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.
Alfa Romeo Giulietta, MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde UK Pricing
11 Jun 2014, 09:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Alfisti from the United Kingdom now have two reasons to rejoice. Their favorite car brand is celebrating a little over 90 years since the Quadrifoglio Verde emblem has been born. Thus, Alfa Romeo is releasing updated versions of the Giulietta QV ho...
Ford Everest Spied in Production Ready Form
10 Jun 2014, 18:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / While the first test mules of the upcoming Ford Ranger-based SUV were caught winter testing in Europe as early as February, our carparazzi managed to spot the heavily anticipated model in production ready guise. Underneath the thin layer of blac...
Los Angeles Crowned Most Congested City in North America, TomTom Study Reveals
10 Jun 2014, 17:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Nobody can deny that congestion is certainly the biggest nuisance for drivers all over the world. But some major cities are considerably more gridlocked in slow moving traffic than others according to the most recent TomTom Americas Traffic Index. ...
California Legacy License Plates Available For Pre-Order
10 Jun 2014, 16:15 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Good news, Golden State motorists! Assemblyman Mike Gatto successfully passed a bill that allows the DMV to rollout vintage black-and-yellow vehicle license plates that adorned American muscle from '63 through '69. According to a state...
Alfa Romeo US Dealer Network Established
10 Jun 2014, 15:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Fiat-Chrysler Group announced just the other moment that Alfa Romeo will be sold in the United States and Canada through 86 showrooms, with additional franchises to be awarded later this year. According to an official statement from the Ital...
Unique Pontiac Le Mans Sport Truck Advertised For $69k
10 Jun 2014, 14:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Forget the Chevy El Camino, GMC Sprint, Dodge Kingsway and all the other classic coupe utility vehicles. If you want to stand out from the crowd, then this one-of-a-kind 1967 Pontiac Le Mans Sport Truck prototype is the right machine for you. Cu...
Lincoln to Borrow 2015 Ford Mustang Platform
10 Jun 2014, 12:48 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A Lincoln official declared in a recent interview that the Blue Oval's luxury brand is currently developing a number of new models, including a sporty model which will be underpinned by the all-new rear-wheel drive Ford Mustang platform. Wh...
Tesla Model S Trumps Mercedes-Benz CLA In Terms Of Aerodynamics · Video
10 Jun 2014, 11:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Remember that Mercedes-Benz recently boasted about the CLA's 0.23 drag coefficient (Cd), making it the most slippery car in production these days? However, an independent wind tunnel test hints that the German compact luxury sedan isn't t...
2015 Chrysler 200 MPV Rendering by Theophilus Chin
10 Jun 2014, 10:10 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Have you ever imagined how a 2015 Chrysler 200 would look like if it had the profile look of the Mazda 5 people carrier and the space of the Chrysler Town & Country minivan? Neither did we, but that strange combination unexpectedly works as far...
Hennessey Dyno Testing HPE700 Supercharged 2014 Corvette Stingray · Video
10 Jun 2014, 09:19 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If the twin-turbo HPE700 Corvette Stingray doesn't rock your boat, then Hennessey has a supercharged alternative to fit your demand. The blown Vette is also a tad more powerful than the turbocharged offering, boasting 610 RWHP and 557 lb-ft (7...
FPV GT F 351: 404 kW of Supercharged Grunt · Video
10 Jun 2014, 07:44 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Ford Performance Vehicles has revealed the final GT Falcon model before the Blue Oval's Australian arm rebrands itself. It bears the FPV GT F 351 moniker, costs AUD 77,990 and it pumps out 404 kW of savagery in overboost mode and 570 Nm of tir...
Average Vehicle Age in the US Is 11.4 Years
9 Jun 2014, 17:21 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As of January 1st, 2014, the average age of light vehicles on United States roads remained flat at 11.4 years. The IHS Automotive report also hints that a record 252.7 million light vehicles are currently in operation, a 2 percent increase from Jan...
2015 Dodge Challenger Super Bee Walkaround
9 Jun 2014, 16:34 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / You might remember that we've recently shown you a video depicting a Sublime Green 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat bearing Michigan plates. Well, the owner of that vehicle told us that he also owns a 2015 Dodge Challenger Super Bee, and boy ...
Chevrolet Might Rollout Corvette 'Zora' Edition
9 Jun 2014, 15:19 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After searching through the United States Patent and Trademark Office database, we've found out that General Motors LLC has filed the 'Zora' trademark on June 2nd, 2014. This finding made us ponder if Chevrolet is prepping a special ...
First RHD Tesla Model S Vehicles Delivered to UK Customers
9 Jun 2014, 13:48 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / During a grandiose event that took place in London on Saturday, Elon Musk has personally handed the keys of five new right-hand drive Tesla Model S vehicles to five eager customers. Besides the debut of the RHD Tesla Model S, this occasion also mar...
Here's Every Major Tesla Model S Software Update Since 2012
9 Jun 2014, 12:20 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In case you were wondering, the Model S is the kind of vehicle that's mostly governed by its electronic brain. And just like any other piece of software, the four-door electric saloon received its fair bit of updates since it was introduced by...
Tesla Considers Patent Giveaway
9 Jun 2014, 10:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / This might come as a pretty surprising bit of news for most of the automotive industry, but the Palo Alto-based EV manufacturer recently hinted that the company may giveaway its patents sometime in the future to facilitate electric vehicle developm...
Son Gives Dad '57 Chevy Bel Air For His 57th Birthday
9 Jun 2014, 09:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Before you start reading the paragraphs below, we advise you to source a jumbo sized tissue box and keep it close because this heart-warming tale is certain to make most petrolheads and non-car people alike weep tears of joy. When he was just an...
GM Lays Off 15 Employees Over Delayed Ignition Switch Scandal
9 Jun 2014, 07:33 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / According to the extremely "thorough, brutally tough" and "deeply troubling" Valukas report, the 13 fatally injured connected to GM's faulty ignition switches lead the automaker to describe itself as being careless and inco...
Most Teen Deaths Caused by Vehicle Crashes, Study Shows
8 Jun 2014, 17:46 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A study conducted by Safe Kids Worldwide found out that circa 2,500 teens die in vehicle accidents each year in the United States. More worryingly, the "Teens in Cars" report shows that more teens die in motor vehicle crashes than from an...