The website has published the latest news, test drives, photos, spy photos of the Mercedes-Benz brand. Considering that the Mercedes-brand does not only mean passenger cars, we also have a division for commercial vehicles and trucks.
From the funny Smart to the giant Actros, without failing to mention the Unimog, the motorsport or the tuners, we want to cover everything about this reputed brand. Mercedes-Benz has a mythical history. For this reason, we dedicate a classic section about the most famous Mercedes-Benz models and about classic events and anniversary dates. We also include both a lifestyle section and a video one.
Our target is to have a global coverage of all fields and related fields where Mercedes-Benz is active, and our intention is that Mercedesblog.com becomes an aggregator of information about Mercedes-Benz.
Stuff about staff
Mercedesblog.com website was started by three MERCEDES-BENZ enthusiasts – Razvan Magureanu, Florin Micu and Mihai Baltac.
Editorial team
Razvan Magureanu (47, editor in chief)
I am heat engine engineer and, since I was a child, I have been enjoying writing about cars. Starting in 1993, I started making car magazines and for almost 20 years, I have worked as senior editor and then editor in chief for international licenses, like Auto motor und Sport and Auto Bild, which were, for many years, car leading titles in my native country.
This past summer I took another challenge and I had the idea to try to build a Mercedes-Benz website, where Mercedes-Benz fans from all over the world could information from all fields Mercedes-Benz is present in. Why Mercedes? Because I have a traditional connection with the Mercedes brand.
My master degree subject was the dynamic calculation of a 3 litre 188 HP 6 cylinder in line petrol engine, similar in characteristics with the famous engine in the 300 E (code W 124), at the end of the 80s . For many years, I have been a tremendous collector of Mercedes models and I have always been fascinated by the S-Class family, that combines fine elegance and modern luxury with superb comfort and top quality.
Alex Șincan (44, classic section editor)
60 years after the debut of the “sportscar of the 20th century” and 20 years after the start of my own career as an automotive journalist, I’ve certainly learned something: in life, things will never go exactly like we would plan, prefer or wish them to happen. But here’s the fun and the challenge that keeps us moving. Let’s rock! – as they used to say. Beyond the cars themselves, Mercedes-Benz has always represented, for me, a summum of valuable criteria to follow: fine harmony between concept and performance, highest possible quality, safety above expectations and all these with grace, in a respectable style! As a young student in design, I considered Paul Bracq and Bruno Sacco (they created the modern Mercedes design) as my virtual mentors. At the beginning of the nineties, I got a free subscription at a French car magazine by winning a design contest for enthusiasts with a Mercedes-Benz oriented idea – it was a SEC-based coupe with restyled body and gullwing doors. A major achivement in my professional life came in 2004, when I succeed to publish the book “Way of the Stars”, about the history of the Mercedes SL series. I think the time has come for me to share as much as possible of the Mercedes-inspiration that guided me like a shining star through the years.
So… here I am!
Dan Athanasiu (46, commercial vehicles editor)
I have long connections with the Mercedes-Benz brand and the truck family. In 2003, I was invited, as a motor journalist, to the Michelin Challenge Bibendum in San Francisco and on the Sonoma Track, where I have driven a demo Freightliner (!) garbage truck. My very first contact with the star was a W115 in ’75, which I washed few times. Few years later, I was falling in love, for the first time, with a Düsseldorfer bus. Then, I heard about the Unimog and I changed. My first owned car did not a star on the hood, but my first truck was a Kurzhauber. First truck that I slept in was an Actros, somewhere in Northern Europe. My first van was a Dodge Ram (pre DaimlerChrysler) dieselized by myself, with internal organs from a Sprinter. My first driving report was about the first Sprinter generation. After that, for 20 years, I have been writing stories about all kinds of classes from the A to the V, but none with such pleasure like with the trucks. Every time I go up in a Unimog or in a Sprinter, I understand what “Zen” means. I was hearing truckers saying, so many times: “A Mercedes is a Mercedes!” Really, what other truck brand is more popular than Mercedes-Benz? Sure, many people hate this, but none can ignore. Coincidences or synergies between me and Mercedes-Benz, who knows? From now, this is the place where I will share all my experiences regarding star trucks. Even Western Star.
Oraan Marculescu (37, editor)
As a kid, I devoured all the car magazines that I could find – because the internet hadn’t been invented yet. I formed myself as a passionate car enthusiast and gradually began to understand more and more from the auto industry. This passion made me become a student of an Automotive Technical University, but, instead of a car designer or an engineer, I somehow became a car journalist. And I don’t regret this a bit, because it’s been a life full of new things to learn and new people to meet and new cars to drive.
Of course, the age of internet means much more information and a fulminant evolution of technology – so that nowadays, I’m very much aware of the pollution issues. I’m now more interested in new alternative and ecological propulsion (but I have to admit, there is still some petrolhead in me…). My first encounter with a Mercedes car was during childhood, when I saw an unforgettable Cobra, the kind that lives more than you do. I was impressed, but I was also young, so I remained respectfully aside the fan-club. But now, there is a B-Class Electric Drive, there was a stupendous SLS Electric Drive a couple of years ago, there are big plans for hydrogen propulsion… Yes, the Mercedes-Benz future sounds very ECO, so I have many reasons to follow the evolution of this brand much closely.
Radu Gurămultă (editor)
I have been working in the automotive media for almost five years, since I was 25 years old. At the beginning, it was just a happening that, in time, turned into a beautiful story (at least for me)! Practically, I am an automotive engineer and the writing part developed because I was an avid consumer of auto information, especially specialized magazines. I’m a rather selective individual, that often gets emotionally involved in his writings. The passion for cars and, in general, for any motorized “creature” has been established since childhood, when I used to finely dream, like many other children, to become a Formula 1 driver. I flirted with karting for a while, but not in a pleasant and well-organized environment, nor team, therefore all my hopes were brutally ruined, just like my perspective of a future career in motorsport. Despite this, my passion for the smell of burnt fuel and tortured tire never ceased to exist. After graduating, my story in the automotive media has begun, and recently I adhered to the Mercedesblog concept. The affinity for the motorsport continues to be at high levels, only that the attraction for Formula 1 was replaced by rallies and touring cars racing. Thus the passion for DTM and for what I consider to be to the most spectacular track racing competition at the present. I had the opportunity to assist at DTM sessions and I can say that it is truly a show, completed by the special/impressive overall atmosphere. Recently, I started a professional sports career, as a rally co-driver, besides being a spectator and a journalist. I hope that this proves to be a natural stage in approaching the racing steering wheel.
Elena Luchian (editor)
It all started with a Mercedes-Benz 500 parked in front of my apartment building in the early 90’s. It was a giant. It was a quadrat. And I was mesmerized by those sharp angles and solid silhouette. “When I will grow up, I will buy one just like that”, I said. I was 8. And now it’s a bit too late. Too late for that square-like Benz. Since that very moment, every single year, I chose a different favourite car. But every single every year, the name of it started with “Mercedes-Benz”. I am not even going to mention my number one favourite today. Who knows which one it will be tomorrow?
All I can say is that by the age of 8, I could recognize any car brand just by seeing a single headlight. Now it’s enough to see a door handle sometimes.
But before getting to the door handles, my journalism career started back in 2001, in a Sports newsroom of a television company. I was 18 and a first year student in the Journalism University. And oh, yes, it was my dream come true! I watched soccer, tennis and of course, car races, anything with a ball or without, day in and day out.
I became a senior editor in 2005. I started watching less and writing more. “Give me a word and I write a book about it”. That was my motto. Simple as that and so effective in television broadcasting.
I have supervised the work in the Sports newsroom for eight years and a half. But things don’t always go according to plan, so I ended up taking advantage of my English… by teaching. My students have noticed that all free conversation lessons draw the… steering wheel towards cars. Am I lucky they like it or what?
The day before taking the job interview for Mercedesblog.com, I posted a photo of the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo on a social network, although I had no idea of this amazing project, nor of my future tasks. I do believe in good signs, so that must have been one. And now, here I am, writing about my all time favourite car. But oh, my, those square shapes have changed along the way!
Alina Socaci (23, editor)
My name is Alina and I’m 23 years old, the youngest one here. Surprised? Probably you are. But there’s more. Let me start with the more formal part. I graduated from the University of Bucharest, Communication and Public Relations and now I’m doing my master’s degree in Advertising. But studying wasn’t my only concern during my time as a student. As a 20 year-old youngster, I spent one summer over the Atlantic, in the United States (“Work & Travel” program for those who aren’t familiar with it). But there is more. I was involved in many extracurricular activities, two NGOs – student organizations – and I was part of the team that organized a project for students who are passionate about politics. As you can see, everything I did had nothing to do with the automotive industry.
Things changed in February 2014, when I was accepted as an intern at Nissan Romania. For 6 months, I have learnt to love this industry. I never thought that I would continue in this industry. But odds were in my favour, so here I am. And yes, I’ve always disliked presenting myself, but I hope I managed to do it somehow.