autoevolution
 

Vlad Radu

1,182  ARTICLES

Personal motto:

“From success, you learn absolutely nothing. From failure and setbacks conclusions can be drawn. That goes for your private life as well as your career.” - Nikki Lauda

Contributor
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At age five Vlad built a car cockpit out of wood, carboard and an old Trabant steering wheel under his desk and dreamed about driving the world’s most exotic cars. He grew up watching Michael Schumacher become a legendary driver, falling in love with speed and all things Ferrari in the process.

In high school, he crashed a communist-era Dacia 1310 with no brakes into a military base’s fence and almost got arrested on terrorism charges but bribed the base’s sentinel with three packs of cigarettes and only got in trouble for ruining the car.

He then decided to put his passion for cars on hold and concentrate on playing professional basketball. Due to a lack of talent, size, and a serious injury, he was forced to abandon professional sports and take a job as a video game tester. It was during this period that he discovered a passion for reading and writing after finding Hunter S. Thompson’s Hell’s Angels on a park bench.

The author’s writing style was fascinating to young Vlad and he continued to read all his books while creating a blog where he wrote about controversial social issues, inspired by his favorite author.

Years later, he got back to his first passion, taking a job at a local car parts dealership. He worked his way up from the sales department to a successful regional manager position, but something was still missing.

His biggest dream was to write so, when Autoevolution approached him to become a member of the team, he quit his old job instantly, and has been passionately writing ever since.

When he’s not busy creating articles or playing with his two-year-old son, he can be found working on his old BMW 3 Series Wagon or shredding trails on a mountain bike he assembled himself.
A Brief History of Bugatti’s “Macaron” Emblem and How Its Currently Made
A Brief History of Bugatti’s “Macaron” Emblem and How Its Currently Made

23 Oct 2020, 16:15 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Established by Milan-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti in 1909, the carmaker was started in what was then the German city of Molsheim (currently in Alsace, France), and made a name for itself quickly, for the artistic nature of its car design...

 
Examining the Off-Road Capabilities of the Mercedes EQC 4x4 concept
Examining the Off-Road Capabilities of the Mercedes EQC 4x4 concept

23 Oct 2020, 14:51 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Mercedes-Benz has been busy developing it is Modular Electric Architecture (MEA) by developing multiple models that will soon join the EQC in the all-electric EQ range. One such model will most definitely be an off-road capable G-Class-inspired ele...

 
How to Prepare Your Motorcycle for the Winter Season
How to Prepare Your Motorcycle for the Winter Season

23 Oct 2020, 09:51 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Winter is coming and unless you live in warmer parts of the world, it is recommended to check and make the necessary adjustments to the vehicle you are going to use during this season. If a motorcycle is your preferred vehicle you can either s...

 
Here Is Why the GMC Hummer EV Is an Off-Road Monster
Here Is Why the GMC Hummer EV Is an Off-Road Monster

22 Oct 2020, 17:07 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / The long-awaited return of the legendary Hummer is here as GM reveals the first edition of the fully electric super-truck. It is a spectacular vehicle in every way and is designed to successfully conquer any terrain with intimidating ease. Base...

 
How Continental Helped Develop the Volkswagen ID.3
How Continental Helped Develop the Volkswagen ID.3

22 Oct 2020, 13:33 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Continental is a German parts manufacturer that started by producing tires a century and a half ago, and since then, it has become one of the leading innovators in the automotive industry aiding the rapid evolution of current and future technologie...

 
The Five Levels of Autonomous Driving Explained
The Five Levels of Autonomous Driving Explained

22 Oct 2020, 12:42 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Back when I was growing up, autonomous driving was a subject rooted in science-fiction. yet the rapid advancements in technology have made full autonomous driving an achievable reality and one of the main goals of the automotive industry. We ar...

 
Bilstein Evo SE Aftermarket Suspension Transforms 992 Gen Porsche 911s
Bilstein Evo SE Aftermarket Suspension Transforms 992 Gen Porsche 911s

22 Oct 2020, 10:01 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / German suspension experts are so obsessed with perfection that they took an extremely good handling car and made it even better. Building on the factory coilovers they supplied for the 992 generation, they recently released a high-performance after...

 
Cadillac’s 4th Generation MagneRide Suspension Has Tons of Improvements
Cadillac’s 4th Generation MagneRide Suspension Has Tons of Improvements

22 Oct 2020, 09:21 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / The American luxury vehicle manufacturer has a long history of offering smooth-riding, impeccably crafted cars, and SUVs and one of the key technologies behind this feat is the Magnetic Ride Control (MagneRide) technology. Let us be honest, whe...

 
Understanding the Shift to 48V Systems Happening in the Automotive Industry
Understanding the Shift to 48V Systems Happening in the Automotive Industry

21 Oct 2020, 16:03 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / We live in times where there is a shift from traditional combustion engines to hybrid and fully electric vehicles. Everyone experiences this but few of us are aware of the fundamental change in vehicle architecture. That change is driven by the...

 
Examining the Engine of the World’s Fastest Car, the SSC Tuatara
Examining the Engine of the World’s Fastest Car, the SSC Tuatara

20 Oct 2020, 16:46 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / At the heart of the world’s fastest production vehicle, the SSC Tuatara, stands a marvel of engineering that makes a bold statement, that combustion-engine-only power is still alive and well. The Washington-based carmaker that gave us the...

 
A Closer Look at the Tiny Friendly Giant Engine of the Koenigsegg Gemera
A Closer Look at the Tiny Friendly Giant Engine of the Koenigsegg Gemera

20 Oct 2020, 15:29 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Unveiled at an online-streamed event that replaced the canceled 2020 Geneva Motor Show, the Koenigsegg Gemera is the Swedish manufacturer’s first production four-seater and the first to use a compact engine along with a tri-motor setup, on an...

 
The Pros and Cons of Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles
The Pros and Cons of Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles

19 Oct 2020, 15:20 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / As the combustion engine era is slowly ending, more and more manufacturers are shifting to fully electric vehicles. The fundamental change has gained momentum in the last few years with Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) emerging as the favorite emiss...

 
A Detailed Glimpse at the Inner Workings of the Mercedes-Benz EQC
A Detailed Glimpse at the Inner Workings of the Mercedes-Benz EQC

19 Oct 2020, 13:46 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / The Mercedes-Benz EQC is the first production EV of Daimler’s EQ Brand. Based on the Generation EQ concept unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 2016, the beautifully designed compact luxury SUV began production three years later. To showca...

 
A Guide to the Origins of Porsche's GT3 Name
A Guide to the Origins of Porsche's GT3 Name

19 Oct 2020, 09:29 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Porsche’s meanest machines bear this name and with it turning 21 this year, we look at the beginnings of the high-performance lineup. The GT3s are road legal racing machines and their beginnings can be traced to the late '60s, when Po...

 
BMW’s Biggest Remote iDrive Software Upgrade and How to Install it
BMW’s Biggest Remote iDrive Software Upgrade and How to Install it

19 Oct 2020, 08:13 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / The Series 7 software introduced in 2018 is now receiving its biggest remote upgrade. It is also the biggest in BMW history, with over 750,000 of the premium brand’s vehicles receiving new and enhanced features. Owners can download this ...

 
Toyota’s Direct Shift-CVT and How It Works
Toyota’s Direct Shift-CVT and How It Works

17 Oct 2020, 08:39 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Toyota’s rise to automotive highs is well documented. They took the world of endurance racing by storm and pioneered many innovative technologies. Among them, the Direct Shift-CVT transmission. The CVT, or continuously variable transmissi...

 
Examining Renault’s New CMF-EV Platform and Its Potential
Examining Renault’s New CMF-EV Platform and Its Potential

16 Oct 2020, 13:52 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Renault has released details about how they envision the future of their cars by unveiling the Megane eVision show car, the group’s first vehicle based on the Alliance’s new Common Module Family – Electric Vehicle (CMF-EV) platfor...

 
Here is What to Look for When Replacing the Cabin Air Filter
Here is What to Look for When Replacing the Cabin Air Filter

16 Oct 2020, 12:08 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / This filter is an important part of the vehicle’s ventilation system. It helps remove dangerous pollutants like dust smug, mold spores and pollen from the air that enters the cockpit. It also reduces the load on the blower, protects the s...

 
A Look at Lucid’s DreamDrive: Revolutionary or Ordinary?
A Look at Lucid’s DreamDrive: Revolutionary or Ordinary?

16 Oct 2020, 10:05 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / The production version of the breathtaking Lucid Air was revealed recently, and its goal is to set new standards for the luxury EV segment. It brings unparalleled range, a massive power output, efficient aerodynamics, and what is described as one o...

 
This is How BMW's LaserLight Technology Works
This is How BMW's LaserLight Technology Works

15 Oct 2020, 08:23 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / The German manufacturer continues to bring innovative technologies to the market, and one highlight of these technologies is the LaserLight system that revolutionized BMW headlights. Designed with the our safety in mind, they help us see farth...

 

Stories by Vlad Radu