Mircea Panait
20,321 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.
Yellow Cars Depreciate Least, Study Finds
23 Jun 2014, 10:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Contrary to common held belief, yellow and orange vehicles have lower depreciation rates than black, silver or white ones. After analyzing over 20 million cars from the 1981 to 2010 model years, iSeeCars found out that a $20k car is worth $1,500 mo...
Tesla Is the World's Most Important Carmaker According to Morgan Stanley
23 Jun 2014, 09:20 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In case you didn't know, the current top players in the automotive industry are Toyota (the world's largest manufacturer), Volkswagen (Europe's best selling car brand) and General Motors in the United States. However, multinational f...
Volvo Drive-E Engine Range Updated With Extra Oomph
23 Jun 2014, 08:38 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Swedish carmaker has souped up its Drive-E powertrain family, with the new engines set to be introduced on the recently unveiled 2015 Volvo V40. Depending on their needs and preferences, customers now have the possibility to choose between a D4...
Black Beauty From Green Hornet Up for Auction · Video
22 Jun 2014, 20:46 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Most of you that have seen the Green Hornet flick may have forgotten the storyline, but we're certain one thing hasn't been disremembered. Of course, that's the main character's ride – the jaw-dropping 1965 Chrysler Imperi...
US-Spec Alfa Romeo 4C Is Selling Like Hot Cakes
22 Jun 2014, 20:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / You may remember that Fiat-Chrysler announced recently that 86 dealers in the United States and Canada will commercialize the Alfa Romeo 4C. As it happens, fans of the brand from around these places are going nuts over the Italian sports car, with ...
Tesla Model S Coupe Rendering by X-Tomi
22 Jun 2014, 19:16 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Since it was introduced two years ago, the Tesla Model S has pushed the eco-friendly motoring game to new standards. Despite moving more and more units of the luxury liftback sedan from one month to the next, Tesla's lineup is missing one very...
All-Original 1955 Ford Thunderbird Selling On Craigslist
22 Jun 2014, 18:23 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / It's hard to imagine an American open top cruiser as cool as the original T-Bird. So when a pristine '55 model is advertised on Craigslist for less money than a brand new Ford Fusion, you are faced with one of those rare "Eureka!&quo...
GM Speeds Up Ignition Repairs With Dealer Incentives
22 Jun 2014, 17:36 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Now here's a little bit of good news coming from General Motors – dealerships nationwide will be offered $250 in order to hurry up the replacement of faulty ignition switches. But this is not the only bonus GM will offer its most compete...
Holden to Weed Out Commodore By 2017
20 Jun 2014, 20:36 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Dear Australian motorists, it saddens us to inform you that Holden will phase out the Commodore nameplate by 2017, when General Motors intends to move vehicle production away from the Land Down Under. We remind you that GM announced in late 2013...
Cadillac ELR Sales Disappoint: 52 Sold in May
20 Jun 2014, 18:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If you think that the Cadillac ELR is just a Chevrolet Volt in drags at double the price, you're absolutely right! The $75,995 luxury plug-in hybrid is such a commercial flop that Caddy managed to move just 52 units in May. According to Gen...
Sarah Jessica Parker Takes Jerry Seinfeld For a Coffee
20 Jun 2014, 17:52 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After Jerry Seinfeld, Howard Stern and a 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge wrapped the third season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee back in February, the main protagonist of the highly succesful Seinfeld sitcom returns with a brand new five-episode season...
VW Beetle GRC Is Herbie's RallyCross Brother
20 Jun 2014, 16:37 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Back in February, Andretti Autosport and the German manufacturer took the wraps off an all-wheel drive Beetle packing "560-plus horsepower." However, the race ready machine is slightly different stylistic-wise than the car presented a few...
Ferrari Unveils F12 Berlinetta Polo Edition and FF Dressage Edition in China
20 Jun 2014, 15:40 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / We can all agree that the Chinese are questionably the most extravagant new car buyers on the planet. They have a considerable appetite for flashy long wheelbase vehicles, but what they love most are limited edition supercars specially tailored for...
Bentley SUV Spied In Pre-Production Guise
20 Jun 2014, 13:42 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If the Conti GT hasn't got enough doors and the Flying Spur isn't to your liking because it has more things in common with a yacht than luxury motoring, the upcoming Bentley SUV might suit your needs accordingly. Even though the British m...
Ford Ranger Facelift Sheds Some Camo
20 Jun 2014, 12:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / While the Blue Oval is hard at work testing a seven-seater SUV which will bear the Everest nameplate, its platform brother hasn't been forgotten. Our spy photographers managed to snap a few pics of the facelifted Ford Ranger pickup truck, expe...
Fiat Gets Shameful 'F' In 2014 J.D. Power Study, Porsche Leads
20 Jun 2014, 09:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The 2014 J.D. Power Initial Quality study polled 86,000 car buyers about any kind of issue experienced with their all-new vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership. Surprisingly enough, Fiat was the worst performer of the bunch, scoring 206 issues...
Hyundai Sonata Eco Returns 38 MPG Highway
20 Jun 2014, 08:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Slotted just under the Genesis flagship sedan, the 2015 Hyundai Sonata is the new star in the Korean manufacturer's U.S. lineup. Competitively priced from $21,150 for the entry-level SE model powered by a 185 horsepower 2.4-liter four-pot, the...
Active Glovebox Knee Airbag Equips 2015 Ford Mustang
19 Jun 2014, 19:20 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In the last decade or so, automobile safety systems have come a long way since the driver-passenger airbag setup was the industry standard. Now we've got head-up displays and buttons on the steering wheel to keep our eyes on the road more, eme...
Rhys Millen Powerslides Through Washington
19 Jun 2014, 18:22 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Most rally fans know about the WRC, ERC and the Rally America National Championship. But the lesser known Red Bull Global Rallycross series is questionably just as entertaining as the big time series previously mentioned. In terms of marketing, the...
Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R Unveiled
19 Jun 2014, 17:42 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After an unsuccessful two-year long rebranding attempt, Chrysler finally ditched the SRT badge and put Dodge back into the Viper's name. Further more, the company celebrated this long-awaited moment with the Dodge Viper GTS-R, a track-focused ...