autoevolution
 

Mircea Panait

20,859  ARTICLES

Personal motto:

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

Senior Contributor
editor photo
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.
OEM Car Infotainment Systems Evolution: From the Humble AM Radio to 5G Internet Access
OEM Car Infotainment Systems Evolution: From the Humble AM Radio to 5G Internet Access

25 Nov 2024, 03:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / SiriusXM satellite radio, Spotify music streaming, and Netflix video streaming. In-car entertainment has come a long way in the past 120 years or so, which is hardly surprising. On the one hand, the past century was a period of tremendous innov...

 
2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Order Books Allegedly Opening February 2025
2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Order Books Allegedly Opening February 2025

24 Nov 2024, 01:34 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The most powerful regular-production vehicle from a US automaker is listed by Chevrolet as coming sometime in 2025. As for precisely when, only the Detroit-based colossus actually knows. GM Authority heard from sources familiar with the matter ...

 
BMW M2 Drag Races Audi RS 3 and Mercedes-AMG A 45 S, It’s Not Exactly Close
BMW M2 Drag Races Audi RS 3 and Mercedes-AMG A 45 S, It’s Not Exactly Close

24 Nov 2024, 01:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As part of the 2025 Cars.co.za Awards, the South African motoring publication has raced three compact bruisers over the quarter mile. Although the M2 Coupe may be disadvantaged from a dig, the rear-drive thriller offers the most powerful engine of ...

 
Jeep Grand Cherokee Recalled Over Incorrectly Programmed Instrument Panel Cluster
Jeep Grand Cherokee Recalled Over Incorrectly Programmed Instrument Panel Cluster

23 Nov 2024, 21:41 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / FCA US LLC has identified a problem affecting select 2024 model year Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicles. According to documents filed by the Auburn Hills-based automaker with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, suspect vehic...

 
Alpine Reveals Monochromatic A110 S Art Car
Alpine Reveals Monochromatic A110 S Art Car

23 Nov 2024, 20:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Renault-controlled Alpine has recently unveiled a very special sports car in the form of the 2024 Art Car. Based on the A 110 S, the midship commission was created by Alpine with input from black and white photographer Mathieu Cesar. Black and w...

 
Hyundai Recalls 2025 Tucson and Santa Cruz for Rollaway Risk
Hyundai Recalls 2025 Tucson and Santa Cruz for Rollaway Risk

23 Nov 2024, 19:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The highly popular Tucson and the ailing Santa Cruz have been hit with a safety recall. According to Hyundai Motor America, no fewer than 42,465 vehicles produced for the 2025 model year with both the naturally aspirated and turbocharged 2.5-liter ...

 
2026 Ford Ranger Super Duty Spied With Rear Tray, Snorkel Air Intake
2026 Ford Ranger Super Duty Spied With Rear Tray, Snorkel Air Intake

23 Nov 2024, 01:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The most capable Ranger yet is due in 2026 with the biggest maximum braked towing capacity, gross vehicle mass, and gross combined mass of any Ranger before it. Previewed on November 19, the work-oriented truck has already been spied by the carpara...

 
Old Subaru Forester Wilderness Soldiers on for the 2025 Model Year, Starts at $34,995
Old Subaru Forester Wilderness Soldiers on for the 2025 Model Year, Starts at $34,995

22 Nov 2024, 21:54 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Subaru revealed the sixth-generation Forester at the 2023 Los Angeles Auto Show. Despite being derived from the previous generation, the 2025 model didn't receive a Wilderness trim level. April 2024 saw the Japanese automaker publish US-market...

 
2025 Volvo EX90 Electric SUVs Recalled Over Improperly Tightened Seat Bolts
2025 Volvo EX90 Electric SUVs Recalled Over Improperly Tightened Seat Bolts

22 Nov 2024, 21:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Volvo's first bespoke zero-emission vehicle has been hit with its first recall. As it happens, one or more attaching bolts for the second row's free-standing seat may not have been tightened from the factory. The assembly plant in questio...

 
Dodge Charger Drag Races BMW M340i and Lexus IS 500, Proves That Power Isn't Everything
Dodge Charger Drag Races BMW M340i and Lexus IS 500, Proves That Power Isn't Everything

22 Nov 2024, 19:54 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Sam CarLegion is back with a quarter-mile showdown between three go-faster machines. On this occasion, it's naturally aspirated V8 muscle versus a turbo inline-six engine with an oil level sensor instead of a good ol' dipstick. Startin...

 
Kia Recalls Almost 63,000 Electric Vehicles Over Potentially Damaged Charging Unit
Kia Recalls Almost 63,000 Electric Vehicles Over Potentially Damaged Charging Unit

22 Nov 2024, 18:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Hyundai sister brand Kia has issued a safety recall comprising 62,872 examples of the Ioniq 5-twinned EV6 crossover. The root cause behind this campaign is transient high voltage and thermal cycling, which may damage the integrated charging control...

 
Hyundai and Genesis Recall 145,235 Vehicles for Potentially Damaged Charging Unit
Hyundai and Genesis Recall 145,235 Vehicles for Potentially Damaged Charging Unit

22 Nov 2024, 17:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Hyundai and its premium-oriented sibling have issued a pretty big recall comprising 145,235 electric vehicles produced for the United States market. According to Hyundai Motor America, the integrated charging control unit may become damaged. A ...

 
European 2025 Mazda EZ-6 Spied Testing With Swedish License Plates
European 2025 Mazda EZ-6 Spied Testing With Swedish License Plates

22 Nov 2024, 00:51 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Changan Mazda's electric liftback is currently exclusive to China. In the near future, a global version will join the roster, beginning with Mazda's European lineup. Our spy photographers have recently caught a Euro-spec 2025 Mazda EZ-6 i...

 
2025 Jeep Recon Prototypes Hit Michigan Roads With Nexen Roadian ATX Rubber Boots
2025 Jeep Recon Prototypes Hit Michigan Roads With Nexen Roadian ATX Rubber Boots

21 Nov 2024, 23:10 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Stellantis-controlled Jeep brand has recently started testing lightly camouflaged Recon electric off-roaders in Michigan. Our spy photographers have captured three of them, with all rocking Nexen Roadian ATX tires on 17-inch wheels of the doubl...

 
Fisker Ocean Gets Recalled Over Unintended Vehicle Movement
Fisker Ocean Gets Recalled Over Unintended Vehicle Movement

21 Nov 2024, 21:56 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The bankrupt automaker behind the Ocean electric sport utility vehicle has issued yet another safety recall. Forced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through a preliminary investigation conducted by the Office of Defects Investi...

 
Audi's Revised e-tron GT Now Has a Price Tag in the US, Prepare at Least $125,500
Audi's Revised e-tron GT Now Has a Price Tag in the US, Prepare at Least $125,500

21 Nov 2024, 20:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Revealed in June 2024, the 2025 model year Audi e-tron GT is coming to a US dealership near you with different styling and prices from the pre-facelift 2024 models. The lineup comprises a new entry-level grade dubbed S e-tron GT in place of the old...

 
2026 Kia EV9 GT Makes LA Auto Show Debut With 501 Electric Ponies
2026 Kia EV9 GT Makes LA Auto Show Debut With 501 Electric Ponies

21 Nov 2024, 18:52 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Hyundai used the 2024 Los Angeles Auto Show to reveal the Kia EV9-twinned Ioniq 9 electric people carrier. But over at Kia, the sister company unleashed its most powerful family-oriented vehicle to date in the form of the 501-horsepower EV9 GT. ...

 
Watch the Porsche 911 GT3 RS Get Thrashed by the Cup Racing Car at Anglesey
Watch the Porsche 911 GT3 RS Get Thrashed by the Cup Racing Car at Anglesey

21 Nov 2024, 18:05 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In the 29th season of the British motoring television show Fifth Gear, the one and only Jason Plato drove two very similar yet also different cars on a circuit that Plato knows like the back of his hand. Enter the road-going Porsche 911 GT3 RS and ...

 
BMW M2 Drag Races Audi RS 3 and smart #3 Brabus, ICE Loyalists Won't Like the Outcome
BMW M2 Drag Races Audi RS 3 and smart #3 Brabus, ICE Loyalists Won't Like the Outcome

21 Nov 2024, 16:54 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / smart used to be fairly unique in the automotive space. It made very safe and smart-looking cars for city dwellers, pint-sized cars that stood out from the usual A-segment econoboxes. However, as everyone and their dog embraced the crossover boom, ...

 
INEOS Automotive Resolves Grenadier and Quartermaster Critical Supply Chain Hurdle
INEOS Automotive Resolves Grenadier and Quartermaster Critical Supply Chain Hurdle

21 Nov 2024, 15:56 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Automotive supply chains are incredibly complex. Even the smallest problem in the chain is capable of halting production, as demonstrated by INEOS Automotive's recent hurdle with a yet-unnamed supplier. Believed to be linked with Recaro...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait