Mircea Panait
20,325 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.
Ayrton Senna Commemorated With 5 Euro Silver Proof Coin
25 Jul 2014, 20:26 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Petrolhead or not, even those people that have the smallest dab of appreciation for internal combustion and motorsport have heard his name. We're talking about Ayrton Senna, Formula 1's greatest icon, heralded as the central figure of the...
McLaren P1 GTR Design Concept to Be Unveiled at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
25 Jul 2014, 19:43 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / When it made its world debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, the McLaren P1 hybrid hypercar had some very big shoes to fill in. It may not be as untamed and fast as the legendary F1, but the P1 is a helluva machine all things considered. Now guess w...
2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Confirmed; 2015 Dodge Viper SRT Gets Extra Oomph
25 Jul 2014, 19:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Oh my, is Dodge making the most powerful sedan in the world? That's what the CPCG1_15CHSRT SAE standard is telling us. More specifically, the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat will get the same 6.2-liter supercharged V8 as the Challenger. Further...
Road Rage: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly Sides of this Driver Behaviour
25 Jul 2014, 16:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / We've all been in that situation: getting up early, on our way to work when some bozo with a ricer Civic appears out of nowhere, cutting you off on the freeway. Everybody needs to go places by car, so why can't we just get along in traffi...
2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe Gets More Torquey 2-liter Turbo
25 Jul 2014, 14:39 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Compared to the 2014 model year fitted with the 2-liter turbocharged four-pot engine, the 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe boasts with the same 272 horsepower but adds 35 lb-ft of torque for a total of 295 lb-ft (400 Nm). Available late summer 2014, what el...
Schumacher Update: Michael is Making Progress, Wife Selling Private Jet
25 Jul 2014, 13:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / 208 days after that unfortunate ski accident, Michael Schumacher is slowly but steadily making progress even though he lies mute and immobile in a hospital in Switzerland. Furthermore, the seven-time F1 world champion's wife Corinna plans to s...
Kyalami Circuit in South Africa Sold to Porsche for $19.5 Million
25 Jul 2014, 12:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Porsche has paid a great deal of money to enter into possession of the most famous race track on the continent. As opposed to other ill-intentioned bidders at the auction event that took place in Johannesburg, the Stuttgart-based manufacturer won&#...
2015 Ford Mustang GT F-35 Lightning II Edition Looks Ballistic
25 Jul 2014, 11:51 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Slated to go under the hammer for charity at the Gathering of Eagles auction, this one-off aeronautical themed pony is one menacing creation. Although it's only a 2015 Ford Mustang GT underneath, fighter jet-inspired visuals turned the two-doo...
Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Liter Biturbo V8 Engine Detailed · Video
25 Jul 2014, 09:40 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / There's little time left until September, when the Mercedes-AMG GT bruiser is slated to be officially unveiled. But 'til that moment comes, the Stuttgart-based manufacturer has dropped the full details of the all-new M178 powerhouse fitte...
Citroen DS Brand Sales Dropped 10 Percent, Biggest Fall in Europe
25 Jul 2014, 08:15 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / When the first DS model was introduced back in 2009, many people, including Citroen higher-ups, thought that the little DS3 and its sister models would become top sellers. After 5 years of leeway, sales figures show that the DS brand hasn't pe...
New Holland CR10.90 Elevation Is the Baddest Combine Harvester Around
24 Jul 2014, 20:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn, a combine is the best machine to harvest grain crops. As opposed to the rather laborious muscle power operation employed until the early 1800s, this mechanical workhorse combines reaping, threshing and winnowing into...
Chrysler 300 SRT to Be Phased Out, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Lives On
24 Jul 2014, 17:43 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / With much regret, the Chrysler 300 SRT is about to bite the dust because of low sales volume, while the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT will be kept alive. So how did the American automaker arrive to this unfortunate conclusion for the 300 SRT? Numerous...
2015 Formula One Mexican Grand Prix Confirmed by Bernie Ecclestone
24 Jul 2014, 16:35 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After the 1992 F1 season, Mexico was left without a Grand Prix event although the people over here are big fans of the sport. A recent announcement from live events company CIE and Bernie Ecclestone confirmed that Mexico City will once again host a...
Recalled GM Vehicles Affected by Major Price Drops, Study Finds
24 Jul 2014, 15:39 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Since the beginning of 2014, America's automotive industry was hit hard by the NHTSA over various safety and non-compliance defects. Out of the total recall population, GM is king of the hill with its 28,7 million faulty vehicles. As expected,...
Ford Europe Posts First Profitable Quarter in 3 Years
24 Jul 2014, 14:37 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Analysts were a bit skeptical if the Blue Oval would be able to cut the financial mustard in the second quarter of 2014, but results were better than the industry expected. Although Ford's $1.3 billion net income was trimmed by special charges...
GM Recall Costs Totaled $1.5 Billion In the Second Quarter, Profit Falls 85 Percent
24 Jul 2014, 13:45 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Although the American company announced $0.2 billion second quarter net income attributable to common stockholders, the actual net profit is $190 million, translating to an 85 percent drop compared to the $1.26 billion General Motors posted in Q2 2...
Holden Commodore Recalled Over Sub-Standard Seat Weld
24 Jul 2014, 12:46 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Considering that the Aussie nameplate has been recalled four times in three months' time and this fifth campaign hikes the tally to a whopping 100,000 affected vehicles, it makes you wonder if General Motors' U.S. problems have trickled t...
Elvis Presley's BMW 507 to Be Restored by the German Manufacturer
24 Jul 2014, 12:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / He's one of the most influential cultural icons of the 20th century, the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music and a three-time Grammy winner. Yup, the one and only Elvis Presley. A car aficionado since he was a teenager, &...
Second-Generation Opel Ampera Confirmed by Opel CEO
24 Jul 2014, 09:42 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A recent report published by a publication specialized in auto-related topics claimed that two GM insiders have revealed that the Opel Ampera will be phased out in 2015, but that's not the case anymore. The German manufacturer's very own ...
GM Pool of Potential Victims Expands with 505 New Death and Injury Claims
24 Jul 2014, 08:50 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After GM announced yesterday its 60th safety recall so far this year, more dirt has been uncovered about the manufacturer's lousy practices - through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Early Warning Reporting system, GM ...