Mircea Panait
20,328 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.
2016 Ford Galaxy Caught On Film Testing in the United States
6 Aug 2014, 08:23 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The third-generation Galaxy debuted more than 9 years ago at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show and the next one is expected to do the same at the 2015 edition of the famed automotive event. This is the second time our spy photographers spotted the 2016 Fo...
Hyundai Equus Limousine to Debut at the Moscow Motor Show
5 Aug 2014, 18:43 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Russian oligarchs rejoice! If you are bored of the usual German luxury trio made up of the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, then Hyundai has something in store for you... sort of. The new flagship of the South Korean manufacturer is...
Abarth 500 by Road Race Motorsports Is On Our Christmas Wish List
5 Aug 2014, 16:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The world of tuning may cover a wide range of models, from BMWs to full-on Lambos, but the Fiat 500 Abarth hasn't been modded by a lot of tuners since it was launched in 2007. Even so, a company called Road Race Motorsports has tinkered with t...
Hennessey Venom F5 to Be Unveiled in 2015, Deliveries Kick Off in 2016
5 Aug 2014, 16:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The highly anticipated Hennessey Venom F5 shapes up to be quite the successor for the blistering fast Venom GT. Named after the strongest tornado on the Fujita scale, the main target for the upcoming Venom F5 is to break the 290 mph (466 km/h) barr...
Fiat 500X Spied Roaming in Italy
5 Aug 2014, 14:39 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Most of you know that the Fiat 500 lineup now has a mini-MPV model called 500L. But the family will grow in the near future with the 500X, which is basically the Italian cousin of the Jeep Renegade with which it shares its platform. We already know...
Rolls-Royce Wraith Drophead Coupe Confirmed by the Automaker
5 Aug 2014, 13:42 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The British luxury marque confirmed today the development of a new Rolls-Royce. Slate to reach the market by mid-2016, the company informs that the model will deliver effortless, open-top touring through luxury, style and elegance. So we know that ...
Bernie Ecclestone Pays $100 Million to End Bribery Trial
5 Aug 2014, 12:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The court that was handling Ecclestone's infamous bribery case has agreed to end the man's trial for a whopping $100 million. Formula 1's big man went to trial this April after he was accused of handing over $44 million to a German b...
Google and IEEE Will Pay You $1 Million for Downsizing the Power Inverter
5 Aug 2014, 11:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In the automotive world, a power inverter is normally used by hybrid and electric vehicles. It's main job is to supply enough zap for the intended power demands of the drivetrain. While the current generation of the device fulfills its duties ...
Ford Transit Connect is the Most Popular Vehicle for Customers With Limited Mobility
5 Aug 2014, 10:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The functionality of the first-gen Transit Connect helped the Ford model make it a popular choice for customers with mobility needs, making it the #1 model in 2012 and 2013 for buyers seeking reimbursement through the Ford mobility program. The rec...
Daimler Wants to Bump its Aston Martin Stake to 5 Percent
5 Aug 2014, 09:14 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The German multinational corporation is on its way to acquire another 1 percent of Aston Martin, thus hiking its stake to 5 percent. Even so, the British marque is one of the very few modern sports car brands not in the hands of a bigger manufactur...
Jaguar & Land Rover Use the Most Aluminum in the Automotive Industry
5 Aug 2014, 08:25 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / All things considered, The Tesla Model S is an aluminum-intensive vehicle, while the 2015 Ford F-150 pickup truck's body is 95 percent military grade aluminum alloy, but even so, Jaguar Land Rover use the most aluminum in the auto industry the...
Fiat 500 Recalled in Australia Over Wiring Mess-Up
4 Aug 2014, 17:05 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In the United States, recalls are announced by an agency called the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In the Land Down Under, the equivalent to that is the ACCC, which has informed that close to 4,000 Fiat 500 city cars must make a pi...
GM Recall Center Website Found to Give Misleading Search Results
4 Aug 2014, 15:56 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / This just in from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: the GM Recall Center is not working properly. One might be lead to think that there may be an unindented fault in the system, but oh no. The NHTSA tells that the website has been...
Hennessey Venom F5 to Crack 290 MPH and Pack More Than 1,400 HP
4 Aug 2014, 15:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Most of our readers know that a road car built by a little tuning company from Texas was able to hit a staggering 270.49 mph (435 km/h) at the Kennedy Space Center runway. However, John Hennessey and his company won't stop here according to a ...
Senator Proposes Life Sentence for Execs that Delay Auto Recalls Resulting in Deaths
4 Aug 2014, 14:20 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Claire McCaskill. Automotive bigwigs should tremble with fear when they hear this Senator's name 'cause she's the lady that recently introduced the Motor Vehicle and Highway Safety Enhancement Act. This new and dramatic bill &ldqu...
Jay Leno Drives the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and He Loves It
4 Aug 2014, 13:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Like most Jay Leno's Garage episodes, the American comedian starts this particular episode by showing footage of his teenage favorite, the 425 hp 1970 Dodge Challenger 426 HEMI, as well as the more modern third-generation Dodge Challenger SRT8...
Ford Drawing Owners In with Lifetime No-Cost Replacement for Motorcraft Brake Pads
4 Aug 2014, 12:15 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Like all vehicle consumables, brake pads need to be professionally checked every 12 months or 10,000 miles and replaced if the wear might affect the stopping power of the automobile. It's not an expensive piece of kit nor does it command high ...
New Bus Rollover Standard Proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation
4 Aug 2014, 11:33 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In an attempt to harmonize European bus safety standards with the ones applied in the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently cooking up new rules that will improve the safety of coaches and large buses sold S...
Next-Gen Buick Regal Might be Assembled at Opel's Russelsheim Plant in Germany
4 Aug 2014, 09:43 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Although it's basically a rebadged version of the Opel Insignia, the current generation Buick Regal might be the last one to be assembled at the General Motors Oshawa, Ontario plant. This turn of events comes after Canadian labor union Unifor ...
Fiat Bids Ciao to Italy, Netherlands is the New Home of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV
4 Aug 2014, 08:51 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Considering that Fiat S.p.A. was founded in 1899, the Italian company is leaving its home country for the Netherlands after the Agnelli family and other big shareholders agreed to merge with Chrysler. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is the name of the...