:10 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / BMW of North America has recalled a handful of 430i Convertible vehicles due to a cylinder head cover that may not have been produced to specifications by the supplier. The supplier's name is Mahle Componente de Motor SRL, a Romanian subsidiar...

 
2025 Genesis G80 Facelift Launched in South Korea With 2.5L Turbo I4 and 3.5L Turbo V6
2025 Genesis G80 Facelift Launched in South Korea With 2.5L Turbo I4 and 3.5L Turbo V6

2 Jan 2024, 23:10 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Genesis became a standalone brand in late 2015. Named after the Hyundai Genesis mid-size luxury sedan, Genesis entered 2024 with a mid-cycle refresh for the more affordable brother of the G90. Coming to the US market as a 2025 model, the facelif...

 
2024 Nissan Altima Gets First Recall, Steering Gear May Lock Up
2024 Nissan Altima Gets First Recall, Steering Gear May Lock Up

2 Jan 2024, 21:29 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A direct rival for the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, the Nissan Altima has been hit with yet another recall. This campaign is the first for the 2024 model year, with Nissan recalling five units in total. Suspect vehicles were manufactured at th...

 
Ferrari 812 Successor Caught Heavily Camouflaged, Allegedly Packs 838 HP
Ferrari 812 Successor Caught Heavily Camouflaged, Allegedly Packs 838 HP

2 Jan 2024, 20:21 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In addition to being the only team to have competed in every Formula 1 season since the world championship began in 1950, Ferrari made a name for itself by offering V12 grand tourers with bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful styling and superlative...

 
Mercedes Recalls GLC 300, GLE 350, and GLE 450e Due to Potential Engine Oil and Fuel Leaks
Mercedes Recalls GLC 300, GLE 350, and GLE 450e Due to Potential Engine Oil and Fuel Leaks

2 Jan 2024, 19:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A handful of Mercedes crossovers have been recalled stateside due to a deviation in the production process. More specifically, the wrong screws might have been used during assembly of the high-pressure fuel pump meant for the GLC 300, GLE 350, and ...

 
Cadillac Escalade-V Dyno Test: Performance SUV Lays Down 588 HP at the Wheels
Cadillac Escalade-V Dyno Test: Performance SUV Lays Down 588 HP at the Wheels

2 Jan 2024, 17:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Named after the Generation II LT4, the Generation V LT4 is a direct-injection small block with more than 640 horses on tap from a displacement of 6.2 liters. The most powerful application is the Escalade-V, in which the naturally aspirated lump dev...

 
Mercedes-Benz Recalls Metris Cargo Van and Passenger Van for Potential Loss of Drive Power
Mercedes-Benz Recalls Metris Cargo Van and Passenger Van for Potential Loss of Drive Power

2 Jan 2024, 17:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Available in cargo and passenger flavors, the Mercedes-Benz Metris has been hit with a recall due to potential fuel pump failure. Suspect fuel pumps were produced by South Korean supplier Hyundam Industries, whereas the affected population of vans ...

 
2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV Gets First Recall, Door Strikers May Fracture
2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV Gets First Recall, Door Strikers May Fracture

2 Jan 2024, 16:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Following multiple reports of software quality issues, General Motors temporarily suspended Chevrolet Blazer EV sales in the United States market, assuring owners and customers that remedy software is under development. As if that wasn't bad e...

 
Watch the 2024 Ford Mustang Get an Oil Change, Coyote V8 Engine Takes 10 Quarts of 5W-30
Watch the 2024 Ford Mustang Get an Oil Change, Coyote V8 Engine Takes 10 Quarts of 5W-30

1 Jan 2024, 02:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If you own a 2024 Ford Mustang, you're in luck because oil changes don't cost an arm and a leg. Be that as it may, the mechanically inclined among us prefer to DIY because it's more affordable and infinitely more satisfying than play...

 
Porsche Will Discontinue ICE-Powered Macan in Europe Due to Cybersecurity Concerns
Porsche Will Discontinue ICE-Powered Macan in Europe Due to Cybersecurity Concerns

1 Jan 2024, 02:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Modern cars are laden with high-tech systems, which require millions of lines of code. Many cars also happen to be fitted with emergency response systems, which – in the event of a crash – automatically contact and send GPS coordinates ...

 
Save the Manuals: Every Stick Shift Performance Sedan You Can Buy New Today
Save the Manuals: Every Stick Shift Performance Sedan You Can Buy New Today

31 Dec 2023, 15:38 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Stop me if you heard this one before, but the stick shift is an increasingly extinct means of changing gears. It wasn't always this way, though. The question is, why did the automotive industry slowly but steadily transition to autos, double-c...

 
2024 Toyota Tacoma MPG Test Reveals That Ugly Chin Spoiler Saves You Money
2024 Toyota Tacoma MPG Test Reveals That Ugly Chin Spoiler Saves You Money

30 Dec 2023, 23:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Redesigned from the ground up on the Tundra's TNGA-F platform, the 2024 Tacoma comes in eight grades. Five of them are equipped with a rather polarizing chin spoiler, which is designed to improve airflow. Grades featuring said chin spoiler com...

 
Tastefully Upgraded 1991 GMC Syclone Is a One-Owner Diamond in the Rough
Tastefully Upgraded 1991 GMC Syclone Is a One-Owner Diamond in the Rough

30 Dec 2023, 21:45 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Chrysler kicked off the performance truck genre in the late 1970s with the Dodge Li'l Red Express. Over at General Motors, the GMC Syclone and Chevrolet 454 SS are classics in their own rights. Of these three, the Syclone is the rarest of the ...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait