autoevolution
 

Mircea Panait

20,326  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.
The Most Popular 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 Paint Color Is Pitch Black
The Most Popular 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 Paint Color Is Pitch Black

27 Dec 2023, 21:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / On December 22nd, the final Chrysler L-platform vehicle rolled off the assembly line at Brampton Assembly Plant in Canada. The car in question is a Pitch Black Demon 170, which – coincidentally – is the most popular Demon 170 paint colo...

 
Nearly 1 Million Toyota Vehicles Recalled Over Supplier's Fault
Nearly 1 Million Toyota Vehicles Recalled Over Supplier's Fault

27 Dec 2023, 20:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Last week, Toyota issued a press release stating that approximately 1 million vehicles feature OCS sensors that may short. The sensors in question may have been improperly manufactured. By whom? Unfortunately, the supplier wasn't named in the ...

 
Supercharged Ford Mustang GT Drag Races Lamborghini Huracan, Clocks 9 Seconds
Supercharged Ford Mustang GT Drag Races Lamborghini Huracan, Clocks 9 Seconds

27 Dec 2023, 18:56 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The S650 may feature dual throttle bodies and up to 500 horsepower from the factory without forced induction, but as a drag racing platform, the S550 is a better pick. In addition to generous aftermarket support, the S550 has another advantage over...

 
Mercedes-Benz Recalls Certain EQE 350 Vehicles Over Incorrectly Adjusted Headlights
Mercedes-Benz Recalls Certain EQE 350 Vehicles Over Incorrectly Adjusted Headlights

27 Dec 2023, 18:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Twinned with the EQE SUV on the German automaker's EVA2 platform, the Mercedes-Benz EQE Sedan has been hit with a safety recall. More specifically, a handful of vehicles equipped with comfort suspension feature iffy headlamp control unit codin...

 
Toyota Supra No Longer Available To Order in the UK
Toyota Supra No Longer Available To Order in the UK

26 Dec 2023, 22:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Twinned with the G29 Z4, the J29 Supra rolled out in March 2019 for the 2020 model year. Assembled in Graz, Austria by contract manufacturer Magna Steyr, this generation of the Supra never was a big seller. 2021 was the Japanese coupe's bes...

 
Mercedes Recalls GLA, GLC, GLE, CLA, C-Class, S-Class Over Potential Roof Panel Detachment
Mercedes Recalls GLA, GLC, GLE, CLA, C-Class, S-Class Over Potential Roof Panel Detachment

26 Dec 2023, 21:10 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The automaker that promises "the best or nothing" has issued a safety recall for vehicles whose front roof panel forward of the panoramic sunroof may detach. According to Merc, the first cases from the field were filed with the German com...

 
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Drag Races Porsche Cayenne, Engine Displacement Doesn't Always Matter
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Drag Races Porsche Cayenne, Engine Displacement Doesn't Always Matter

26 Dec 2023, 19:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Cayenne and Stelvio are very different in many respects, beginning with engine displacement. Over at Alfa Romeo, the largest powerplant you can get in the Italian automaker's rear-biased crossover is a 2.9-liter six with a bit of Ferrari m...

 
What's Next in 2024: 20 Most Exciting New Cars, Trucks, and SUVs You Can Look Forward To
What's Next in 2024: 20 Most Exciting New Cars, Trucks, and SUVs You Can Look Forward To

25 Dec 2023, 02:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Similar to 2023, next year can only be described as 12 months of gentle rattles and violent shakes. From a military standpoint, everyone in their right mind is looking forward to the demise of Putin and Hamas. In the world of sports, the 2024 Summe...

 
2025 Porsche 718 Boxster Electric Sports Car Imagined With Unrealistic Design Cues
2025 Porsche 718 Boxster Electric Sports Car Imagined With Unrealistic Design Cues

24 Dec 2023, 17:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As you're well aware, Zuffenhausen's favorite son is putting the finishing touches on the mid-cycle refresh of its first all-electric vehicle. Believed to arrive in the summer of 2024 as a 2025 model, the facelifted Taycan served as inspi...

 
700-HP Cadillac CTS-V Drag Races BMW 335d Methanol Daily Driver, It's Closer Than Expected
700-HP Cadillac CTS-V Drag Races BMW 335d Methanol Daily Driver, It's Closer Than Expected

24 Dec 2023, 16:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / BMW dropped turbo diesel vehicles from its North American lineup after MY18 due to poor demand for this big-rig engine technology. Even in the Old Continent, diesel is on its way out due to regulations and rising demand for hybrids and EVs. Be t...

 
Cummins 6.7L Turbo Diesel Emissions Scandal: Engine Manufacturer Agrees To Pay Record Fine
Cummins 6.7L Turbo Diesel Emissions Scandal: Engine Manufacturer Agrees To Pay Record Fine

23 Dec 2023, 04:51 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Remember the Volkswagen Dieselgate saga that gave us Electrify America? Fast forward to December 2023, and an engine manufacturer agreed to pay an eye-watering fine to settle claims that it violated the Clean Air Act by means of "emissions def...

 
GM Recalls Previously Recalled 2017 – 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV Over Fire Risk
GM Recalls Previously Recalled 2017 – 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV Over Fire Risk

23 Dec 2023, 03:34 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Just over a year ago, General Motors issued recall number 22V-930 concerning 111,242 examples of the 2017 – 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV. What for? If the front seatbelt pretensions deploy as a result of a crash, the resulting exhaust from the depl...

 
2025 Volvo ES90 Electric Sedan Codenamed V551, Will Start Production May 2024
2025 Volvo ES90 Electric Sedan Codenamed V551, Will Start Production May 2024

23 Dec 2023, 02:30 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / There's a brand-new Volvo in the offing. The good folks at Teknikens Värld got their hands on a picture that wasn't supposed to leave Volvo's intranet, a photo depicting assembly plant workers celebrating the completion of the f...

 
189,814 Ford Maverick Pickup Trucks Recalled Over Missing Warning for Turn Signal Failure
189,814 Ford Maverick Pickup Trucks Recalled Over Missing Warning for Turn Signal Failure

23 Dec 2023, 01:37 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The most affordable new pickup truck in the United States of America, the Escape-based Maverick has been hit with a recall due to improper coding. As it happens, the body control module software doesn't adjust the turn signal flash rate freque...

 
The Final 2023 Dodge Challenger Has Been Produced, Brampton Plant Will Be Retooled
The Final 2023 Dodge Challenger Has Been Produced, Brampton Plant Will Be Retooled

22 Dec 2023, 23:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / What used to be known as the Chrysler Corporation purchased the Brampton Assembly Plant from AMC back in August 1987. Fast forward to May 2022, and Stellantis confirmed massive investments for both Windsor and the Brampton Assembly Plant for electr...

 
Porsche Recalls 41,345 Electric and Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles Due to Fire Risk
Porsche Recalls 41,345 Electric and Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles Due to Fire Risk

22 Dec 2023, 22:10 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Porsche Cars North America has filed a new recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over a charging cable that may overheat. Both electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are recalled, beginning with the Taycan Sedan, Taycan Sport...

 
2025 Toyota 4Runner Speculative Rendering Proposes GR Styling Cues
2025 Toyota 4Runner Speculative Rendering Proposes GR Styling Cues

22 Dec 2023, 21:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Incorrectly rendered for the umpteenth time, the 2025 Toyota 4Runner won't look anything like the design study in the video below. According to information shared by a credible insider, the body-on-frame sport utility vehicle will share much w...

 
Tesla Recalls 120,423 Vehicles Due to Doors That Can Be Unlocked During a Crash
Tesla Recalls 120,423 Vehicles Due to Doors That Can Be Unlocked During a Crash

22 Dec 2023, 19:19 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After it had recently issued a safety recall concerning the Autosteer controls of 2,031,220 vehicles, Tesla has issued another safety recall. Similar to the previous campaign, the remedy for this one doesn't require any hardware changes or rep...

 
2025 Porsche 911 Engine Options Allegedly Include New 3.6-Liter Naturally Aspirated Boxer
2025 Porsche 911 Engine Options Allegedly Include New 3.6-Liter Naturally Aspirated Boxer

22 Dec 2023, 01:33 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Believed to launch within the next six months for the 2025 model year, the 992.2 will – allegedly – improve the breed with two hybrid setups and one brand-new engine. Emphasis on allegedly because this information doesn't come from...

 
Both the Ford F-150 Raptor R and Rivian R1T Cover the Quarter Mile Off-Road in 13 Seconds
Both the Ford F-150 Raptor R and Rivian R1T Cover the Quarter Mile Off-Road in 13 Seconds

22 Dec 2023, 00:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Everyone and their dog knows the Rivian R1T with the quad-motor powertrain is ridiculously fast in the quarter mile. The good folks at Edmunds clocked 11.9 seconds at 109.9 miles per hour (177 kilometers per hour), and the stint from zero to 60 mil...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait