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Mircea Panait

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Personal motto:

"If in doubt, flat out." - Colin McRae

Senior Contributor
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Little did he knew back then, but a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO is what sparked Mircea’s interest for cars when he was just a kid. Despite studying mathematics and informatics in high school and economics in university, Mircea turned his passion for all things automotive into a job.
 
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.
Jeep Rolls Out 2025 Gladiator With No Manual Option, Gladiator 4xe Due Next Year
Jeep Rolls Out 2025 Gladiator With No Manual Option, Gladiator 4xe Due Next Year

19 Sep 2024, 01:24 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Although the Wrangler still has a manual for model year 2025, the Gladiator does not. All trims now come with an eight-speed automatic transmission, with prices kicking off at $38,100 plus $1,895 destination for the Sport 4x4 grade. One might be...

 
Mercedes Recalls G 550 and G 63 for Rear Passenger-Side Door That May Open While Driving
Mercedes Recalls G 550 and G 63 for Rear Passenger-Side Door That May Open While Driving

18 Sep 2024, 23:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Mercedes-Benz USA has issued a recall affecting a small number of G 550 and G 63 sport utility vehicles. The luxury off-road vehicles in question received a replacement latch for the rear passenger-side door during a prior safety recall repair or s...

 
Alpine's Forthcoming A390 Crossover Shows Fastback Silhouette, Hidden Rear Door Handles
Alpine's Forthcoming A390 Crossover Shows Fastback Silhouette, Hidden Rear Door Handles

18 Sep 2024, 21:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Little did Renault know back when the French automaker resurrected the A110 in 2017 with a four-cylinder turbo, but Alpine is primed to become fully electric in a few short years. Following the Renault 5-based A290 electric supermini, the A390 elec...

 
2024 Kia Seltos Doesn't Qualify for IIHS Top Safety Pick Award
2024 Kia Seltos Doesn't Qualify for IIHS Top Safety Pick Award

18 Sep 2024, 19:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Slotted between the Soul and Sportage, the Kia Seltos was facelifted for model year 2025. The safety boffins at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety couldn't get their hands on the revised crossover for testing, but they did find the 202...

 
McLaren Recalls GT Over Hood That May Open Unexpectedly
McLaren Recalls GT Over Hood That May Open Unexpectedly

18 Sep 2024, 18:10 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / McLaren Automotive Incorporated has issued a safety recall affecting 1,012 examples of the GT, a mid-engine supercar that has been replaced by the GTS for model year 2024. No fewer than 1,012 units of the 2020 to 2023 model year GT feature hood lat...

 
2024 Subaru Solterra Earns Top Safety Pick+ Accolade, WRX Awarded Top Safety Pick
2024 Subaru Solterra Earns Top Safety Pick+ Accolade, WRX Awarded Top Safety Pick

18 Sep 2024, 16:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has recently tested Subaru's 2024 model year Solterra and WRX. Although the all-electric sport utility vehicle with Toyota underpinnings received the Top Safety Pick+ accolade, the nonprofit organizat...

 
Rivian Recalls Certain 2025 R1S Vehicles Over Missing Cruise Control Markings
Rivian Recalls Certain 2025 R1S Vehicles Over Missing Cruise Control Markings

18 Sep 2024, 15:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A small number of 2025 Rivian R1S electric sport utility vehicles may have been produced with steering column control modules that may be missing cruise control markings, which are required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 101. To this effe...

 
Jeep Cuts Gladiator and Wrangler Production Over Pent-Up Inventories and a Parts Shortage
Jeep Cuts Gladiator and Wrangler Production Over Pent-Up Inventories and a Parts Shortage

17 Sep 2024, 12:35 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Both the Wrangler and Gladiator have been hit with production cuts, albeit for different reasons. Stellantis spokesperson Ann Marie Fortunate revealed that Gladiator production will be paused this week as the automaker deals with bloated inventorie...

 
Drag Race: Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk8.5 Takes on Golf GTI Clubsport Mk8 and Golf R Mk7.5
Drag Race: Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk8.5 Takes on Golf GTI Clubsport Mk8 and Golf R Mk7.5

17 Sep 2024, 11:31 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Mat Watson and company are back with another interesting three-way drag race. On this occasion, the contenders all wear Volkswagen and Golf badges. Be that as it may, not all Golfs are created equal. While all three feature EA888 four-cylinder t...

 
2025 Genesis GV70 and 2024 Electrified GV70 Earn Top Safety Pick+ Accolades From the IIHS
2025 Genesis GV70 and 2024 Electrified GV70 Earn Top Safety Pick+ Accolades From the IIHS

17 Sep 2024, 10:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has recently tested a group of eight vehicles, including the 2025 model year Genesis GV70 and the 2024 model year Genesis Electrified GV70. Not surprising in the least from Hyundai's luxury-oriented m...

 
LS-Powered VW Passat Drag Races 1,200-Horse BMW 1 Series, Winner Needs Only 8.5 Seconds
LS-Powered VW Passat Drag Races 1,200-Horse BMW 1 Series, Winner Needs Only 8.5 Seconds

16 Sep 2024, 21:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Rob Carter's 1974 Volkswagen Passat L Fastback is anything but a first-generation Passat underneath. It's pretty obvious that Rob and company worked their magic to create a stupidly quick drag car, with its owner quoting 1,500 or so horse...

 
Renault Presents Master H2-Tech Prototype, First Customer Vans Due Next Year
Renault Presents Master H2-Tech Prototype, First Customer Vans Due Next Year

16 Sep 2024, 19:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Although Europe's hydrogen fueling station network and fuel-cell technology as a whole leave much to be desired, Renault has confirmed that its hydrogen-powered van will enter production sometime in 2025. The Master H2-Tech Prototype previews ...

 
Honda Accord Enters 2025 Model Year With Higher Prices, More Standard Kit, New SE Trim
Honda Accord Enters 2025 Model Year With Higher Prices, More Standard Kit, New SE Trim

16 Sep 2024, 16:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Now arriving at dealers nationwide, Honda's 2025 Accord is obviously pricier than the 2024 model. Including the $1,095 destination charge, $29,390 is the starting price of the LX trim level, which is $400 more than before. Higher up the spe...

 
Bentley Starts 2025 Continental GT Production, First Car Painted Tourmaline Green
Bentley Starts 2025 Continental GT Production, First Car Painted Tourmaline Green

16 Sep 2024, 16:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The model that we associate with Volkswagen Group-era Bentley has entered its fourth generation. Production has just started in Crewe on the day Walter Owen Bentley was born a whopping 136 years ago. Hailing from Hampstead, the British engineer ...

 
Ford Confirms 2025 Mustang GTD Hits 202 MPH, Packs 815 HP
Ford Confirms 2025 Mustang GTD Hits 202 MPH, Packs 815 HP

16 Sep 2024, 15:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The most powerful and fastest production Mustang ever has been confirmed with over 800 ponies and more than 200 miles an hour at full chatter. More specifically, Ford Motor Company promises 815 mechanical horses and 202 miles per hour, meaning 325 ...

 
Tuned BMW M3 Drag Races Mercedes-AMG G 63, Both Clock 13 Seconds
Tuned BMW M3 Drag Races Mercedes-AMG G 63, Both Clock 13 Seconds

15 Sep 2024, 11:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / CSL AutoTime is back with another seemingly odd pairing in the form of a tuned M3 and a G 63. Pictured on a rather dusty runway in Thailand, these vehicles couldn't be more different under the skin, beginning with chassis design. Like all ...

 
McLaren 750S Drag Races Lamborghini Revuelto, Outcome Won't Surprise Anyone
McLaren 750S Drag Races Lamborghini Revuelto, Outcome Won't Surprise Anyone

14 Sep 2024, 20:27 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Believed to be McLaren's final combustion-only production vehicle, the 750S isn't merely a facelifted 720S with more oomph. It's a lighter vehicle as well, and this lightness does pay dividends in a good ol' drag race. Pictur...

 
Nissan Slashes Rogue, Frontier Production Stateside Over Bloated Inventories
Nissan Slashes Rogue, Frontier Production Stateside Over Bloated Inventories

13 Sep 2024, 18:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Nissan North America has decided to cut production of two popular vehicles to manage excess inventory, a problem it also faced last year. As per an email obtained by Automotive News, dealers have been informed of a 40,000-vehicle production slash f...

 
The Lotus Eletre Got Insanely Expensive Stateside, New Eletre Carbon Is $229,900
The Lotus Eletre Got Insanely Expensive Stateside, New Eletre Carbon Is $229,900

13 Sep 2024, 16:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Lotus Technology confirmed back in April 2024 that Eletre carries a starting price of $107,000 in the United States of America. Five months later, prospective customers are now presented with a starting price of 229,900 buckaroos for the Eletre R-b...

 
VinFast VF8 Under Investigation Over Alleged Lane Keep Assist Issues
VinFast VF8 Under Investigation Over Alleged Lane Keep Assist Issues

13 Sep 2024, 14:18 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Self-entitled "leading new electric car company" VinFast finds itself in hot waters over alleged issues with the lane keep assist system of the 2023 and 2024 model year VF8. As it happens, the Office of Defects Investigation has received ...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait