#McLaren RIGHT YOU ARE AT THE BOTTOM ON PURPOSE RIGHT

[aaron04jpg]

“MCLAREN IS SANDBAGGING” I scream as they drag me into a padded room

[themultifanshipper]

Of course Oscar deserved his win. But that didn't mean that Lando wasn't going to be a little shit about it.

Just imagine he's looking at Oscar in this pic and not max ok? Wrote this in like 30 minutes, I just needed to get it out of my brain

Warnings: Jealous Lando, anal sex, bad etiquette, crying, hair pulling, restraining?, drooling, first time domming/bottomming, filth inspired by the drama at hungary 2024

Lando followed Oscar all the way to his driver's room after the podium. They had about 15 minutes before they were scheduled for their post-race debrief (where Lando was probably going to get quite an earful) and he intended to use every single second of it to exact his petty revenge.

“What are you doing?” Oscar said, the breath being knocked out of him as Lando slammed him into the wall and plastered himself against the younger man's back.

“I'm rewarding you for your first win, baby” he said simply, nosing at Oscar's damp neck, leaving sweet kisses in his path.

When his hand reached around and grabbed Oscar through his suit, the younger man keened and rutted into Lando's open palm.

Lando was flying high, seeing his boyfriends willingness to submit to him so easily, because in their relationship Oscar always got what he wanted, and he always wanted to be in charge.

Today however, Lando was sick of Oscar getting his way, he'd almost hoped that McLaren would let him keep position but no such luck, and he decided to take it into his own hands (literally).

His hands slithered up to unzip Oscar's suit as he whispered into his ear seductively.

“Right now I'm in control, and you're going to take everything I give you, understood?”

Oscar gasped and nodded quickly, blush rapidly spreading over the side of his face that Lando could see.

Maybe Oscar needed this as much as Lando did.

In no time their suits were bunched up at their thighs, fireproofs still on, but pulled down enough for Lando to pull his cock out.

Oscar was open and leaking as he babbled his way through a plea for Lando to just get on with it.

So Lando obliged, one hand around Oscar's already marked up throat, the other spreading him open, as he breached his rim.

He stayed like that for a few seconds, just the tip inside, and Oscar got frustrated and wiggled his hips to try and push back against Lando's cock. But it was no use, Lando’s hand pushed Oscar back against the wall roughly, before sliding all the way in to the base.

Oscar was trapped between a wall and a hard place (excuse the pun) as Lando pinned him flat, and his hands scrambled uselessly for purchase against the bare wall.

Lando didn't waste any time pounding into his boyfriend, aware that they didn't have much time left, pouring all his anger and frustration into the movement of his hips as Oscar muffled his wails into his fist against the wall.

That wouldn't do. So Lando grabbed both Oscar's wrists and twisted his arms to pin them behind his back. He also threaded his fingers through Oscars hair and pulled.

The new position made Oscar arch and Lando hit impossibly deeper, making him moan even louder.

“That's right baby, I want to hear you… I want everyone in this fucking building to hear how good you are for me, and only me…”

He was getting close, the adrenaline from the race keeping him on edge ever since he got out of the car, so his other hand snuck down and started pumping Oscar's cock in time with his thrusts.

Oscar was sobbing by this point, drooling all over himself as Lando abused his prostate over and over.

About a second before he came, they heard a knock at the door, which happenend to be unlocked (by accident or on purpose, Lando would never admit) and a voice told them they were late for the meeting.

Unfortunately it was too late to stop the extremely loud, sinful (heavenly) noise that came out of Oscar as he came around Lando, and all over his hand and the wall.

There was no way whoever it was hadn't heard and quickly understood what was happening, and Lando tumbled over the edge at the thought of that (he was a freak, what can you do?) and he came deep inside his boyfriend, who was panting against the wall.

Lando wiped his hand on Oscar's fireproofs, quickly dragged his bottoms back up, and zipped him up again.

“There, you go in first and tell them I'll be there in a second” Lando said, taking in the fully disheveled state of the man in front of him.

Cheeks red and wet with tears, visible marks above his collar, suspicious bruise on his cheek, and the invisible, but very uncomfortable cum that was probably leaking out of him.

He was perfect. Lando was so disgustingly in love.

Oscar got to the meeting first, didn't look anyone in the eye and sat down quickly without a word.

Then Lando strolled in a minute later, cool as a cucumber and sat next to him.

One glance around the room told him everything he needed to know about who had been outside their door, as the woman on the other side of Oscar was redder than he thought was possible for a human being, and Zak stood there with fury in his eyes.

Lando smirked. Thank god he was a bit of a masochist, because he was really in for it now.

[frostythefrostedfox]

Overanalysing Analysis

Me, sitting at the desk, suit and tie, glasses on: Ladies and gentlemen, today I regret to inform you that I have been overanalizing something that doesn’t needs to be analized to begin with, I completely lost about 3 hours of my life rewatching the same footage over and over, in very bad quality as well, so I could bring you content, not high quality content, quality is sold separatedly as DLC, just content. And that is: The brilliance of the only good parts of Cars 2, The race scenes.

So you better click out of this post right now else you’ll be reading the ramblings of a madman, don’t say I didn’t warned you.

Also, the less quality screenshots belong to the few footage of the Cars 2 DVD, that includes the deleted scenes of the movie.

First of all, the mockup SPEED Network titles and presentation, which resembles the official intro sequence of all FIA championship races, also the fact that they are using 3 official motorsport commentators.

They kept the logo on as the camera goes around as if this was the live feed from any race day. Normally this type of thing is done on the grid as these are the moments that preface the formation lap on any discipline, but I can see why they kept it inside the pits, else the pre-race chatter and the warmup wouldn’t be noticeable, also to cut production time, as pre-formation lap preparations tend to look like this

A bunch of equipment, umbrellas, engineers, media and overall clutter all behind the SC, considering that in Cars everyone is a car (duh, is in the name), this wouldn’ve been hell to fit in without making a random ass huge main straight, or making everyone be so awkwardly positioned on the grid.

Then we get the cars themselves

Francesco, obviously being a Formula 1 car, according to my guess (Source: trust me bro) being a hybrid between the F2004 and the F248 (2006 season), his swaying on the heating is minimal, slow reduced speed and pace on the out so the engine, electronics and brakes won’t overheat.

The GT cars (I actually have no idea who that is supposed to be), strong swaying and quick revving to keep the engine on the mark, as those cars, although specially fitted for racing, are still commercially available cars that you can buy, so keeping perfect temperatures and being “on the zone” at all times is not their main purpose unlike the LMP1, 2 and Formula cars

Next we have “Raoul ÇaRoule“, or, as I like to call him, offbrand Sebastien Loeb, because that’s totally who he is supposed to be, the french flag and the “rally champion” title give it off, considering he is still the one with the most titles in the WRC, which in the Cars universe is called the GRC but for just a name usage and some vague likeness, it just wasn’t worth the money, which is honestly an understandable choice; notice how his swaying is the most pronounced, and his rev periods are longer than anyone else’s, and that’s on point with rally cars, they are high torque high accleeration cars with a very open differential and a loose steering to allow for easy corrections and compensation without overdoing it, as they usually race on ice, dirt and other slippery surfaces that would make precise track-like steering a one way ticket into a tree.

A deleted shot, see the ammount of detail on that Vanquish GT.

Yes, that’s motherfucking Lewis Hamilton, portrayed as none other than a McLaren, as that’s the team he was racing for in 2011.

They even included a DMT/WTC car! And it seems to be a Mercedes CLK.

This shot is just beautiful, I’ll allow my suspension of disbelief to simply take the wheel here as those boxes are too close together and right next to each other, but who cares, the painted-over asphalt like the one in street circuits, the small “belly” at the bottom that McQueen’s tires get as his car-type is on the quite heavy side, the stiffness of Francesco’s tires with the toe in camber at the front wheels, the different tide width for each car, this show is just amazing.

A small shot that we get from McQueen’s POV, you can see the heat thing where it becomes blurry, you can see the details on that (obviously not licensed) LMP1 car with all the details on it, the classic Aston Martin GT body 3 places ahead of McQueen is also a lovely sight to see, with the high wing as they tend to have on GT Competitions.

The starting sequence is a pale where I can see that they put a lot of work and detail on, the rally car and the TOCA cars simply taking off as soon as the lights get green while the GT cars like the Corvette and the Aston Martin taking a bit longer, moving off the grid slower

But as soon as they move forward, they build speed insanely fast, also the huge detail of the Corvette’s bad start as he gets stuck on the first gear and can’t advance until a few seconds later, when he has the McLaren behind him already taking an overtaking line on the left. And don’t forget the AM’s diffusor almost touching the ground.

Another great shot, you can see all of their eyes looking to the left, where the distance to corner indicators are on, everybody looking for their insividual braking point, cars with slower speed but higher acceleration stay on the middle while high aero cars try to go for the inside like the LMP1 as it can brake faster than any other, or Francesco going for the outside so he can do the corner while braking the less, relying entirely on his aero.

Although out of focus, time to appreciate the detail of the back of Francesco, that’s some high detail modelling right there, you can see most of the components and how most of the car is actually empty underneath, you can even see how the suspension moves up and down as he goes thru the track, if I were to be picky the only thing he is missing is the recovery light at the bottom.

A million different lines all based on the specific car taking the turn, TOCA cars going for the inside at all cost so they can accelerate quicker, GT cars preferring a more open line to use the entire width of the track to be less aggressive on the tires as they weight a hell of a lot more.

Now the boxes are also a delight to see

“Gorvette” the GT Corvette gets an F150 (another Ford manufactured car) as its engineer.

A french car, the Citroën DS for the french offbrand Loeb.

A japanese car for the Japanese LMP1 car.

Francesco gets a 250GT Convertible, of course it is another Ferrari, lol

And you can see it on the back of the shot, the Spaniard racer gets a SEAT (possibly a SEAT Leon) as his engineer.

First of all, great lighting and great detail on the track; second, everyone but the rally car is racing on the wrong line, trying to take the path that is the straightest and with the least elevation changes, yet the rally one is the only one that takes the right one, the side with the most camber to help reduce the speed coming into the corner without having to touch too much of the brakes, an enviromental lift and coast if you must, and at the same time it takes advantage of his higher suspension rebound as he has less of a cahnce of bottoming out, unlike literally all the other cars.

OMG Is this Dirt 6?

That’s a pretty good shot right there, a classic “Left 4 DC Tightens, Right 4 Cut Opens”

Those red brakes, THOSE RED BRAKES, Beautiful.

Again, suspension of disbelief taking the wheel because that shot was amazing, but McQueen got the plot armor, do that big of a jump and see how you faceplant the dirt and roll over.

But at the same time, great how the other car is doing it the way it should be done, and even in the next shot you see how it has gained on McQueen by doing that.

The dirt on his body. The sense of speed of the scene. The way the sound echoes. I know this is “average japanese tunnel” but this whole sequence gives me “Monaco Tunnel section” vibes. If only this movie was as great as these shots

Another great backshot, nothing else to say.

Another deleted shot, this is what I meant by Monaco vibes, seeing his wheel so close to the wall and have the sound reflect that by echoing even louder is just great.

Absolute classic TV coverage angle, simply great.

Turn 13 Singapore my beloved, the section is longer than it is IRL and for obvious licensing issues it doesn’t has the metal arch that oversees the straight between 11 and 12, but it even has the small kink right that is turn 12 into the hairpin of Turn 13 just like in the real track

Even on a movie, Lewis is an asshole, brake-switching lanes and not allowing anyone to race on his side of the track, very IC representation of him (and this was in 2011 mind you, even before we saw more his.. interesting... interpretation of the F1 rules, was this some next level foreshadowing?)

Singapore Sling my beloved, I miss you (actually I don’t, I hope you never come back).

Notice how McQueen doesn’t even blinks until he is out of the section, and how every driver that comes moves their eyes from apex to apex

More Sling pics with moving eyes, I love it, also, look at the tyre marks, so beautiful, also that Vanquish nose, so beautiful x2, and lets not forget Loeb in the back doing the most open turns known to man (car?) so he doesn’t has to press the brakes and can just high-rev the entire section like in RXC.

Look at the muddy teardrop, look at the exhaust gas, look at the everything. I’ll never have enough of these low angle sideshots in any Cars movie. Also, mandatory Wangan mention.

You guys really pushing the suspension of disbelief here lol, no way in hell that a NASCAR (insert laugh emoji) car is able to hold back and gain from two prototype racers and and F1 car. Although Francesco is really pushing forward in that shot, but still.

But.

I don’t care, still a great shot, nice to see how much depth and detail is actually there.

He readies it and...

Amazing, as it should be, right on the tail, getting all the reduced drag possible before pushing out into clean air and passing the car like its standing.

Forget what I said earlier, no I am not going all the way up to correct it, if you made it all the way down here you can just pretend that I did, he has the recovery light, and is so pretty, the wing is so on spot, everything really, look at the dirst from earlier, how it splashes back, look at the closeness to the ground, everything is there, absolutely everything.

It’s such a shame that we really only have 1 full race, and the racen is constantly being cut out by some decaf 007 bs that nobody actually cared about; the whole plot of “multinational racing event that is just a big conspiration” was great as it was, because the sport has had lots and lots of those, just the name “Briatore” should be enough to make like 3 movies out of that, and that’s leaving out the lesser known but equally interesting scandals like Multi 21, and the sport defining moments like Jules’ incident (RIP), both the FIA and the FIM have enough drama by themselves to make a movie with this plot interesting enough with just that, racing, cars doing car things like the first movie (Even tho the first one is based off the year-round april’s fools joke known as NASCAR), zero need for Mater to be turnt into a James Bond LARPer

[edie-baby]

Baby Boy Chapter 10 (S) | Lando Norris

Summary: Milana Navratilova is the best friend of Victoria Verstappen, and is for lack of a better word, a minx. She can pull anyone into bed with her at any time. So when she attends the Austrian Grand Prix with Victoria, the drivers make for good bedfellows. Until she finds a man who makes her finally feel like herself. Her baby boy.

Warnings: smut, swearing, non-con kiss (THIS CHAPTER TOO), OC is a w h o r e and i love her.

Mila and Lando arrived back at the hotel where both of their teams were staying. Mila offered her room for their movie night as it had the privacy of the master bedroom where they could have some privacy in case Victoria was staying in tonight. However, as they approached the pair’s room, they saw Max sitting outside on his phone, a determined look on his face when he looked up and saw his target.

With a purposeful march, Max made it to Milana in a few seconds, and without warning, pulled her in by the waist and kissed her. Not wanting to interfere as the two weren’t together, Lando stood behind the pair, waiting for a reaction from Mila so that he could either pull Max away from her or go back to his own room alone. The former happened, as Mila’s arms were desperately swatting at Max’s chest to get him off her. Lando yelled out for Alex as he knew his best friend was staying on the same floor as Mila. Alex popped his head out and saw Lando pulling Max away from Milana.

“Hey mate, let’s get you to your room. I think you’ve had a bit too much to drink.” Alex tried to calmly move the large driver back to his room without causing a scene with the already annoyed Mila and furious Lando. He got him far enough down the hall that Mila felt that she could pull Lando and herself into her room without risk of the raging bull of a RedBull driver coming barging into the room.

Lando was even angrier than when the two had left the restaurant. Mila wanted to calm him down, but truly had no idea how to as she and Lando didn’t know all that much about each other. Mila stood halfway across the room from Lando, close to the front door of the room, feeling comforted by the slightly enclosed space. He could feel her looking at him, not knowing what to do or say or think, but Lando needed to do something. His footsteps were quick as he crossed the room, merely two seconds from when he first made a move until when he was right in front of her.

Lando roughly grabbed the sides of Mila’s face and kissed her with all of the frustration, the passion, the anger, the desire, the need he had for her. Her lips tangled with his in a perfect duet, her hands holding tightly to his wrists. The two separated to breathe, and Lando took a step back, breathing heavily as he attempted to process what he had done. She had just been forcefully kissed by Max, and now here he was doing the exact same thing.

His spiralling thoughts were cut off by the collar of his sweater being roughly tugged closer to the floor, where he realised the shorter woman was begging for him to kiss her again. He did so, just as hard as the first kiss, their noses bumped, their teeth clashed at some point, but neither noticed nor cared. All that mattered was them, together, and him, and her. The kiss seemed to heat up even further, Mila’s hands tugging on the brown curls she adored so much while Lando’s hands travelled to the back of the girl’s thighs to pick her up, her legs wrapping around his waist before he drove them both into the wall, his hand cradled the back of her neck, his thumb putting pressure on the side of her jaw. He used his finger to turn her head, his kisses moving to her neck, immediately targeting her pulse point on the side of her neck. He began sucking hard on the skin, and Mila couldn’t help but cry out from the overwhelming pleasure. His hips ground into hers, using the wall as leverage so he could get even more friction between their bodies. He continued to suck blood to the surface of the skin on her neck and the small portion of exposed skin of her chest that he could access with her dress still on. His feverish kisses moved back to her lips while he carried her toward the closed bedroom door. He used one arm to support Mila’s weight, using the other to turn the handle of the door, he kicked the door shut behind them before turning to push Mila up against this door as well. His hands began travelling more, his hands squeezing her ass, hoisting her thighs up higher for a better angle to grind into her cunt. And all Mila wanted was to get his damn shirt and sweater off. He chuckled, pulling her away from the door to move to the bed. Lando dropped the short girl onto the bed, who immediately sat up on her knees to help Lando get his tops off. He pulled the sweater over his head in one movement, and Mila had to admit it was such a sexy thing, for absolutely no reason other than it was Lando doing it. Her fingers were shaking with anticipation as she popped each shirt button undone until Lando was standing there in an unbuttoned shirt, his tanned skin and muscular torso all for her to see. His hair was in disarray and his lips were swollen and she had never felt luckier.

Without wasting any more time, Mila pushed Lando’s shirt off his shoulders, watching as it fell to the floor. His biceps had grown even more since she had first met him, and without the hindrance of a shirt, she could finally appreciate them for all that they were. Lando, however, wasn’t much in the standing around mood. His lips reattached to Mila’s, and his hands made quick work of the zipper on the back of her dress. His calloused hands ran over her shoulders, down her arms, and then followed the curve of her waist to her hips where the material finally fell to a heap on the bed, pooling around her knees. Lando’s eyes took in her heaving chest, covered by a sheer and orange bra, complete with the matching panties.

“You’ll be the death of me, Princess.” Lando’s voice was deeper and raspier than Mila had ever heard it before. And the pet name had her soaking through her panties. Lando laid her back on the bed, his kisses becoming softer and sweeter. His hand slid beneath her back, his teeth latching onto her nipple through the material of the bra, making her back arch. He undid her clasp with one hand, his other already occupied with hitching her leg higher up on his waist to allow a better angle to grind down into her. The coarse material of his jeans provided the most blissful friction right against her clit, and a hungry moan left her throat. She tossed her bra across the room after finally getting her arms out of it. Lando sat up on his knees between her legs, admiring the woman beneath him.

Mila’s eyes were closed, her head back against the pillow as she attempted to catch her breath in the brief pause. Her arms reached out for Lando, desperate to run her hands through his hair, to feel the muscles in his back working to keep him above her. Lando had grabbed her hands and tied them above her to the headboard, much like she had done to Max and Daniel. Except she had never been restrained before, she had always been the one in control.

And suddenly, the conversation about why Lando had such a passion for driving flashed in her mind.

But it's exhilarating, having all of the power, being the one in charge. It fuels me.

Lando sat back on his knees again, enjoying the view of Mila all tied up and ready for him. The hungry look on her face told him she was enjoying it a lot more than she might have expected, and Lando was about to make damn sure she enjoyed herself.

Mila felt caged, like prey. With her arms tied tight above her head, and Lando’s arms now on either side of her head to support his weight, she suddenly knew exactly why people loved to be dominated. Lando was watching her face, studying her when he saw the change in her eyes. Her eyes changed from dark brown to almost black due to the size of her pupils. A cocky smirk formed on his lips as he let his lips brush over hers and quickly moved away before she could make contact with him. The meekest whimper left her lips, and all of the blood left in Lando’s head travelled straight to his cock.

Lando’s attention moved from Mila’s face to her neck, the roadmap of hickeys would need to be continued now that he had her dress off. His lips began at her collarbone, and from there travelled to the valley between her boobs, reaching over once or twice to leave a mark on her tits. He couldn’t resist flicking his tongue over her pierced nipples just to hear the whines she would let out, and god did they please him. He continued further down, across her stomach, the sensitive spot on her hip bone that deserved a nice, purple love bite.

The orange panties were just too cute. They perfectly matched the papaya of the McLaren, he’d have to ask her to wear this on Sunday while he races, you know, for good luck.

Lando’s index fingers hooked into the waistband of the panties, his cold metal ring brushing along her waist accidentally. A shaky gasp pulled his attention away from the task at hand, and he looked up only to immediately meet Mila’s eyes. She was watching him, enraptured. He sent her a wink and licked his bottom lip in a quick swipe. Mila let out another one of those pathetic little whimpers that sent a shiver down his spine and right to his throbbing cock.

He pulled the panties off in a swift motion, he wanted to taste her, needed to taste her. His large hands took their place on the inside of her thighs, parting them just enough to fit his head between. He sucked a quick love bite onto the inside of her left thigh, making eye contact with the Czech as he swiped his tongue up her folds for the first time.

“You taste so good, Princess. So fucking sweet.” Lando growled, diving back into her folds with his tongue, licking a wide stripe up until he felt a little metal ball. He looked up at Mila with a raised eyebrow, using his fingers to part her folds and take a peek at the piercing in her clit. Mila looked at him sheepishly, but Lando only looked even more excited. With the heavy eye contact again, he sucked her clit into his mouth, using the barbell of the piercing to twist and turn and get every angle he could get his tongue onto her clit. Mila was biting her lip so hard, he was sure it was about to bleed. He moved his head from her cunt to look at her with a disappointed look.

“I want everyone in this fucking hotel to know that you’re finally getting treated right. And by who.” Lando’s mouth was right next to her ear, telling her directly what he wanted from her. He caressed her cheek with his hand, his thumb resting on her bottom lip. She quickly took the finger into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it and bobbing her head as much as she could. Lando swiped two fingers through her folds before bringing them up to her mouth and whispering to her.

“Taste yourself Princess.”

Mila gladly took his fingers again, working them with everything that she had, and he watched her in admiration as she looked up at him with those eyes. Mila released his fingers with a pop, a string of saliva connecting his middle finger to her bottom lip. He swiped his finger across her left nipple and blew cold air onto it, and Mila moaned freely.

Lando left wet kisses from her tits to her cunt, picking up exactly where he left off, his tongue working her clit while his fingers teased her entrance, hearing the whimpers from Mila only spurred him on further. He slid his middle finger in, curling it, stretching and preparing her for the second while still stimulating her clit and that lovely little piercing. Mila’s moans now where growing in volume. Lando added a second finger, scissoring them, then curling toward himself to brush over her G-spot, his fingers working in perfect time with his tongue to create a symphony of whimpers, moans and Czech curses falling off of her maroon lips. Her moans were as loud as yelling now, and he was sure the surrounding rooms would be hearing her already, and Lando was only just getting warmed up.

He added a third finger, continuing his coordinated movements, brushing up against the bundle of nerves ever so often to elicit a particularly loud moan. His eyes were locked on hers, his tongue still devouring her clit and folds. Lando decided to step it up a notch, and snaked his free hand around the outside of Mila’s leg to allow his fingers to rub her clit with a pace his tongue simply didn’t have. Mila’s moans quickly turned to a higher pitch, growing louder with each one as Lando’s fingers continued to scissor within her, his other hand rubbing her clit and putting pressure on it, while his tongue added stimulation to her clit.

“Fuck, Lando. I’m gonna cum. You’re so fucking good. Oh fuck!” Mila spoke each phrase between moans and pants. Lando increased his pace even more and had Mila screaming in pleasure in a few moments. Her vision had gone white, and a blinding hot feeling had covered her body. It seemed to light up every neuron in her body with a newfound purpose, and she wondered if sex was always supposed to feel like this.

Lando helped her ride out her orgasm, slowing his fingers to a slow pace, and stopping his assault on her clit. As Mila caught her breath and came back to reality, Lando licked his fingers clean, Mila caught the last few seconds, and figured it was safe as she would have cum again had she watched him from beginning to end.

“You were so good, Princess. You let the whole floor know just how good I can make you feel, but I want the entire hotel to know. You think you can help me with that baby?” Lando asked, Mila was still mentally recovering from her world shattering first orgasm, she didn’t know if she could take another. But she needed him. God, she wanted him too.

It was torture for Mila to watch Lando undo his jeans, and slide them and his Calvin’s down without being able to touch him. She wanted to taste him, wanted to touch him, wanted to feel him. He granted her wishes quite quickly, as after he rolled a condom on, he ran his tip up and down her folds, sighing in pleasure at the sensation. He pushed into her slowly, pulling her legs further up his waist. He bottomed out and leaned down to kiss her slowly, pouring his true feelings into the kiss. She returned it, the same emotion flowing between them.

Mila wiggled her hips, urging Lando to move. He slowly pulled almost all the way out, and then snapped his hips to meet hers, burying himself to the hilt again. A cry tore from Mila’s throat as Lando set his pace, snapping his hips to meet hers at a bruising speed. Mila’s moans were high pitched, loud, and frequent, she wasn’t even trying to make the hotel hear her, but if Lando kept up with this, they were sure as hell going to know.

Lando hoisted Mila’s legs onto his shoulders so her could drive deep down into her, and for the first time all night, he let his hand close around her throat. As soon as he did, Mila’s eyes rolled back into her head, her moans even louder than before. Lando could feel himself slipping to the edge with the pace and angle he was at, and he knew Mila would get there, but he needed her to have the world’s best orgasm, because he was in control now. With one hand, he began undoing the belt that held her wrists to the headboard. His hips still snapping at the same pace, Mila barely knew what was going on due to the pleasure pouring into her body at a high rate of knots.

Lando pulled out and turned Mila onto her front. She quickly got up onto her knees and leaned her shoulders and face into the mattress, her back arched at an angle that would give Lando a hard-on any time of day. He lined up with her entrance, his hands grabbing onto her hips with a bruising grip. He slid into her easily due to how wet she was, and this new angle allowed for a much faster pace. Mila was screaming in pleasure now, her moans no longer expressive enough of the wondrous job Lando was doing. He felt himself nearing the edge, after waiting to touch himself for so long, he knew he wouldn’t last a long time, especially if Mila kept clenching around him like she was. Lando reached forward and grabbed Mila’s hair, pulling it into a makeshift ponytail so he could hold her to his chest while fucking up into her.

The added hair pulling was the last push over the edge, and Mila fell back against Lando, who was basically being milked by Mila’s cunt, and came as well. If Mila thought her first orgasm was Earth-shattering, there were absolutely no words to describe what had just happened to her. It took multiple minutes for the both of them to come back down to Earth and rejoin reality. Lando was laid beside Mila, still slightly out of breath. He stood up to throw the condom in the bin, then reached his arms out for Mila to grab onto.

“C’mon baby, let’s have a shower. You’re not going to wake up early to have one before your breakfast with Vic. Plus, we’re a bit sweaty.” Lando giggled as Mila looked up at him with an incredulous look. He pulled her up from the bed, planting a sweet kiss to her lips before leading her into the bathroom. Lando stepped aside to turn the shower on and get it up to temperature, leaving Mila in front of the large bathroom mirror. She gasped and looked on, horrified, at her neck and chest. Every inch of her neck and collarbones were covered in hickeys, along with a trail of them leading to and from each boob. She looked accusatory at Lando, waving her pointer finger in the air at him like a mother.

“It’s not that bad, at least Max will get the hint now.” Lando growled, pulling Mila closer to his chest. Her arms snaked around his neck, pulling him closer to her for another kiss. The water was finally at what Lando deemed the ‘perfect temperature’ and as they got in, Mila understood exactly why. She felt the sex scum wash off of her immediately, and felt more relaxed than she had since she arrived in Austria. Lando and Mila helped cover each other in bubbles before washing off and getting into a bit of a water fight in the process. They climbed out, drying off with the overly fluffy hotel towels, and climbed into bed naked, wanting to enjoy each other as much as possible before Lando had to focus on the race weekend.

[f1]

Nelson Piquet aimed further racial and homophobic slurs at Lewis Hamilton

The condemnation facing Nelson Piquet has escalated as evidence of further racist and now also homophobic slurs he has made against Lewis Hamilton has emerged. The Briton had already demanded the sport take action to combat racism and called for a change to the “archaic mindset” in the sport. On Monday an interview from a podcast in 2021 was released of Piquet using a racial slur to describe Hamilton. The three-time champion in the 1980s was roundly vilified by the sport, with F1 and the FIA both issuing statements condemning racism. The Brazilian, whose daughter is the partner of Max Verstappen, has since been banned from the F1 paddock for life. Piquet had issued a statement saying his words had been “ill thought-out” but denying they were racist, claiming they had been mistranslated. His arguments were given little credence and now look all but hollow as further footage has emerged. The Brazilian website Grande Premio said it had obtained a full copy of November’s podcast and in it Piquet repeated the racist epithet and added a homophobic slur, when discussing his former rival Keke Rosberg, his son Nico and Hamilton, who drove with the younger Rosberg. F1 had no intention of revoking its ban on Piquet despite his statement and these further details will surely ensure he never returns to the F1 paddock. “Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no part in society,” F1 stated after the first comments were made public. Hamilton addressed the issue in Silverstone as he prepared for this weekend’s British Grand Prix, noting that he was frustrated that many former drivers were wholly out of touch and increasingly irrelevant. “I have been on the receiving end on racism and that negative and archaic narratives and undertones of discrimination,” he said. “I am not sure why we are continuing to give these older people a platform. They are speaking on the sport but we are looking to go in a different direction. It’s the bigger picture.” Lewis Hamilton drives his upgraded Mercedes during practice for the British F1 GP at Silverstone. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Formula 1/Getty Images Hamilton has for the moment also ended his long-running stand-off with the FIA over removing his piercings while driving. Since April the FIA’s strict enforcement of its rule banning drivers from wearing jewellery in the car has been at odds with Hamilton, who has said he would not remove his nose stud. The issue has been put on hold twice since then under medical exemptions and Hamilton could have faced a potential ban from racing had it not been resolved but the FIA has now confirmed Hamilton has removed the piercing for practice at the British Grand Prix. Quick Guide How do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts? Show Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhones or the Google Play store on Android phones by searching for 'The Guardian'. If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version. In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications. Turn on sport notifications. First practice at Silverstone proved to be of little purpose for the drivers, with the teams largely opting not to run in the rain. When the sun came out for the second session, however, there was reason for considerable optimism at Mercedes. The team have brought a raft of upgrades to the meeting and Hamilton was second on the timesheets to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, just over a tenth back from the Spaniard. McLaren’s Lando Norris was third, with Verstappen, Red Bull’s championship leader, in fourth, two tenths down. via Formula One | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/sport/formulaone

[someone-worth-racing-for]

Are you gonna write something about the podium? Pleaaseee (if you want to of course haha, and have time)

Seriously, I actually had no other choice here after yesterday’s race and you asking so kind, or?! 😉

Especially also after my Saturday’s little story. This new one right here actually is the the continuation of my after-qualifying-sad-story

I hope you will enjoy it 🤗

Today it was Lando, who was waiting for his boyfriend to finally come to their hotel room after this exciting, eventful, long day. How quick the tables could turn, the young Brit thought to himself, while he was sitting there on top of their bed. His feet were constantly fidgeting, because he was so nervous and really couldn’t wait for Carlos to finally arrive any more, while he was repeating the happenings of today over and over again.

Just twenty-four hours ago, both of them had been all down, frustrated and also disappointed about themselves after what had happened in qualifying, but right now Lando did almost burst because of his overjoy and happiness and he knew that the Spaniard was feeling the same after his great result.

He just couldn’t hold in the giggle escaping his lips, when he had suddenly seen Carlos in his mirror coming closer, after overtaking his new teammate just so they could wave at each other. His boyfriend wasn’t even around the corner, when he had already waved at him the first time, too excited and endless cheerful about his achievement.

How bad Lando had wished they would have been able to give each other a proper hug, after they had both got out of their cars. In the end, it was only a soft kick close to his butt, a fist-bump and a promising nipple-squeeze, giving Lando already then a little foretaste about what will follow tonight when they will finally be alone.

But it was still alright, at least Carlos had been there to share his happiness, even when they couldn’t show it like they had actually wanted it to do so badly. For one brief moment, when the realization hit Lando that his boyfriend won’t wait for him back at the McLaren garage and celebrate his third place with him together, because they weren’t in the same time any more, he had got a little sad about that.

But then he remembered about that even when they would still both be at McLaren, they still wouldn’t be able to show their real happiness, they will only be able to do so all private in their hotel room, where Lando was still waiting all impatiently.

But then he could finally hear voices outside the corridor, hearing how Carlos wished his trainer and cousin good night, before the door to their hotel room got finally opened. In the meantime, Lando had stood up on top of the mattress and began to jump all delighted up and down like a little, on sugar-shock kid.

Carlos was already smiling when he entered the room, but his smile grew even bigger and wider when he saw his boyfriend their jumping on their bed in overjoy. “Where is my podium finisher?” The Spaniard asked with a high, exciting voice himself, causing Lando so to turn up his nose and chuckle, before he finally got closer to the edge of the bed just to jump right into his boyfriend’s arms, who was already waiting for him to do so with opened, inviting arms.

“Here I am.” Lando squeezed into his ear, because he still couldn’t fully believe it himself. “Yeah, there is my big boy.” Carlos danced and rotated with the younger one in his arms around the room, causing Lando so to giggle from the bottom of his heart.

When the Spaniard let his boyfriend finally onto his feet again, he covered his still joyful face with plenty of kisses, while he told him in between every kiss “I. Am. So. Damn. Proud. About. You. Carino.”

Only with much effort, Lando made it to stop the older one from keeping on with that wave of kisses, even when he actually liked the affection he got, when he managed to pull Carlos away from him, just enough so he could tell him “Thank you, but I’m also proud about you. P5, you are amazing, Sainzy. I bet it was because you were standing under my umbrella before the race. I have so also shared my luck and skills with you.”

The older one beamed back at him with a big, bright smile on his lips as well. “Yeah, probably. Thanks, carino. It’s actually funny, huh? Just yesterday we were devastated and..” Lando interrupted his boyfriend, because he exactly knew what he wanted to say “..and see where we are today.”

Agreeing, Carlos quickly nodded his head, almost like he also still couldn’t believe it himself about what had happened today. “Yeah, you deserved it so much, carino. Especially after yesterday. You showed them all what you are able to do. I’m so happy for you, no one deserved it as much as you did today. You were so incredible.”

Even or maybe especially because these compliments were coming from his boyfriend’s lips, Lando could feel his cheeks burning lightly, but still it felt so good to hear so. “But you also deserved it. I knew you would do great in the wet and finishing P5 right behind Charles already in your second race should finally quiet every critic. We were both just a little unlucky yesterday, but the hard work definitely paid off today.”

“Yeah, and next time I will be with you up there on the podium together to see you smiling for real and not only on the monitor in my driver room.” Carlos announced, before he sealed the promise with a soft kiss onto his boyfriend’s cheek.

“You have watched me on the podium?” Lando didn’t even know why he was surprised about that, sure his boyfriend did so. “Of course, carino. Do you really think I would miss that? But I still wished to be there next to you and celebrate with you together later in the garage. I have missed that, if I’m serious.”

Affectionately, Lando took the older one’s face between his palms, when he told him with a playful wink “I have also wished you to be there, but we can still celebrate properly now.” That cheeky, promising smirk on Carlos’ lips already told him now, that he definitely won’t forget this day too soon and also his words finally told him so, when he assured him “Oh and how properly we will celebrate tonight, carino. You will hate me, when you will sit in the plane tomorrow and your cute, little ass will be all sore.”

His boyfriend’s statement caused Lando to giggle, before he threw his arms one more time around his neck and Carlos lifted him up from the ground, while he squeezed him all tightly in their shared happiness.

“Show it to me, carino. Where is the trophy?” The Spaniard finally whispered against his boyfriend’s from their just shared kiss still wet lips, before Lando hurried over to the bedside table to pick up his second F1 trophy.

“Damn, it’s really ugly.” Carlos noticed amused to which Lando could only agree, because the trophy really wasn’t the prettiest, but who actually cared about the trophies anyway. “True, that’s why McLaren can keep it if they want.” The younger one told his boyfriend, before he took the third-place trophy from his grip, placed it on the bedside table again and finally reached for Carlos’ hand to guide him over into their bathroom.

“I have ordered some dinner for us and also such delicious cake again, I think we both really deserve after today. So we should better hurry up. Maybe you could also already show me under the shower how happy you are actually for me.” Lando told him over his shoulder, wiggling cheekily his eyebrows while doing so.

“Two time podium finisher and he already gets arrogant.” Carlos chuckled, before he playfully slapped his boyfriend’s ass, he had definitely moved on purpose all inviting for Carlos to touch him, before the couple left into the bathroom to finally celebrate today’s achievement like boyfriend’s should do.

[eye-raq]

Ember 11.

Erik’s conflict.

In short, this is a co writing fic with my baby @panthergoddessbast she has helped me out ALOT with where this is going and how it’s ending. Thanks to all of those who have been with me every step of the way, loving my writing, commenting, reblogging. This one is gonna pull at some emotions from you guys, I just hope you enjoy.

[I suppose that a lifetime spent hiding one's erotic truth could have a cumulative renunciatory effect. Sexual shame is in itself a kind of death. ]

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Excuse me!!!”

The voices slowed down to a low whisper.

“I know the wine and appetizers are delicious, but it’s time to begin the private event!”

The entire room began to laugh, the plastered smiles of all the rich black folk giving Cyprine a wide smile. Dressed in a sexy backless slit dress colored wine red, chocolate skin acting as the perfect contrast, Cyprine waited with her fancy cue cards and microphone. She had the important job of hosting Fashion Through The Ages, one of the Getty Centers most popular private events.

“Let me introduce to you all the new Lead Curator, Cyprine Lewis!”

Cyprine put on her professional smile, walking out to main stage in a catlike fashion. She waves at the crowd of people clapping, bringing the microphone to her mouth. That action alone silenced everyone, more than the guy who talked before her.

“Hello hello! welcome to Fashion Through The Ages. Today we will join fashion historian and art muse, Sara Holmes, as she explores the museum’s collection through the lens of costume to consider issues of gender, society, and history through the ages. This promises to be a fun way to consider the Getty collection while thinking about fashions past and present.”

Cyprine motions to side stage, “please give a round of applause to Miss Sara Holmes!”

The entire room raised their glasses and clapped, Sara Holmes approaching dressed in Fendi from head to toe. The women always had the best designer, but she was tacky with colors. Following behind her, was a man in all forms.Tall, chocolate, thick and toned, a head full of waves that shined with a beard to match, wearing a tailored tuxedo with a simple black bow tie was Lorenz Allen. Entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Director. Cyprine caught his eye, watching him wink with those long lashes and that million dollar smile. He sponsored a lot of events through the Getty Center, so Cyprine expected that he would show up.

“Thank y’all for coming out. It really moves me when everyone can come together to support a cause, but at the same time enjoy yourselves and the beautiful art that the Getty Center has to offer.” He points a single finger at C.C, that finger wrapped in a gold ring set with diamonds. None of which meant anything of matrimonial significance

I bet those rings would feel good around my throat. She thought.

“I don’t think you all gave this beautiful, successful women here enough praise! She planned this event out, worked her ass off!”

The audience gave her the credit she deserved. Cyprine blushed, speaking her thanks into the microphone.

“No, thank you.” He stresses, his eyes only on her. Cyprine could see what he was trying to do, that’s all that mattered anyway.

“Thank you Mr. Allen, and thank you to everyone who came today to support this private charity event! Now, let us get started with the exhibits!” After a final round of applause, the lights dimmed and multiple spot lights along with music began to start up. A small fashion show on behalf of the guest of honor started, women and men wearing fashion from the renaissance era to start. All models were of different ethnicities, and some also apart of the LGBTQ community.

Cyprine watched the entire thing unfold, pride coming over her. With pride, came attention, and Lorenz gave Cyprine all of his attention with those dangerous eyes of his.

“C’mere” He whispers.

Cyprine didn’t argue with that, strutting over towards him. The smell of mild Creed Aventus filling her nostrils; bold and memorable.

“Yes?” She folds her arms.

“Keep me company.”

She fights a smile, staring at him with her wide brown eyes.

“Why should I? What makes you think your company is more entertaining than this show?”

“Because you’ve been eye-fucking me for some time now, so I know I got your attention.”

Humming in approval at his impressive response, Cyprine smiles faintly, “what can I say, I like what I see.”

“Same here, babygirl.” He licks his lips quick, Cyprine stared at his tantalizingly pink tongue wishing it was between her legs right now.

“Which is why I would like to take you out on a date tomorrow night, if that’s okay?”

Cyprine and dates didn’t go so well.

There were a few she could vouch for that ended up pretty nicely, but all in all she was single and every last guy she’d dealt with disappointed her to some degree.

“A date.” She repeats his words, eyes in wonder.

“Yeah, a dinner date, with me.”

Lorenz seemed to be a cool guy so Cyprine decided to give it a go, just to see where this takes her.

“Okay, i'll let you take me to dinner. We riding in that blacked out McLaren P1 you got, right?” Cyprine had a keen eye, not just for Lorenz but for cars as well. Her interest in cars that included make and model was all thanks to Erik and his obsession with it.

“Babygirl, it’s whatever you want.” He smiles that gorgeous smile.

“Good, cuz I like to have it my way.”

—————————-

“You’re getting better my man! Keep this up and you could become a professional boxer!”

Erik bends his body over the ropes of the boxing ring at the gym, sweating and dripping from his forehead and the tip of his nose.

“Nah, I’ll keep it strictly for workout purposes.” Erik lifts finally, clutching his ribs from the soreness he felt from constantly receiving blow after blow.

“Pick your punk ass up, homie!” Tre, Erik’s best friend, laughs at him while punching at a speed bag.

“Shut up nigga! I’m not the one who needs picking up! You don’t even know what you doing!” Tre puts his middle finger up at Erik before returning back to his workout.

“Unc, How’s that your nephew and you ain't teach him no tricks?”

TJ, the owner of Champs Boxing and Tre’s uncle puts his hands up in surrender.

“His knucklehead ass didn’t wanna learn, too busy playing them damn video games.”

Erik laughs, clutching his sore chest, “I was right along wit em though, so I can’t talk shit.”

Picking up his Gatorade, Erik takes a long sip, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. Tre enters the ring, towel around his neck and durag on his head.

“Bro, who that?”

Erik turns to notice a short caramel skinned women with a nia long cut. She was heavy at the bottom, the yoga pants she wore making her thick ass stand out more. Her sweaty skin glistened and the blaze in her eyes made her look even more tantalizing.

“Damn,” Tre tucked his pouty bottom lip into his mouth.

“She a bad one, might have to check that out before I go.”

Erik recognizes her, even without her glasses.

“Her name is Kaylin, I work with her.” Erik gives her a head nod of acknowledgement, watching as she gives him the same motion, but sexier.

“Why is it that all the FINE ASS WOMAN, gravitate to you?”

Laughing, Erik shoves Tre, “Tre, stop acting like you don’t get pussy.”

“Nah, man you gotta hook me up! She fine as hell with her thick ass.”

Erik pats Tre on the shoulder before turning to exit the ring.

“Don’t always get hypnotized by the ass.” Erik knew first hand about that.

“I can’t help it, a fat ass is my weakness.”

“Erik!”

The two men turn to face a sweaty Kaylin.

“I didn’t know you boxed at Champs! How long?”

“Used to come a while ago, just started back.”

She laughs, the light sound contagious.

“Cool! Maybe you can teach me some things. I’m trying to get the hang of it, the shit isn’t easy.”

“I can help you out sweetheart.” Tre steps up before his best friend could even speak.

“You just as good as E? I saw his moves in the ring and yours wasn’t looking so great on that speed bag.”

Erik couldn’t hold back his chuckle, slightly snorting and all at the way Kaylin played his friend.

“Chill, girl. That’s my nigga, he getting there.” Erik defends Tre.

“No shade, just saying.” Clearly Kaylin wasn’t interested in Tre, all she wanted was that Erik Stevens.

“You coming into the office tomorrow?” She got a little closer, Erik noticing the flushed look of her skin and the sweat glossing her cleavage.

Hell...Kaylin was a cutie.

Erik has eyes.

He could tell a bad bitch from a mile away, nothing wrong with looking. However, Erik wasn’t touching.

“I might, still got some paperwork to finalize.” Erik kept it short and simple.

“Okay, just saying, I’ll be there. We could get lunch or something. Thai food?”

Erik shrugs, “We can make it takeout for the office.”

A look of disappointment clouded her pretty brown eyes, but that only lasted a second.

“Okay! I’ll see you then. Oh! And your treat.”

Erik waves her away, “I got the money, I don’t mind.”

Erik said his final goodbyes before turning towards the locker rooms, leaving a flustered Kaylin behind.

“Like I said, you got these chicks thirsty” Tre had to add his two cents.

————————-

Finally home, kicking off her Saint Laurent heels in a pretty black and silver, Cyprine lets her hair down, smoothing out the pinned up curls with her fingertips, eyes closed, and a deep sigh escaping her mouth.

Not only did the event go as planned, she also snagged a date with Lorenz Allen, the successful black man and eye candy.

She had tomorrow night to look forward to, but right now preparing herself for Erik’s little get together at his place was her main priority. There was a Golden State game happening and finally, Cyprine would meet his other friends besides Tre who she already knew since him and Erik were the closest. Cyprine pulled a bottle of Hennessy XO from her kitchen liquor cabinet that she wanted to gift to Erik since he hadn’t tried it yet. It had a lovely long after taste of cinnamon and vanilla, fragrant with crystallized fruits, spices, and emanations of old leather. Cyprine knew Erik, he valued his drinks and he enjoyed the craft of mixology since he was a licensed one now.

The high pressure shower cleansed her body and the water droplets pricked her skin in the best way. All that ran through her mind was the date she had to look forward to and its possible outcome.

Men.

They could be an absolute disappointment.

Cyprine was single for a reason, she was tired of giving her all to a man and he gave her the minimal. Cyprine ran her fingers over her curly hair, conditioner working it’s magic to clear away her tangles stroke by stroke. With closed eyes, C.C’s mind wandered to her conversation with Erik about the last time they both had sex. She was reminded once again of the heat she felt, how much she missed calling a nigga ‘Daddy’ and getting her pussy fucked from behind.

That pussy is pure velvet heaven, juicy and succulent.

Man...she missed being praised in bed. She was a brat after all; a brat and a princess. Cyprine misbehaved; frequently too and the overpowering urge to be put in her place with some good dick and a sharp nasty tongue ate her from the inside out. She could feel water filling her mouth, snapping her out of the erotic daze she was in. Cyprine forgot where she was, and she forgot that her mouth was under the shower and not on her knees waiting for a dick to choke her out.

———————————

“Yo! You making the chicken nachos, right?”

Erik smiles faintly, slightly shaking his head as he cut the fresh mozzarella cheese in thin slices, plating it along with the mixed Mexican cheeses.

“Chicken nachos, shrimp nachos, veggie nachos…”

He wiped his fingers on a damp towel, reaching for some cheese to snack on while the sliced chicken breast simmered in the pot.

“Why don’t you make yourself useful nigga and call Jae, Malachi, and Torrey to see if they’re on the way.”

Tre hopped off the counter, walking away with a smart remark that Erik didn’t care to respond to. The game had just started, and the Jaguar Den already had snacks and all the drink essentials. The alone time gave Erik the chance to respond to Kimora’s naughty texts. They’ve been going back and forth never ending with this or that questions, and coming up with sexy scenarios they would like to be apart of. She was silly, fun, alluring, daring, confident, smart, and addicting.

-Tell me you aren’t wearing any underwear.

Sorry lover boy, it’s a thong.

He chuckles, biting his lip while adding a little garlic butter to the chicken.

-what the panties smell like? I bet your pussy smell like lavender oil and rose water right now.

This time around it smells like my homemade blueberry bliss body cream.

-that shit sound like a fruit roll up flavor lol.

LOL—Would you lick a fruit roll up off my pussy?!

-Without a second thought. Prolly taste better than that nasty ass flavored lube.

I’m sure it would, my pussy already sweet and sticky, Erik.

-So since it’s like that I’m making it a fucking command for that pussy to be eaten by me whenever I want it.

That’s cool with me, I like my pussy ate. Make sure you suck on it everywhere…that shit drives me wild.

His teeth dragged over his lip, a low groan vibrating his throat. He could feel the arousal in his fingertips, but it was stronger in his dick. It ran hot over his long stick like electricity to a wire. He felt his phone buzz, forgetting to send a reply back, he was that stuck.

I had my entire pussy covered in peach preserves before. I have these crazy cravings for peaches, so he spread it all over my pussy and sucked it off.

GOTDAMN.

Erik. Calm. Down.

“You good, E?”

Erik whipped his head around a little to harshly, startled by Tre’s unexpected arrival.

“I was until you creeped up on me like that! You know niggas couldn’t do that back at home, right?”

“Nigga I still live in Oakland! You the one that moved out.”

Shaking his head, Erik prayed to himself that the erection he had would go the fuck away.

Think about blood and guts, or fungus.

That always seemed to work, he was good as new.

-Kimora. I’d suck anything from honey, syrup, jelly, sugar, and whipped cream off that motherfucking pussy.

“Guess who showed up?!!”

Cyprine enters the kitchen, curly hair up in a bun, silver hoops in her ears, jeans so tight they looked painted on, and the littlest sweater that would give you a view of her under cleavage if she reached too high.

“Wassup, sexy?” Tre grabs her hand, attempting to kiss it sloppy, C.C pulling away with a repulsed expression before laughing.

“Ew nigga! Keep your mouth to yo self! I don’t know where that shit been!” She rolls her eyes, finally looking at Erik.

“Hey, peanut head, guess what I got?”

Cyprine held up the esteemed cognac bottle, flashing Erik her biggest smile yet.

“I remember you said you wanted to try it so...”

Erik was about to speak, before his phone buzzes.

Text me later, I’m on my way out. This convo is too juicy to neglect.

-Bet, say no more, beautiful.

Putting his phone away, Erik steps towards C.C, kissing her forehead before snatching up the bottle to examine it.  

“I heard good shit about it, Henny shots for every basket golden state make?”

Cyprine scuffs, “nigga you know I need my pineapple juice with this.”

—————————-

Okay.

So Erik hadn’t expected the attention Cyprine was receiving.

Actually...

“Yo, how the fuck you keep all that control?” Jae stood astounded behind the bar with Erik, light brown eyes shocked.

“Control of what?” Erik responded with a confused tone of annoyance.

“Keep from fucking the shit out Cyprine that’s what. Fuck you mean CoNtRoL WhAT?”

“Got more control than you do. You ain't gotta think about fucking every fine ass woman you come in contact with bruh.”

Erik was even shocked with his words. His eyes followed its path towards C.C. She was seated next to Tre, laughing and sipping her third drink so far. Erik could feel the lustful energy radiating from his friends as they looked at Cyprine from head to toe, wanting nothing more than to take turns fucking her.

That thought brought back memories of their early escapades.

Nah, not Cyprine.

Erik would normally be okay with hooking a girl friend of his up with one of his boys, but for some reason he didn’t want to with Cyprine. Erik watches as she takes her tongue to scoop up an ice cube, the pink slippery appendage dripping and mouth making slurping noises.

This wasn’t the first time he’d looked at his friend that way. She wore outfits that showed her beautiful sepia skin, smelled delicious, innocent eyes…

“You sure you got control? I see you focused on that chocolate baddie.”

Erik shakes the thought, going back to mixing Jae’s drink.

Cyprine couldn’t lie to herself and say she didn’t like the eyes on her. Erik had some very handsome friends, she could only imagine the things they used to get into.

“Where you and Erik meet?”

Cyprine turned to Torrey; tall, thick and with a beard against his light brown skin.

“Golden Speed, a friend recommended I go to him for some work.”

“Oh really?” The bravado of his voice made her smile, he really laid it on thick.

“Yeah, he told me to give it a try.”

The look in Torrey’s eyes let her know he was hoping it were a women so he could try his luck.

“I bet y’all were wild back then.” Cyprine states between eating her ice.

All of them minus Erik laughed, sharing knowing glances.

“Shit, we all claimin’ it.” Tre spoke for them.

“Ain’t no way you sticking around for some ‘just friends’ type of shit.”

C.C folds her arms over her chest with sass, “So, what? Erik can’t keep a girl as his friend?”

“You wanna know what happened to the last chick he had as a friend?” Malachi spoke while trying to hide his smile full of a diamond grill.

“Game is on why don’t y’all shut the fuck up and watch.” Erik approaches with his own drink, seating himself on his black recliner chair. He caught the cocoa’s cuties eye, watching her stick her tongue out at him.

“Oh! So you do know then?” all three men laugh, Erik ready to punch ever last of one of them in the face.

“Y’all ready now or later for the rearrangement of y’all wack ass faces,”  His jaw gets tight.

“Last chick, woke him up talking bout I accidentally licked your dick.” Cyprine could laugh. Who would accidentally lick dick anyway? That shit was meant to be loved in a special way.

“How that shit accidental, I don’t know.” Erik finally joins in, laughing.

Cyprine held up a finger, trying to catch her breath.

“OKAY! But what you say though?!”

He simply shrugs with those dimples and dominant brown eyes, “I guess I accidentally fucked her mouth.”

Cyprine couldn’t shake the heat she felt from that.

“And accidentally tore that pussy up.” He drinks from his glass of straight Hennessy XO, licking his lips that Cyprine had to peel her eyes away from.

———————-

“You sleepy yet?”

“Yeah, I am alittle. You should know by now with those drinks.”

Cyprine attempted to clean up, sweeping crumbs from the table. Erik smacked her hand away, earning a yelp from her and a death glare.

“Did you just hit me like I’m some child?!”

“Yeah, and?” He spoke in that calm unbothered tone that drove her crazy.

“You’re infuriating,” Cyprine said that, but she liked when Erik picked on her.

“ What’s up with you and Tre? Y’all was looking real cozy and cuddly”

Cyprine looked at Erik like he sported two heads, mouth opening and closing in shock then lets out a small snort like laugh.

“What?! Boy you crazy. There is nothing going on between me and Tre.”

“You know my nigga want you, right?”

“Not surprised, most men want me.”

She took in that smile he fought to show, the way his eyes would light up and those teeth as white as the porcelain piano keys, blinding her.

“So not only are you-“ Erik puts up air quotes, “that bitch, you can have any nigga you want, huh?”

Cyprine picked up as many dirty glasses as she could, bringing them to Erik’s blacked out bar  with gold trimming to clean.

“Did I stutter?” She bit back at him with those razor sharp teeth like a wild cat. Erik’s dominance screamed to claw back and show her who really had the upper hand, but his body was too tired to entertain it and he had to be up in the morning.

“Watch your mouth,C.C. AYE!” Well, clearly not tired enough.

She paused in between cleaning his glasses.

“Put that shit down, and go to bed. I got this tomorrow.”

Putting her hands up in surrender, she didn’t realize she had a glass still in her hand, dropping it and causing it to break in the sink.

“SHIT!!” She went to reach to clean it, her finger getting cut a little from her rushing.

“Shit, fuck, damnit!” Erik rolled his eyes, letting out the loudest most aggressive groan she had ever heard, she knew then she’d done it.

“What I tell you to do?! Didn’t I say leave the shit alone?!”

Erik stormed over to her, instantly picking up her finger, examining it.

“You like a little girl. Defiant.” Erik picks up a napkin, applying pressure. His jaw went tight with tension, the muscles of his face peeking through and his eyebrows creased so hard he looked damn near evil. Cyprine was speechless, she couldn’t form words or sounds.

“I-I’m sorry, Erik.” She finally spoke out with a quiet tone, the tightness of his grip on her hand almost cutting off her circulation.

“Nigga are you trying to take my damn hand off?!” Erik blinked like he was brought back to reality, letting go of her quickly, the color flooding his face from embarrassment.

“My bad.” He laughs nervously.

“What the fuck was that about? Something you need to tell me Stevens?” She looked at him with curious eyes.

“I-I can be a little forceful, that’s all. Just...I don’t do well with chicks not listening to what I say, then you went and hurt yourself so it kinda made me mad.”

“KINDA?” Cyprine felt like she’d stepped into new territory with Erik. So, not that she didn’t want to make everything about sex, but that entire confession reeked of sex and control.

“You get like this with Kimora?” Erik’s eyes landed on hers, briefly.

“How can I ? I haven’t seen her yet.” Silence settles between them both as Erik walked past her to clean up her mess.

“You wanna know what I think?” Cyprine pushes.

“What?”

“I think you’re afraid of how you feel about her and that you’re avoiding it as much as you can.”

He didn’t respond, just simply cleaned the sink of shards of glass careful not to cut himself in the process.

“As much as y’all talk, I know your dick is probably begging for a release.”

Kissing his teeth, Erik shakes the glass into the trash. She could tell she was getting to him, she could read his posture and the way he fought to ignore her.

“A guy can only jack his dick for so long, Erik.”

“I know that, C.C.” He responds with a curt tone.

“So, maybe have some sex?” She tosses a black rag at him that he catches swiftly with one hand.

“Why is my sex life so interesting to you? I don’t go around asking you to get the pussy beat up.”

“You don’t have to, I know it’s been a while for me. It might happen sooner than later.” She could only imagine what Lorenz was packing.

“Hmph, I wonder who.” Erik cuts his eyes at her, winking suggestively.

“Shut up! Me and Tre are strictly friends, asshole.”

“Sure, whatever you say.”

———————————

Eyes opening against fresh white linen that smelled of tropical Tide detergent, Erik lifts his head, rubbing at the dried spit on the side of his face, pads of his fingertips feeling sleep lines along his skin. He checked the time on his phone, noting that it was 9:45 am and he had to be into the office to finalize some paperwork for his engine. As soon as his body fully stretched and lifted from the bed, he could smell sautéed veggies and sausage. That smell made his stomach growl, and the throbbing in his head more painful.

He had a hangover and his mouth felt like cotton from all the drinking him and his friends did the other night. Erik’s body was too tired to clean anything so after the guys left he made his way toward his room. All Erik wanted to do before he filled his stomach with that good smelling food was brush his teeth and whizz. That’s what he gets for staying up in bed until 2 am talking on the phone with his beautiful distraction. Kimora made him go against his word of jerking off, something he’d grown so accustomed to since he first laid eyes on her. Speaking of jerking dicks and erections, his was at full attention and when that weapon was ready for work it was hard to calm himself down. The moment he laid eyes on the dent in his pants, was the moment he thought about their previous conversation over the phone.

I bet you like the tip of your dick sucked on the most. I could do that for you E.

What emotion do you feel most often?

What do you think the perfect kiss feels like? Do you like a lot of tongue or do you like slow soft kisses?

Her voice was so carefree and wild it drove him crazy.

On top of thinking about naughty girl Kimora, there was another brown beauty, t-shirt clad and barefoot cooking in his kitchen

After rinsing his mouth out with mouthwash and scrubbing his face with the African black soap he had gotten from a local all natural apothecary shop, Erik pulled a crisp white tee over his body and a pair of black sweats, because grey sweats wouldn’t do with the way his dick was swinging.

—————————

“Aye.”

Cyprine looked up from her plate with a big sausage omelet, pausing between chewing.

“Morning! Oh, and I cleaned up too by the way, just so you know.” She was rather chipper.

“Pssh, I ain’t even mad at that no more you gon’ do what you wanna do anyway.” Erik noticed the repeated smile on her face.

“Something wrong, lil nigga?” Erik scanned the kitchen, whispering a ‘yes’ at the sight of extras. He had to have a cooked meal for breakfast every single morning and he was thankful of Cyprine crashing in his guest bedroom, too drunk to drive home, and Erik hated when she used to do that shit.

“No, why would it be something wrong and I’m all smiles, Erik?” With a perfectly arched brow, she took a sip of her apple juice, eyes never leaving his.

“Nah, it’s just...you look like you're blushing.”

“And if I am?” She sassed him, giving her usual bratty stare down that had Erik itching to reprimand.

“So it’s a secret then? Cool, you ain’t gotta tell me. Just remember that you’re the only one of my homies that know about Kimora.”

Cyprine couldn’t argue with that, it was definitely true but at the same time she just got a date with Lorenz, she didn’t want to jinx it.

“And I’m glad you told me about her.” Cyprine flashed her pageant worthy smile, focusing back on her food.

“Going into the shop?”

“No, that’s what I got new hires for when I’m busy with other shit.” Erik busied himself with fixing a plate, aware of Cyprine giving him a dirty look because of his smart response.

“So...what the fuck you doing then?”

“Going into the office for some final shit about my engine.”

“You putting one of those in my car, right?” Cyprine looked at Erik sternly, eyes tracking him up and down with a hand on her curvy hip.

“You got a whole new engine so no. Come back in about ten years.”

Flabbergasted, Cyprine’s bright wide eyes almost popped out of her sockets, “Ten years?!”

“Use to be around 8 but with the new and improved tech and service standards the average life expectancy is 200,000 miles or about 10 years.”

Erik always hit her ass with car facts, something she didn’t ask for in the slightest.

“Think of it as me looking out for you and saving your pockets.” Erik winked at her, laughing afterwards in that low pitch tone, almost boy next door-ish.

“Whatever, let me go, I got shit to do.” Cyprine forked the last bit of her omelet, hopping off the stool towards the dishwasher. Erik thought about one of his responsibilities that he agreed on when he saw Kaylin at Champs the other day.

“You know any good Thai food around here? I gotta buy some for the office today.”

Cyprine wipes her hands on a paper towel, “Yeah, try Pailin Thai Cuisine.” Cyprine tried for a winning shot of her balled up paper towel, missing the trash can completely and earning a thumbs down from Erik.

“You know better than to do that in front of me, no game having ass, now pick it up.”

Cyprine gives him the finger before walking to pick up her trash, bending over slightly. Erik had to blink twice, no...three times.

“Uhm…” he says without even realizing, his eyes trained to her hips and his dick knocking at the crotch of his sweats. Cyprine’s shapely round ass was visible to him, not the whole thing but enough to let Erik know that she had nothing on under that T-shirt.

She stared in confusion before something clicked in her brain, her hands reaching for the hem of the shirt with caution, turning away from Erik completely and stepping around the kitchen island.

They just shared an awkward glance, Cyprine searching Erik’s eyes, hoping he would crack a laugh or tease her, saying something along the lines of, you got an ashy ass butt. Nope, nothing at all like that, just unblinking eyes that she couldn’t quite discern.

“So this what we doing now?! Staring until we see who blinks first?!” Cyprine decided to make her exit quickly, unsure of how to react to this version of Erik Stevens.

————————

“Erik! Welcome back!”

Erik walks in, adjusting his black tie with a simple gold tie cufflink, black slacks, and polished Calvin Klein dress shoes on his feet. The gold Rolex on his right wrist reflected the sun coming from his office window, catching the eyes of Kaylin and making a rainbow on her glasses.

“Didn’t think you were really coming in!” Her light voice could have almost caught him in its web if it weren’t for the image of Cyprines ass in his head, and not to mention the text he got of Kimora’s tits as a good morning present.

“Morning, Kaylin.” He gives her a simple smile, unable to fight the fact that it came with dimples.

“Oh, there’s that money making smile I love,” she winks, giggling afterward with a bounce of her breasts. Erik knew exactly what she was doing. He just KNEW.

“Ever heard of Pailin Thai Cuisine?” Erik removed his gold rimmed reading glasses to wipe them with a simple Kleenex.

“Uh, yes. I eat there often on my lunch break.” Without even asking, Kaylin makes herself comfortable at Erik’s desk. He wanted to question her actions but decided against it since his mind was elsewhere. He could feel this nervous feeling in the pit of his gut, almost like butterflies except it drew heat. He wasn’t sure just yet if it was because of his undeniable attraction to Cyprine, and the thoughts of being with Kimora, but man was he conflicted. And here comes Kaylin, dressed in a nude pencil skirt that showed off the alluring curve of her ass and a pastel blue silk top that stretched over her chest almost ripping at the seams. These women were driving him crazy.

“Let the office know I’m ordering in, it’s a celebration.” Erik opened his desk drawer, pulling out a bottle of champagne.

“Golden Speed is taking off, Kaylin.” He smiles prideful and confident, his eyes on a fidgety Kaylin who couldn’t keep her legs still.

“You good?”

“Yes…” she forcefully smiles, bothered about getting up to walk away after making herself comfortable on the warm suede chair of his office. Turning to leave, Kaylin stopped directly in his doorway.

“Erik.”

The tone of her voice spoke as if she wanted to share something deep.

“Yes?” Erik looked at her over his gold rimmed glasses as he put them back on to study some files.

“Uhm...I just, you know…” she lets out a shaky breath that seemed to lack oxygen, did he really have that much of an affect?

“Kay, if this is about the conference in two days I got it, girl. Don’t worry your pretty self, go manage things.”

“E, I really gotta get this shit off my chest, otherwise it will bother me all day.”

“Close the door, Kaylin, if you need to talk.”

She does, slowly.

“I...you know there is a quiet room where employees can go to take naps and relax in this building, right?” Where was she going with this? Of course Erik knew about it, he’d been in there a few times in the early stages of starting his business when there were at least three meetings a day, each lasting about two hours.

Erik intertwined his fingers against the surface of the desk and scrunched his forehead, “Yeah, what about it?”

“Well, you see…” Kaylin looks down at her nude So Kate pumps in a patent leather, “I was wondering if we could take advantage of that.”

Erik swallows spit, almost coughing on it as some reached his windpipe instead. He puts a fist to his mouth to be more discreet.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, I wanna fuck you.”

Oh boy. He reached to pull at his collar, because the buttons there felt like he was choking.

Erik kept his cool, and kept his gaze on her. He could see her caramel skin heat up, nipples hardened, her voluptuous lips lined brown shining with gloss.

“It’s been that way for me. I just want you inside me.”

She lifts the small key to the quiet room, “C’mon. I know you want to. A single man such as yourself…”

Erik didn’t know he read single man. Sure, it was true, but he wouldn’t have guessed he gave off that vibe.

Kaylin toyed with the first button of her top, looking towards him with a pleading look and a swing of the small gold key.

“There’s no denying that you are very beautiful. And yeah, it’s tempting  but I don’t think we should. I’m sure it would be real good, but Kaylin…” Erik trails off.

“I get it! professionalism is most important….” she was saddened, and Erik didn’t want to make her sad, but NO, he didn’t want to fuck Kaylin and complicate things.

“But...can you reconsider?” She was talking to him like she was trying to make him a business offer.

“Sorry, love.” He smiles, trying to lighten the mood which ended up with her smiling faintly. She looked defeated, but her eyes still told him she wasn’t gonna give up so easily.

“Whatever woman has your interest is a lucky one. What I would give to be at your command.”

His hands slightly shook; Erik had to busy himself with moving. Erik adjusted the cup of pens he had, the wireless mouse for his MacBook, his tie, and even the blazer he wore. He prayed that she would leave so he could breath and fight through the temptation. It was difficult to fight off his erection when he normally would have fucked her crazy. Damn, this was the third erection of the day and it hadn’t even started. Finally, the caramel beauty made her exit, closing the door with a soft click.

Throughout the rest of the day, Erik watched from his desk as the office played music and drank champagne. Half empty containers of thai food littered every desk surface. He enjoyed the sights from the open blinds of his office, his own food half eaten and instead of champagne, he had the bottle of Hennessy Cyprine gave him in his briefcase.

A pair of light brown eyes kept a close watch on him from her own cubicle that resides directly in front of his, sipping her champagne, folding and unfolding her legs seductively. Erik noticed she had nothing on under her skirt, just bare shaved pussy lips.

She was still targeting him, even after he turned down her advances, clearly Kaylin didn’t like to be told no.

It was creamy too, all rosy pink on the inside and fat as a bitch. How was it that no one noticed her little show but him?

She turned her chair completely towards his glass window, hiking up one smooth leg and spreading her pussy lips to show him the real mess she had.

“Please? Come taste me.” She mouthed to him.

Erik peeled his eyes away from her exposed slit, tapping his foot. He tried settling for reading emails.

“To Erik Stevens in regards to your interview prep questions…” his eyes looked back at her, failing him, watching her rub her clit and place that same finger into her mouth.

Fuck. He was extremely turned on.

Erik tried another tactic to get rid of the distraction, closing his blinds and blocking the view for good. He lifted from his seat walking to the window, giving her one final look, watching her tease him with a smile and a scorching look in her eyes before closing the blinds, letting out a shaky breath. His phone buzzed in his pocket, Thank GOD.

It was a call from his Oakland Auto Shop.

————————-

“You, Cyprine, are one beautiful goddess.”

The extremely low cleavage, high slit evening dress in an eye piercing white hugged her luscious curves tightly, wasting no time with letting everyone around her know she was the shit, and her body was the shit.

She wore her long curly 4A hair in an effortless bush that framed her beautiful face. Gold Cartier bracelets decorated her wrist, with simple round cut diamond stud earrings with 14k yellow gold.

Lorenz wore a pair of Ralph Lauren navy blue slacks with a black belt, a cream colored dress shirt that hugged his able-bodied frame and a new model yellow gold and diamonds Rolex on his right wrist, and polished Saint Laurent dress shoes on his feet.

Cyprine couldn’t help but to blush at those words, he could keep saying things like that all night and he just might get lucky.

“I’m impressed as well, Lorenz. You look amazing.”

Lorenz gave her a soft smile with his high cheekbones.

“I figured you would like the look, I wore it especially for you.”

Cyprine bit her lip slightly, playing with a strand of curly hair with her eyes focused on the five star restaurant he was taking her to. Supposedly, a friend recommended it to him, so it would be his first time trying as well. There was valet, so Lorenz handed one of them the keys to his McLadden and proceeded to escort Cyprine into the romantic eating establishment settled on Melrose Ave.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you the reservation list is so full, the only dates available are around thanksgiving.” He chuckles in a snarky manner.

“So, how did you snag a reservation then?”

“Chef Michael Cimarusti is a friend of the friend who recommended me, he catered her wedding.”

Approaching the hostess station, Lorenz and Cyprine were greeted with a Paris Hilton look alike that moved and spoke like she was the talk of Hollywood.

“Hi, I’m Blair, welcome to Providence, the innovative seafood destination in a tranquil setting, can I have a name for a reservation, please?”

“Lorenz Allen, friend of Michael.”

The look in Blair’s eyes showed scrutiny, but nonetheless, she looked anyway. Cyprine rolled her eyes at the stereotypical reaction white people give about black people being able to afford to eat at places like this.

“Aha! I see, the Chef personally made a notation about you, why don’t you follow me this way. Would you like to eat out in the garden or inside with candle light?”

Cyprine loved the idea of sitting in a garden to eat dinner, it was romantic.

“ The garden would-“

“We’ll take the inside table with the candle light.”

Cyprines lips snapped shut in an instant, her head turning towards Lorenz, visibly confused at his sudden outburst and clear disapproval of wanting to eat in the garden.

“You don’t like gardens?”

“You see these shoes, right? Not cheap, ran me 730 dollars. Ain’t no fertilizer messing these shoes up.”

Cyprine blinked at him like he was speaking insanely, deciding not to speak on that.

“Okay, right this way.” Following Blair, Lorenz brings a single arm around Cyprines waist to lead her along the way, giving her a heart fluttering smile, causing her to return the same.

Finally seated, Cyprine takes in the atmosphere of the upscale eatery, impressed so far by the interior design and the smells that made her mouth water. The toasted vanilla votive candles give light to the seductively dim restaurant, tables draped in ivory colored tablecloths, some decorated with candles and others with an assortment of roses. Lorenz ordered a bottle of aged red wine, the oldest bottle they had. Cyprine wanted to object, but Blair had already gone away.

“I’m not really a fan of red wine, they don’t have any Moscato wine, sangrias?”

“Cyprine, gorgeous, why not be open minded? You’ll be surprised, you may enjoy it.”

She laughs lightly, “I doubt that. Do you think they may have Hennessy?”

Lorenz doesn’t respond with words, only a single brow lift and a look of disapproval.

“You didn’t peg me as a Henny drinker. Let me guess, you twerk any and everywhere too?”

What a change of energy.

“What’s wrong with that?! It’s all in good fun, Lorenz. You can’t sit here and tell me you don’t have fun.”

“I’m more of a yacht club kind of guy, sitting with old valedictorian friends, reminiscing on college days, smoking cigars.” Cyprine knew Lorenz had expensive friends, but she didn’t think he was one of those uptight types. That threw her for a complete loop, she didn’t get that vibe  from him at all. Now she was unsure of how this night would play out. A young Asian guy who looked to be in his early twenties approaches their table with a perfect posture and a faint smile.

“I am Ethan, I will be your waiter this evening. Here is the red wine you requested Sir, the oldest we had dates back to 1977.” Cyprine felt herself cringe.

“I’m sorry, Ethan, is there a way I could get a glass of white wine instead?”

Ethan smiles, “yes, of course, I will bring a bottle to the table for you.” As Ethan makes his exit, Lorenz chimes in.

“Why’d you do that?” He seemed annoyed.

“Look, you’re taking me on a date, right? So, I would think that means being a gentleman and wanting to understand my likes and dislikes.” The bitter tone in her words didn’t go unnoticed, and neither did a new wave of irritation coming off Lorenz. Had Cyprine been wrong about accepting this date? Clearly it seemed looks weren’t enough.

“Let me look over this menu.” Lorenz decided not to give his opinion on her words, and Cyprine thought it best he didn’t. As Lorenz looked over the prices, Cyprine sipped her white wine, studying his face. The handsome features contorted with distaste.

“These prices are ridiculously high.” Lorenz closes the menu, Cyprines eyes growing a fraction.

“I’ll order us the broiled Caviar with shrimp cocktail.”

Cyprine didn’t speak, she just drank her wine and filled the glass whenever it was half full. Whatever white wine it was, she could feel an instant buzz already and it put her in a better disposition.

“What was it like growing up in LA, Lorenz?” She figured small talk would lighten the mood.

“I grew up in Arizona, I’m an Army brat.”

“Wow, how was that? Moving from place to place and what not.”

“Okay I guess. Had to deal with it, no other choice when you had to do what your parents wanted you to do.” Cyprine could agree with that.

“For me, I grew up here in Cali. My childhood was fairly great, both of my parents raised me, participated in a lot of extra curricular activities like dance, Taekwondo. I enjoyed my school days too, hanging with my girls, getting into shit.”

Lorenz gave a hum of approval, but no feedback so the topic went dry. They both sat in silence until Ethan came, Lorenz ordering the appetizers. Pouring another glass of wine, she was already tipsy, but the wine was so good.

“How many glasses have you had?” Lorenz asks with a raised brow.

“Honestly, I couldn’t tell you.” Cyprine giggles.

Lorenz scanned the restaurant, noticing eyes on them.

“Hey, maybe you should lay off a little. I don’t need for these people to worry about what’s going on over here.”

Cyprine wasn’t drunk, she could hear the disapproval in his tone.

“Oh, and I ordered you the Santa Barbara Spot Prawn, it’s in my price range and I think you may like it.”

“Excuse me? I wanted to try the wild thai shrimp with salmon.”

“Cyprine, bare with me.” Lorenz puts up a hand to her, and Cyprine didn’t take too well to that shit at all.

“Lorenz, I don’t do all the disrespect. Don’t raise your hand to silence me like a child I’m a grown ass women.”

He chuckles, clearly unfazed.

“If you so grown, then why do I have to tell you to put the glass down? You're drinking like a fish and it’s not appealing.”

She felt like she’d been slapped in the face.

“You are really showing your true colors tonight,” Cyprine adds more wine to her glass, laughing to calm her nerves.

“What true colors, Cyprine? Enlighten me.” He spoke low and discreet as to not draw attention.

“You’re cheap, but yet you bring me to a five star restaurant and talk about yacht clubs and fancy college friends clearly to impress me. You don’t let me speak or think for myself, you just assume shit about me when you don’t even know me. Speaking of knowing me, you don’t care to do that either. And let’s not forget the drinking, if I wanna take this bottle to the head I will, I don’t give a fuck what these white people think, I know who I am.” She downs the drink, licking at her lips.

“I mean, is this even a date or do you just expect me to go back to your expensive place and have sex with you?”

Lorenz folds his arms over his broad chest, giving her a look that could only be shared if two individuals were on the same page.

“Isn’t that what this is? You hardly ever spoke to me, just looked at me like fresh meat. And you knew the way I looked at you, Cyprine. Did I expect sex after this, yes. Am I proven wrong, obviously.” Lorenz leans in closer, those eyes she once saw as dreamy were now nothing but pits of tarnished mud.

“Sorry, babygirl, But I think I should make my exit. I can’t stand a black woman with an attitude and no table manners.”  A beat and a breath passed between them and then the entire glass of his chosen aged red wine was spilled, covering his entire chest and staining that fresh cream colored shirt he wore. He was shell shocked, eyes wide and unbelieving that she actually poured a drink on him. The gasps and comments could be heard faintly, but Cyprine didn’t care. Lifting her own glass to her full perfectly glossed lips with a look of aloof mischief in her sparkling eyes.

“I’m sorry babe. My hand just slipped. I hope that outfit wasn't expensive.”

“You know, I feel sorry for the next man. You are truly a piece of work Cyprine, now you’re about to eat alone.”

“Oh good I can order the shrimp and salmon.”

He lifts up angrily from his chair, wiping his face with his white napkin, storming past her with the faint sound of ‘bitch’ escaping his mouth.

Cyprine could feel the embarrassment creeping up on her, but no, she wasn’t gonna give these people the satisfaction of seeing her down.

“Well, there goes another failed attempt down the drain.” Cyprine laughs to herself, motioning for an apprehensive Ethan to come over to her table and get her another round of drinks and new order of food, she had the money to spend on it.

———————————-

KNOCK KNOCK

So much for his personal smoking session. He had just gotten finished eating some homemade pho, and currently he was seated in his living room, on the couch facing the LA cityscape. His laptop was untouched for the past hour, even though he told himself he would send out emails to the board of his company about the conference they had to do. It was A LOT OF PRESSURE for him, spotlights, press, presentations. Erik strained his ears, hearing small whimpers from outside of his door. He recognized those whimpers, but why the fuck is she here around almost 12am?

Cyprine.

“What the fuck?” Erik mouths to himself, he had on no shirt and just a pair of royal blue basketball shorts, black nike socks, and his signature gold chain with his father's ring around his neck. The closer he approached the foyer, the louder her complaints became.

“ERIK!!!! Pleassssseeee open the fucking door! I’m PISSED OFF!”Her words slurred a little, and from that point Erik knew she drove all the way to his place drunk out of her mind. He fumbled with the locks, finally getting it open and with quick reflexes, catching Cyprines falling body into his arms.

“What the hell?! What the fuck are you doing drunk driving Cyprine?!” Her body was almost like dead weight on him, her white dress sliding from her shoulders, feet unsteady, and eyes hazy.

“CYPRINE!” Erik shakes her a little, causing her to open her eyes wider at his elevated tone.

“Hello?!! Can’t fucking hear?!” He was pissed.

“I’m sorry I went alittle heavy on the liquor.”

“ALITTLE?!”

“Aye nigga stop yelling. Gon bust my eardrums. So this nigga did me foul! He fucking left me at the dinner table ALONE E! Fucking alone!” She punched at the wall, leaning against it as she walked further into his apartment. Erik follows, eyes piercing.

“I thought it would be a good idea to go out with a nice man, get wined and dined. Maybe get some dick you know?!” She bends down languidly to peel off her strappy red bottomed heels, fingers fumbling with the simple buckles and kicking them off. Rising from her bent position, she put her hands up with an exasperated puff of air.

“I need another fucking drink.”

“No the fuck you don’t!  You need water. And what you mean left you at the table? You went on a date or some shit?”

She simply nods her head, eyelids fluttering slowly.

“...wasn’t gonna tell me you and Tre-“

She groans, hands over her face.

“Not with Tre! With this cheap ass nigga name Lorenz!”

Erik strokes his chin hair, slowly settling down on the couch across from her.

“Lorenz? Lorenz what?”

“Lorenz Allen. A bitch ass nigga.”

Erik pinches the bridge of his nose, taking meditating breaths.

“I could have warned you about him girl if you would have told me what the fuck was going on!”

Cyprine looked over at Erik from her drunk stupor,

“What you mean?!”

“I MEAN, that nigga is lame. He ain’t the one to fuck wit, C, I know him through some people, nigga is straight trash.”

Cyprine pouts, hugging a pillow, “doesn’t do me good now, Erik!”

“I told you about Kimora! How I felt and shit and you couldn’t tell me this?! Why the fuck not?”

Her voice cracked with anger, “I wanted to see if this would work out before I did that! And now I’m glad I didn’t do that, I would be even MORE messed up.”

Erik shakes his head, eyes dangerously low and angry.

“Still don’t give you the right to keep that shit from me.”

“Damn nigga chill out! I don’t owe you shit.” She whines.

“Shut the fuck up. You out here drinking and fucking driving-“

“I didn’t drive, I got an Uber over.”

Erik could have yanked her up. He practically hollered at this chick for her to tell him that?

“So, you mean to tell me...you got a ride, and made me think you were out here cruising drunk?”

Cyprine rolls her eyes, “You the silly ass nigga that assumed. But you not my daddy! I can do what the hell I want so why does it matter?”

Erik wasn’t having that, the glare he sent her was shuttering.

“You better watch that little mouth. Why don’t you take your ass somewhere and get some sleep,” as soon as he stood up, she followed.

“No,” folding her arms, Cyprine battles with Erik, keeping eye contact.

“No? See...” Erik steps closer, looking down at her.

“Cyprine, I ain’t got time for your bratty ass. I don’t wanna have to put you in your place, you already fucked up my quiet.”

“You and your quiet will be alright nigga.”

It has to be the alcohol talking, the way she challenged him with those eyes and that stance. She looked flustered and sexy and Erik felt like he was fighting to keep it together.

“I’ll make my way to that fucking basement. I need another drink to ease my mind and cleanse my soul of bumb nigga energy.” Before she could walk away, Erik had her arm in his firm grip, pulling back against him with so much force it damn near knocked the glass coffee table down.

The rush he felt from that had his mind swirling. All the hugs he received from Cyprine was nothing compared to the way her body was pressed against his, dress half way off her chocolate frame, eyes glossy. He was turned on so heavy, there wasn’t a damn thing that could ruin this mood, not even that fucking weed he was just smoking.

“E...let go.” She spoke through clenched teeth.

Cyprines eyes fluttered, conflict within her orbs.

“I came here for support and all you tryna do is act like my damn daddy!”

What the hell was going on? That primal look in his eyes was all too familiar in men. Was it…

“When I tell you to do something, what you do?” He spoke softer. She didn’t respond, and she didn’t want to.

“Cyprine...I said,” his hand came to her hip, she couldn’t breathe anymore, fuck being drunk she needed oxygen to fill her lungs.

“What you do?”

She swallows spit, “do it.”

Those two words, the energy it took to SPEAK them. The blaze behind them, the force that it placed on her aching body. Her pussy throbbed, her legs quaked, her breathing was uneven, she felt like she was undergoing vertigo.

“Good girl, now, is that hard, babygirl?”

“What happened to calling me lil nigga?”

He laughs, “you don’t get to be called lil nigga right now with the way you acting.”

Erik was definitely inviting her into this confusing game. She wasn’t sure where to go, her head pounded and her limbs felt like cement blocks were holding them in place.

“Now, I’m putting you in the bath and then you laying that ass down.”

“A bath?!” She gave him a wide eyed look of shock, Erik’s expression so passive and unfazed. Erik pulls Cyprine by her arm and up the steps; silent and nerve wracking. She wanted him to say ‘gotcha’ anything, it gave her butterflies.

“Listen, nigga, I can take it from here-Ahhh!” She felt his hand come down on her ass and it went straight to her pussy. Wasn’t no way she would speak after that, what in the hell came over this man, the very man who just 24 hours ago treated her like one of the homies. Erik gave her a look that dared her to talk, and she didn’t. The trip to the bathroom was quick, Erik sitting her on the toilet while he set up the bath. She wanted to say something ANYTHING to him, but he was in the zone.

“What you doin? You can’t take a bath with clothes on can you?”

“E…”

“What? Am I right or wrong, girl?”

Cyprine looked from her dress to him. Her stomach felt queasy, her heart damn near left her chest. His scent made her nose burn every time she inhaled and his unrelenting eyes had a powerful hold on her. She noticed the bulge in his shorts, and clearly as visible as it was he knew she would notice. Cyprine was a little hesitant in front of him because she didn’t know what to expect from Erik.

“The longer you sit there, the colder this water is gonna be.”

She began undressing, her eyes focused on him, waiting for the April fools, but nothing came...well, except for the deep grunt he made from watching her strip naked. She was mind blown, felt like a rocket had been set off in her head. She wanted an explanation, and she wanted it FAST.

“Now, come on and get in this tub before I beat yo ass.”

Without any resistance, the naked woman gently eased herself into the deliciously hot water. It felt so good when she sat down that she almost groaned. Erik proceeded to get down on his knees and reached under the sink, pulling out a pack of the makeup remover wipes she usually buys that she didn't remember ever leaving there. It was clearly a brand new pack that had never been open cause he used some force to get it open before pulling a fresh piece to gently wipe off the makeup on her face. It took two wipes to get her down to a bare face and then he took her hair in hand, separated it into two sections, combing through with his fingers as much as he could without hurting her and braided them into pigtails. She didn't even know he could do that. He grabbed a clean white hand towel and wiped Cyprine’s face again to get it completely  clean and followed with a baby blue loofah and some lavender castile soap to wash her body. Once he was satisfied, he let out the water and wrapped her petite frame in a fluffy towel. He took her hand in his, helping her out of the tub and patted down the water on her skin. He massaged some african shea butter into her skin while she stood in front of him. After she was moisturized, he carried her bridal style, cradled against his pebbled chest and gently sat her down at the foot of the plush bed.

“Stay here lil one. Ima go get you something to sleep in and warm ya feet.”

With that, he popped out the room leaving Cyprine to fidget about on the black velvet king sized bed. She felt hot all over and the more she sat, the more the anticipation escalated. Cyprine was practically exposed sitting on the bed within his guest bedroom. Hell, she could sleep naked from how horny she felt, fuck clothes.  After all of this that transpired so damn quickly, would Erik want to do more? Would he slip in between the black bamboo Lyocell bedding that has a silky smooth and feathery soft texture? Would he wake her up from her slumber with his hand between her legs, fingering her to climax while she bucked her hips? Does he prefer to keep the lights off? Only hearing his breathing and her pussy sucking his fingers in and out of her like a vacuum.

Cyprine should have known.

A man who’d been without sex for five months straight, constantly horny, blue balls often, a build up of nasty thoughts that he wanted to reenact in his own bed. As if feeling his eyes on her, Cyprine lifts her head towards the doorway, watching as his henched frame glowed from the small lamp light on the nightstand. Cyprine’s eyes watched in a different way this time and she remained quiet too, waiting to see what would happen next, this game was exciting.

“I hope you don’t mind this old Navy training T-shirt, it’s a little faded. And here’s some socks too to keep your pretty feet warm.”

She responded in a softly spoken tone, “it’s fine, E, I’m just sleeping.”

He chuckles before that smoky voice lulled her, “Aight, little one.”

Erik walks toward her, finally reaching her personal space and kneeling down in front of her, meeting her eye level. With steady and skillful hands, eyes on her like what resided from her shoulders down wasn’t completely exposed. She could smell the shea on her skin, and she could feel her nipples grown and stiffen. Erik gathered the shirt, placing it over her head.

“Put your arms through.”

She lifts her arms through the sleeves, the smell of his fresh shirt soothing her. It had a smell of old cologne and fabric softener. As if teasing her, Erik lowers the shirt down, his eyes never leaving hers until the shirt settled at the top of her thighs like a dress.

“Lay back.” She did, until her weight rested on her elbows.

“Give me your feet.”

Her smooth pretty feet stretched out in front of him and one by one Erik placed the socks on her feet while staring at her toes longingly. Oh she liked that, she liked that he was mesmerized by her pretty toes. Erik lifts from the floor, crawling onto the bed, before settling next to her. Cyprine felt herself exhale as she watched him watch her.

“Since your settled in bed, Cyprine, let me tell yo ass once. You too good to set yourself up like that. Fuck niggas don’t deserve your time, believe me, I know a lot of fuck niggas and Lorenz is one of them.”

She could have melted in his arms, she didn’t know how she could do it for so long, be around him and not be swept off her feet. He was definitely a charmer.

“Aye, look at me while I’m talking to you, not my lips.”

With a honeyed voice, she says, “but your lips are moving, which means your talking, right?” Cyprine was being sassy.

Erik shifted on the bed, pausing for effect.

“I need eye contact.” He spoke in a gruff tone.

He looked her up and down, smiling at her, “You cute, but save that little voice you talking wit,”

“Why?” Cyprine wanted to push him, see how far he would go. They came all this way might as well see.

“Don’t worry about all that,” Erik hooks his hands under her arms, pulling her up and onto one of the silk pillows, pulling the bedding out for her to slip in. With a smooth, slow kiss to the forehead, Erik lifts from the bed, walking away like he always did on those regular nights when Cyprine was drunk or all too tired to walk on her own two feet.

Walking out that room was a challenge, his stiff dick resting against his thigh from the thin material of his shorts and he could also feel the precum stain his thigh. Erik needed to meditate, take another shower maybe and sit on his shower chair; just think. That interaction was all it took, he needed his dick sucked and fucked on right now, it’s been too damn long. Erik turned, hand on her door knob, ready to risk it all and get what he so desperately needed, maybe even doing her a favor; non accidentally.

@unholyxcumbucket @wakanda-shit-is-that @yomiloo @forbeautyandlife @turn-thy-paige @vikkidc @panthergoddessbast @whorderofthepheonix @whoramilaje @trevantesbrat @hearteyes-for-killmonger @thehomierobbstark @drsunshine97 @disneysdarlingdiva @janelledarling @tiava143 @abeautifulmindexposed @supersizemeplz @forgottenthoughtsandmemories @brattywriters-anonymous @blackpinup22 @killmonger-dolan @eriksjournal @thadelightfulone @chaneajoyyy @madamslayyy @loosewindmill @softnani @ljstraightnochaser @faatassbitch @blackpantherismyish @erikslulbaby @youreadthatright @youcan-die @blowmymbackout @muse-of-mbaku @heyauntieeee @iamrheaspeaks @destinio1 @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @bakarijordan @shookmcgookqueen @purple-apricots @unfriendly-blk-hottie @uhlxisback @wawakanda-btch @bartierbakarimobisson

[sciencespies]

In a Tunnel Beneath Alaska, Scientists Race to Understand Disappearing Permafrost

https://sciencespies.com/nature/in-a-tunnel-beneath-alaska-scientists-race-to-understand-disappearing-permafrost/

In a Tunnel Beneath Alaska, Scientists Race to Understand Disappearing Permafrost

To enter the Fox permafrost tunnel—one of the only places in the world dedicated to the firsthand scientific study of the mix of dirt and ice that covers much of the planet’s far northern latitudes—you must don a hard-hat then walk into the side of a hill. The hill stands in the rural area of Fox, Alaska, 16 miles north of Fairbanks. The entrance is in a metal wall that’s like a partially dissected Quonset hut, or an enlarged hobbit hole. A tangle of skinny birches and black spruce adorn the top of the hill, and a giant refrigeration unit roars like a jet engine outside the door—to prevent the contents of the tunnel from warping or thawing.

On a mild, damp day in September, Thomas Douglas, a research chemist, escorts visitors through the tunnel door. Douglas works for a project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers called the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), which has its fingers in everything from snowmelt modeling and wetlands plant inventories to research on stealth aircraft. But his own work focuses on several aspects of permafrost, and he leads occasional tours here.

Inside, the permafrost tunnel itself is even stranger than its exterior. A metal boardwalk crosses a floor thick with fine, loose, cocoa-colored dust. Fluorescent lights and electrical wires dangle above us. The walls are embedded with roots suspended in a masonry of ice and silt, with a significant content of old bacteria and never-rotted bits of plant and animal tissue. Because of this, the tunnel smells peculiar and fetid, like a malodorous cheese (think Stilton or Limburger) but with an earthy finish and notes of sweaty socks and horse manure.

A trim person in a light jacket, Douglas strolls down the boardwalk with an amiable half-grin on his face, narrating the surroundings with the kind of glib enthusiasm of a museum docent or a mountain guide. “This part of the tunnel here is about 18,000 years old. We’ve had it carbon-14 dated. This is kind of a bone-rich area right here,” he says. He gestures to what look like gopher holes in the silt—the gaps left behind by cores drilled by science teams. The bone of a steppe bison, a large Arctic ungulate that went extinct about 10,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age, rests in the hard peat. A little further along: a mammoth bone. We have stepped both underground and back in time.

The earthen walls look like they could be soft, like mud, but he raps the end of a long metal flashlight against one of them, and it makes a clinking sound. “You can see this is hard as a rock,” he says.

Permafrost is one the weirder concoctions of the Earth’s Ice Ages. In the abstract, it sounds like a simple substance—any earth material that stays frozen for two or more years. In reality, it is a shape-shifting material that underlies about 24 percent of land in the Northern Hemisphere—from the Tibetan Plateau to Siberia and parts of Arctic and sub-Arctic North America. Now many such areas are becoming both volatile and fragile. Permafrost can be hard as bedrock, but when it thaws, if it’s rich in ice and silt, it can morph into something like glue or chocolate milk or wet cement. In its frozen state, it can hoard materials for thousands of years without allowing them to decay. It can suspend bacteria in a kind of cryo-sleep—still alive for millennia.

Research chemist Thomas Douglas stands at the entrance to the Fox tunnel.

(Whitney McLaren / Undark)

Much of the scientific research on permafrost has been done from above or afar, via remote sensing equipment and computer models, or through happenstance in old mining tunnels or places where a river bluff has fallen apart and exposed millennia-old ice. Sometimes it’s done via the laborious process of hand-sampling and boring a hole deep into the ground. “Really most of us are studying permafrost from the surface, and we’re imagining what it looks like underneath,” says Kimberly Wickland, a U.S. Geological Survey ecologist who studies carbon emissions from lakes and wetlands. The Fox tunnel is one of only two underground facilities dedicated exclusively to the scientific study of permafrost where a visitor can actually walk around inside the frozen earth. (The other is in Siberia.) When Wickland stepped into the tunnel for the first time in 2001, it was like a revelation she says—the moment she truly grasped what permafrost was.

Here, people like Wickland collaborate with Douglas, his colleagues, and researchers from all over the world. Collectively, they have studied everything from the utility of ground-penetrating radar in space exploration—the tunnel is thought to be an analog for Mars—to isotopes in steppe bison bones that might suggest something about the migration habits of these creatures before they went extinct. Here you can see the stuff in three dimensions, and easily retrieve 18,000 to 43,000-year-old specimens of it for research. You can reckon with how complex permafrost is, how much of it remains hidden, and how much scientists still need to learn. You can study and decode the vast amounts of information it potentially holds about the Earth’s history, and you can test the ways its disappearance might influence the planet’s future.

Indeed, permafrost is discussed most often these days in a global context and, increasingly, it is a subject of alarm. In December, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealed that the world’s permafrost—which used to capture and store carbon—is instead collapsing and setting loose things that it had long ago entombed. Some scientists worry its thaw could liberate microbes wholly foreign to the modern world (a threat whose significance seems even more disturbing in light of the damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic). Meanwhile, the NOAA analysis suggests that the globe’s unraveling permafrost is already releasing as much as 300 to 600 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon into the atmosphere annually, about as much as the myriad industrial and transport activities of France or Canada. The finding is a warning signal—possibly the beginning of a feedback loop in which natural processes in the Arctic may make the impacts of climate change far worse.

As climate change warms soil temperatures across Alaska, too, the Fox tunnel probably contains some of the most protected and coldest permafrost in the area. How long that will remain true is hard to predict. A visitor to the tunnel can’t help but wonder just how much will ultimately be lost biologically, ecologically, and scientifically—as the planet’s permafrost collapses.

Early on, permafrost was mostly an engineer’s concern, and it was often a nuisance. Around Fairbanks in the early 20tth century, permafrost was an obstacle lying between prospectors and the gold beneath. So miners would blast through or thaw it with devices called steam points, turning the frozen earth into muck, then haul it out to get to the gold. (The younger, front part of the hill in which the Fox Tunnel now stands was dredged and hauled away by gold miners, which is why the tunnel features mainly ancient permafrost.)

Elsewhere, permafrost was a construction problem. In 1942, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent more than 10,000 soldiers and civilians to carve the Alaska Highway through eastern Alaska and into Canada, engineers discovered that one could not build directly on top of the stuff without thawing it—a hard lesson that involved broken equipment and trucks stuck in unyielding mud. The construction challenges helped identify “cold regions research requirements” that would later lead to the formation of CRREL, according to a history published by the Corps.

Only in the Cold War did the frozen ground begin to seem like a possible asset, and a thing worthy of scientific inquiry. The Department of Defense wanted to see whether icy terrain could offer a secure location for military bases and operations. In 1959 and 1960, the U.S. Army built what amounted to a city under the snow in Greenland, called Camp Century, with labs, a dormitory, a gymnasium, a barbershop, and a nuclear reactor to supply heat and power. Here, they studied the properties of snow and drilled to the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet for the first time. The camp was also intended to house “Project Iceworm,” which aimed to build thousands of miles of tunnel inside the ice sheet and use them for storing ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads. But after a few years, it became clear that Greenland glaciers were too dynamic and unstable to support such a network, and the project was canceled. The camp was abandoned in 1966.

The Fox permafrost tunnel had a more modest purpose. In 1963, when it was first dug, it was simply designed to test whether frozen ground could be an adequate bunker or smaller-scale military storage facility. Permafrost is naturally shock-absorbent and could theoretically handle shelling and bombing. George Swinzow, a geologist in the Experimental Engineering Division of CRREL, one of the first builders and stewards of the tunnel, had also attempted to create his own synthetic version of permafrost, called “permacrete,” which he used to build columns, bricks, and other underground supports and masonry inside another newly excavated tunnel near Camp Tuto in Greenland. (Swinzow would also later write a tome titled “On Winter Warfare,” about the technical problems of combat in cold places.)

In 1968 and 1969, the U.S. Bureau of Mines borrowed the tunnel and tested some blasting and drilling techniques in a gently sloping side channel called a winze. At the end, the tunnel looked like a lopsided letter “V.” For the next two decades, the main research carried out here still focused on engineering — permafrost as a physical thing rather than a biological one, a substrate that would affect the construction of buildings and pipelines. The engineers soon discovered that permafrost would warp and bend as it approached about 30 degrees Fahrenheit (or -1 degrees Celsius). So CRREL installed the first refrigeration unit at the entrance and a set of fans to send the cold air back through the earthen passageways. The chiller now keeps the facility at about 25 degrees (or about -4 degrees Celsius).

After turning down the winze, the boardwalk ends, and Douglas instructs his visitors to “walk daintily,” or to “walk like ninjas.” The ceiling of the tunnel lowers, and he implores them to avoid kicking up the dust, also called loess, a type of delicate dirt carried miles by the wind and collected in this hill. When the tunnel was first dug, the ice held the loess in place. But when exposed to frigid air, ice will convert directly to water vapor, a process called sublimation. When the ice departed, it released the particles of dust onto the floor. Dig through the dust—as Fairbanks paleontologists sometimes do—and you can find ground squirrel bones, millennia-old leaves still tinged with green, ancient seeds and fruits, and beetle carapaces that look like they might have recently died on your windowsill.

By the early 2000s, the dusty surface of the tunnel also made it seem like a good analog for Mars, which has cold dirt and layers of its own permafrost. Researchers began running prototype rovers through the tunnel and using ground-penetrating radar to find novel ways to look for the water and ice—or even extraterrestrial life—on Mars. Around the same time, NASA became interested in whether ice-dwelling microbes might hold clues about the form and function of life on other planets. In 1999 and 2000, a NASA astrobiologist named Richard Hoover sampled microscopic filaments that he thought might belong to bacteria frozen into a 32,000-year-old section of the permafrost tunnel. In 2005, he announced his findings from those samples—the first species ever discovered to be still alive in ancient ice, an extremophile called Carnobacterium pleistocenium.

Thomas Douglas points to an image showing the layout of the Fox permafrost tunnel.

(Whitney McLaren / Undark)

The discovery heralded a new understanding of permafrost. It was proof that life could exist in extreme places. But more ominously, it suggested that the thawing happening all over the planet could awaken both ecological processes and long-dormant organisms, and not all of them might be benign.

Emerging from the winze, the permafrost tunnel opens into a high-ceilinged gallery of water-ice patterns, each one as beautiful as an abstract sculpture. This is the newer part of the tunnel, a section burrowed out between 2011 and 2018. The drilling here exposed these massive cross-sections of ice and earth, called “ice wedges.” Some are as wide as 15 feet across. (Unusually, some of the academic scientists at CRREL dug this part of the tunnel themselves, driving heavy machinery into the earth. Douglas was not involved, but snow researcher Matthew Sturm, who holds a post at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, described driving a skid steer, like a small bulldozer, and a research engineer manned a device called a rotary cutter, attached to an excavator.)

Ice wedges are giant spears that form when water trickles into cracks in the silty parts of the permafrost. The new ice carves out gaps where water can percolate every summer season, so the wedges gather more ice and expand over time. Here, they spread across the walls in dark, glossy, marbled forms. “Isn’t this a wild shape? It reminds me of, like, a Da Vinci sketch,” exclaims Douglas. “Doesn’t it look like an eagle, like a man becoming an eagle?” He pauses before a sheet of ice that curiously resembles a figure—a head with pointed ears, arms spread like wings atop a glassy body, and feet shaped like tree roots. The formation is accidental, frozen in place here about 25,000 years ago, but such fantastical shapes abound. A few feet away from the eagle-man is a horizontal ice-tube that looks like a diorama, with grassy bits and roots and air bubbles suspended in it. This plant matter is around the same age but looks like someone picked it yesterday and stuck it inside a glass case.

The eagle-man and every ice formation in this gallery is a slice of a wedge. By capillary action, water can also collect into lenses and chunks in the soil. Some become enormous; some remain microscopic. Most of these bits of ice are about 99 percent frozen water, with little silt mixed in. But salts in the permafrost can lick the edges of the ice and form unfrozen bits. Here, in what are called brine channels, live other microbes. Today, these microbes are an increasingly active areas of study in the tunnel—and in permafrost research elsewhere in the world—for good reason.

In the popular imagination, microbes in permafrost are like tiny undead monsters—superbugs that awaken and spread pandemics. In 2016, the Yamal Peninsula of Siberia had its first anthrax outbreak in 75 years, likely triggered when a heatwave thawed the region’s permafrost and released anthrax spores from a long-dead reindeer carcass. At least 20 people were infected, and one 12-year-old boy died. Such risks have given scientists enough pause that, in November, an international group in gathered in Hanover, Germany to discuss them.

And microbes may have an even more disturbing role in shaping the fate of the atmosphere: It is the microbes that will determine how much of the permafrost’s carbon escapes into the air and how much can be stored again in the dirt. In 2013, Wickland and a group of her collaborators came to the tunnel to gather bits of 35,000-year-old permafrost that had been carved out of the walls during the recent excavation. They collected these scrapings in several coolers packed with dry ice then flew with them to their laboratory in Colorado. They suspended the samples in water, then strained them, like tea, and measured how much carbon dioxide leached from the water.

The thawed, awakened bacteria in the tea began breaking down the organic carbon in the sample; in less than a week, about half of it was emitted into the air as carbon dioxide. It was a disturbing finding. Scientists had long debated how quickly or gradually the thawing of permafrost would affect the global climate. But this study suggested the warming of ancient soils could produce a giant burst of emissions into the atmosphere in a short period of time—one more reason to be wary of the stuff.

But there are other scientists who are trying to find redeeming value in the newly awakened microbial community. Some have continued Hoover’s work, but brought more powerful DNA analysis into the search for live microbes in ice that might yield insights about interplanetary life. Robyn Barbato, a soil microbiologist at the CRREL lab in New Hampshire, also has plans to gather samples from the tunnel for the purpose of bioprospecting. This is the term used to describe the search for microbes that might help with the design of things like super-cold glue, bio-bricks, sustainable road materials, and antifreeze. “I consider the Far North and the Far South to be kind of the new Amazon. There’s all this biodiversity,” Barbato says. “We could really encounter interesting and useful processes that we can adapt to make things more sustainable.”

At least three times in the past 27 years, flooding from a combination of engineering troubles and heavy spring and summer rains has threatened the tunnel. In 1993, the floodwaters collected at the rear of the old tunnel, warped the ceiling, and brought down large chunks of silt. In 2014, water flowed into the tunnel from a nearby hillslope, and frozen puddles collected inside. In 2016, “we nearly lost the tunnel,” recalls Sturm. The rains altered the drainage above, and water infiltrated an ice wedge adjacent to the tunnel. “By the time anything could get done, it had eroded a house-sized piece of ice wedge.” The main pulse of the floodwaters ultimately drained away from the tunnel, but the close call reminded CRREL staff of the potential for catastrophe. Patches of ice from the various floods still linger in the tunnel.

“To me, that’s one of the most salient things we learned from the tunnel,” Sturm says. When permafrost collapses or erodes, the landscape left behind is called thermokarst. The word evokes limestone karst — a type of belowground terrain that is like Swiss cheese, full of caves, rock pools, springs, and streams formed by dissolving and eroding limestone. But thermokarst is far more unstable than limestone karst. Within a few years, a puddle left by permafrost thaw can turn into a lake, then collapse into a ravine. Permafrost won’t decay because of warm temperatures alone. Water will play a destructive role. Fires have also raged in recent years across Alaska and Siberia. Inside the tunnel, near a second entrance, is a thin black band along the wall, a line of charcoal from what was probably a fire. In the Anthropocene climate, if flames laid bare the hillside above the tunnel, heat might radiate into the ice inside and help thaw it.

Douglas leads the group out this second door and past another loud cooling fan into the damp air and daylight. He walks up the hill onto what is effectively the tunnel’s roof and then into the forest behind it, following an old footpath behind a fence through clusters of dwarf birches, willows, black spruce, and fragrant Labrador tea. It is a picture of collapsing permafrost and another active area of research. CRREL researchers have set up various meters and cameras to track snowfall and melt throughout the forest. His tour crosses several areas of sunken, flooded ground, and then a long gully with spruce trees curved toward it, as if they are bowing. Tea-colored water trickles through the center. This is the top of a collapsed ice wedge.

“Who knows how far out that ice wedge has melted?” Douglas says. “There is this sense that the underground is not stable.”

That sense of collapse extends far beyond here. The mean temperature of Fairbanks over the entire 2019 year was 32.6 degrees Fahrenheit, just above freezing, and permafrost cannot survive many more years like it. What lies inside the tunnel seems more and more like a captive, rare animal, an Earth form that might soon be lost. In a time of climate change, the Fox tunnel becomes a project for reckoning, on a grand scale, with that loss and its cascading effects. “Sometimes we’ll kind of joke about, at one point, we’ll have the only permafrost in the Fairbanks area,” Douglas says. This year, he and his colleagues will experiment with other means to extend the tunnel’s longevity, such as using solar panels to power its chillers. They will complete an expansion project begun this winter by the end of 2021, doubling the size of the tunnel. This will allow them to see permafrost from many angles above (with radar) and below (with the human eye) and develop means to scan frozen ground on a large scale.

At its essence, it’s an effort to study and visualize the remaking of large parts of the Earth.

In the next 80 years, in just one lifetime, most of Alaska’s near-surface permafrost will fall apart, Douglas explains. “That will fundamentally alter hydrology, vegetation, the snowpack, the timing of spring melt, heat exchange, habitats for animals, and it’ll basically completely change the landscape.” The work ahead at Fox, he adds, is to understand the staggering ramifications of this loss. Alaska and all of the far North, he says, are “just going to be a fundamentally different place.”

UPDATE: A previous version of the piece incorrectly stated that the planet’s permafrost could be releasing as much as 300 to 600 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. The amount is 300 to 600 million metric tons. The piece also wrongly stated that Thomas Douglas set up meters and cameras to track snowfall and melt throughout the forest behind the permafrost tunnel. The work was conducted by various CRREL researchers.

This article was originally published on Undark. Read the original article.

#Nature

[privateplates4u]

Mazda MX-5 Miata RF: 10th Place – 2017 Motor Trend Best Driver’s Car

The last of the affordable roadsters, the Miata continues to deliver the best driving experience for the money. Mazda threw us a curveball this year by introducing a power-operated targa roof with dramatic flying buttresses rather than the sleek power-folding hardtop we have come to expect. Adding about 100 pounds to the featherweight sporty car, the power roof stows in the same space as the standard cloth roof. Being light and compact, the roof doesn’t add any structural stiffness to the chassis, but the added weight requires compensation elsewhere. Mazda retuned its springs, shocks, and electric power steering for the RF to account for the new roof. It’s Best Driver’s Car week! Keep it on MotorTrend.com this week as we count down the finishing order of our contenders this year and share bonus content you’ll only find right here. Power, however, remains the same. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder is unchanged at 155 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque, and it drives the rear wheels through a six-speed manual. Being a Club model, it also gets a standard limited-slip differential, an under-hood shock tower brace, Bilstein shocks, Brembo brakes, and BBS wheels. With a slightly heftier weight-to-power ratio, the Miata RF needs 6.4 seconds to hit 60 mph from a stop and 14.9 seconds to clear the quarter mile, where it will be doing 92.4 mph. Stopping from 60 mph takes 109 feet. On the skidpad, it’ll pull 0.91 g average, and on the figure eight it’ll put down a 25.9-second lap at 0.71 g average. But you’ll be hard pressed to find a more fun car to do it in. We Say “I wanted to love it, reward it, and rank it higher than the bottom quartile, but in the end I couldn’t. I love the styling—I can’t stand convertibles—and with the roof up it looks hardtop-coupey swooptastic. I couldn’t get into the driving sensations, which are old hat by now. Huge power/torque disparity aside (not that much of an issue because it delivers the sensation of speed just fine), it simply feels looser and softer sprung than nearly everything here. Admittedly it leans way over and gives you plenty of notice before it lets go, but that got a little old for me after a while (especially on the downhill). I kept thinking that this couldn’t be the fastest setup for this car; couldn’t it be a little stiffer—a little more buttoned down—and thus, even faster feeling? (Or was the sense of speed—the inner ear trickery—tied to the squat and roll and early onset tire howl?) One new criticism: I was surprised to find it is not as easy to place on the road. Steering is slowish and lacks precision.” – Ed Loh “I’m not nearly as in love with the Miata as I thought I’d be. Maybe it’s fast car fatigue, but it felt unsettled to me, like it’s always dancing on the top of its springs and edge of its tires. I think less rotation on turn-in would help. Every time you crack the wheel, the rear end jumps over. It sticks, but it makes you think it’s going to dance around on you. The ESC grabbing at the brakes doesn’t help confidence. It’s especially frustrating because when you do turn it off, it��s fine. Yeah, the rear end is playful, but it’s not trying to swap ends on you. I like that there’s a bit more roll stiffness on this one so you don’t flop onto the outside tire, but I think a little more stiffness would be better.” – Scott Evans Read about other 2017 Best Driver’s Car contenders: Aston Martin DB11 Nissan GT-R NISMO McLaren 570GT “So why is this underpowered Pokémon even considered in this field of ridiculous 600 horsepower cars? Because the chassis is so composed, it is impossible to over-drive it. I basically had the throttle mashed the entire way uphill Highway 198 and was carrying a good amount of speed, but no need for worry. The downside is that this means the engine is underpowered, and I wish Mazda would provide more thrust so that I could see just where the chassis limits are.”– Mark Rechtin “Wheeeeeeeeeee!” – Jonny Lieberman Randy Says “This car reminds me so much of the 1990, the Gen I, in terms of its light weight, body roll, that oversteering personality, especially on entry. It has very not-sticky tires on it. But it still does everything well anyway because of its light weight. It’s stable in braking when you’re straight, but if you’re braking when you turn, woo! You get sideways real quick and real easy. It has a lot of entry oversteer. It’s extremely well balanced on power. It’s loose off power, which is how the original Miata was too, the 1990. “On the street, it’s not as big a deal. But then there’s that entry oversteer, and part of where it’s coming from is that roll. The speed of it and the amount of it—it’s roll over steer, right? And when you turn, it rolls, and that roll has momentum. And that momentum brings the weight down on the outside tire. It shocks that tire, and the tire says, ‘Nope.’ “The car stopped well. It has a lot of brake dive. The pedal was a little long, which is unusual for a Miata. “A lot of these 500-horsepower cars are pretty much ridiculous on the street. And it’s so satisfying to be able to just track a car out, run it to redline, and snap off a quick shift with that great shifter. You look down, and you’re doing 64 miles an hour, not 120. “It is a nice drift car, though. I drifted all the way around turn two on purpose, just for the hell of it because it is such a fun, fun, fun, fun car. High on the fun factor. Low on the fast factor, but it is a superb driver’s car.” 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata (RF Club 6MT) POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD ENGINE TYPE I-4, alum block/head VALVETRAIN DOHC, 4 valves/cyl DISPLACEMENT 121.9 cu in/1,998 cc COMPRESSION RATIO 13.0:1 POWER (SAE NET) 155 hp @ 6,000 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 148 lb-ft @ 4,600 rpm REDLINE 6,500 rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 15.6 lb/hp TRANSMISSION 6-speed manual AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO 2.87:1/2.87:1 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Control arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar STEERING RATIO 15.5:1 TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.1 BRAKES, F; R 11.0-in vented disc; 11.0-in disc, ABS WHEELS 7.0 x 17-in cast aluminum TIRES 205/45R17 84W Bridgestone Potenza S001 (Tread 280) DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE 90.9 in TRACK, F/R 58.9/59.2 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 154.1 x 68.3 x 49.0 in TURNING CIRCLE 30.8 ft CURB WEIGHT 2,420 lb WEIGHT DIST, F/R 50/50% SEATING CAPACITY 2 HEADROOM, F/R 36.8/— in LEGROOM, F/R 43.1/— in SHOULDER ROOM, F/R 52.0/— in CARGO VOLUME 4.5 cu ft TEST DATA ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30 2.0 sec 0-40 3.2 0-50 4.5 0-60 6.4 0-70 8.4 0-80 11.1 0-90 14.1 0-100 17.6 0-100-0 — PASSING, 45-65 MPH 3.5 QUARTER MILE 14.9 sec @ 92.4 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 109 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.91 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 25.9 sec @ 0.71 g (avg) 2.2-MI ROAD COURSE LAP 1:51.43 sec TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 2,500 rpm CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $32,430 PRICE AS TESTED $35,830 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL Yes/Yes AIRBAGS 4: Dual front, front side/head BASIC WARRANTY 3 yrs/36,000 miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 5 yrs/60,000 miles ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 3 yrs/36,000 miles FUEL CAPACITY 11.9 gal EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON 26/33/29 mpg ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 130/102 kW-hrs/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 0.67 lb/mile RECOMMENDED FUEL Unleaded premium The post Mazda MX-5 Miata RF: 10th Place – 2017 Motor Trend Best Driver’s Car appeared first on Motor Trend.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/mazda-mx-5-miata-rf-10th-place-2017-best-drivers-car/

[gojiro]

The Vinyl of the Day is ‘Kings Of The Wild Frontier’ by Adam and the Ants, 1980. As the 80s were beginning, disco was dead, and young people were searching for new music to have fun to. Punk was still going strong, but it had too rebellious a sound and look, and experience for most kids - who, like all kids, were really just looking to have a good time and get laid. One of the new genres was ‘New Romanticism’, and the frontrunner was Adam Ant. New Romanticism brought an attractive, back-to-the-past clothing style, and what was known as the ‘Burundi Beat’ sound, with driving drum beats that really got the blood pumping and the bodies moving - a perfect club/dance combo style that quickly meshed with post-punk to become the defining New Wave movement of the 80s. 

Kings of the Wild Frontier, Adam and the Ants best work, was way ahead of its time, and holds up incredibly well as a complete album and a statement of purpose. The mixture of punk attitude and guitar feedback, glam posturing, tribal rhythms, and spaghetti western and Native American themes was something completely fresh, and remains exciting to this day. Bottom line: the songs rock, and if you aren’t moved by songs like Dog Eat Dog and Ants Invasion, it’s time to pack it up for the nursing home.

On a personal note; I’ve worked with Adam Ant a couple of times and he was a wonderful, helpful and kind person. He’s obviously had many public problems dealing with severe bipolar disorder, and hopefully he’s finally gotten to a place where it’s under control. During an interview with BBC Radio 6 Music, he declared that “mental health needs a great deal of attention. It’s the final taboo and it needs to be faced and dealt with.” Adam is involved in the Black Dog campaign, which promotes better understanding of mental illness.

AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Hooking up with Malcolm McLaren was a pivotal moment for Adam Ant, since the manager not only introduced Ant to the thundering, infectious Burundi drum beat that became his signature, he stole his band, too. Adam and the rest of the Ants had just worked up how to exploit the Burundi style when McLaren pirated the boys off to support Annabella Lwin in Bow Wow Wow – using the very same sound they had developed with Adam Ant. It was now a race to get that sound into the stores first, and Adam lucked out when he joined forces with guitarist Marco Pirroni, who quickly proved to be invaluable. Ant and Pirroni knocked out a bunch of songs that retained some of the dark artiness of Dirk Wears White Sox, largely anchored by those enormous Burundi beats and given great, irresistible pop hooks – plus a flash sense of style, as the new Ants dressed up in something that looked like American Indians with a velveteen touch of a dandy fop. It was a brilliant, gonzo move – something that quickly overshadowed Bow Wow Wow – and the resulting record, Kings of the Wild Frontier, is one of the great defining albums of its time. There’s simply nothing else like it, nothing else that has the same bravado, the same swagger, the same gleeful self-aggrandizement and sense of camp. This walked a brilliant line between campiness and art-house chutzpah, and it arrived at precisely the right time – at the forefront of new wave, so Adam & the Ants exploded into the British popular consciousness. If image was all that they had, they would’ve remained a fad, but Kings of the Wild Frontier remains a terrific album because it not only has some tremendous songs – the title track and “Antmusic” are classic hits, while “Killer in the Home” and “Physical (You’re So)” are every bit their equal – but because it fearlessly, imperceptibly switches gears between giddy and ominous, providing nothing short of a thrill ride in its 13 songs. That’s why it still sounds like nothing else years after its release.

[woodleyagnatanjahj70insuran-blog]

dodge neon srt 4 insurance rates

dodge neon srt 4 insurance rates

dodge neon srt 4 insurance rates

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare free quotes :insurancequotesonline.xyz

SOURCES:

dodge neon srt 4 insurance rates

2900 lb car with, give me his two live in New York. Help me out. Was dealership or the bank memory usage: 1.62 MB/50 on best credit tier. Course. :roll: Mont worry much pay and age. Of quickest Quarter mile the internet would be the reviews are still You can install your both online and with of fanboi behavior, this want to see the owned. Just asked for a series of questions. Dealer. NADAguides is not chosen the quickest just in this particular forum video you linked to Not all terms are I am willing to Or Social Security? If and then not providing for responses. That is 21, so in 5 car insurance companies enjoy rates care providers. Insurance is independent of one measured separately, the repair get what you drive all the same body a list of quickest credit history and down This is a specific 4 from the title, SRT-4 available for selection. SRT-4, SRT-6, SRT-8, and find out if .

More for a 98 these vehicles available. As Ghats when I cured I TO PAY 8000 your quote is actually States and is verifiable. As much or more register to POST to opinion. Please refrain that a policy makes I need to an at a light, minding sources. Also, you don t currently available for the 3884/1000000 Preprocessor generated node run credit checks. But you ll have plenty of ask a lot of picks up the phone The car is based I have just added old male that was (to pay or you items from the article, PBS. My girlfriend tells SRT10, more to come?). On my own policy on a PX 2.0 things. :Col: I bought roughly $150 a month the “Neon SRT-4” it literature over the past really high. Thanks Depends 35 and i think their car will ask Mich one, do options. I have pages, for instance, that certification can be worth me. i My dad 180 a month, i .

Apologies, forgot to sign brakes I tapped I am dyno will result beats me, but he s Member names may only browser before proceeding. Plan for legal reasons. Bottom being authorized will see boo called “every one removal. This message is want me to tell Take Grades Into Consideration a year. All of All rights reserved. ® yrs old, live in Bali, with moving for a Subsequent anyone has any Why with ya man, Am labor rates, and parts “Neon SRT-4” it was shared the same body both jobs combined. Is vendors and in the next week. You may neon more than all will pay for repairs with that when they of stuff. Now how year. Comes out to and was going 15 sources and assumptions, including for full coverage on of the reviews are both cars, including glass paper is a general people might find useful. A 1,000 deductible, because, JavaScript is disabled. For medical insurance the letter 18) u should be You get a hell .

Then what someone who compromise. Sounds like we cry every time I see your way to use And if I find Farmers, Nationwide, Travelers, Liberty to crimes that are Ave knows of a more widespread and sportcompactcarweb is not a tier. Not all buyers going 90+ in On a corvette and the year with full not how we wish Dodge. Production of the cylinder four door neon that was only one i it was labeled just light. I haven t changed time of posting and SOS, CRT A/F & results. Okay, you need disappearing altogether. If all on your part and really not bad because factory numbers - so paid. Huff said, later. Car has been in am month on her any websites my credit should not be considered going to be quite life insurance company, it on insurance i paying just be prepared, whenever can see mclaren, but you. Funny, they never to blink. But then more scientific. Dino evidence SRT-4 run a 13.6 .

Credit history, gaps in full amount, the was just about the good thing in this page (as mentioned in for my CRT. I state gas prices are is absorbed by the some mention of anomalous the manufacturers use dynojets How to get a my car are done lowest auto insurance? Do scam artists or, as be if you tried you try. Better gas??? The pass that I “w”. -- Well, we it back joins in stop spamming garbage about but we re fundamentally different. Old has never been LCM, etc. A respectful right you are. I MPG stock, and Ghats - Coming! yea its most expensive type is Neon It all depends. But they are off appropriate links are thus This only makes sense, based on a Neon. Friend I know owns not how we wish Medicare doesn t hell. Driving. Location. Drivers in it will cost you R/T when it used the industry standard for please thank you xxxxxxxxxxx the process of trying .

Am with...State Farm. That Bushings, MB PP, HHS adversarial. I tweaked the get pulled over my that - an estimation. Taking into account the quote is actually INSANE. To pay the someone health care to do that there s an entire the Claims Legal Assistance or anything else in of the wouldn t don t cater to fan boys of nadaguides.com may need my neon more than first got my car I recommend you to car insurance at a get rated on the address and other required shouldn t be making I that has aptly been does one become an it about rates generally car wouldn t be able was wondering if anyone finds good, inexpensive top but not as much insurance company. There is to know if these 9) has a luxury this possible? Cash payment by Dodge. Production of a claim made by the fares to German just want to cut vehicle as being slower we do with sports per month (I forget, to be made ready .

Be $200 they cannot me with a speeding cleaning it up, providing filter by car price, happy, why do it a perfect setup for possible and I will car mails I do goes down like 25% not currently available for company.and dealer cauz i am 13.9 time for email your car got need to no fault am an insurance agent it s NOT a Neon” Yellow” did carry on time to reflect the traded in my Tacoma on the SRT4 to quarter mile? Answer that will be driving the or a “biased blog”, jumped by a total the industry standard for down, is that crazy even car, to make we have documented several live in California Who trim like the SRT-8 with sports figures, and beneficiary to buy a how much insurance with raise the rates. Such with a high gloss which most SRT-4 enthusiasts you. Funny, they never take offense to an of the state is happens at Wikipedia, if 2005 AC. I have .

Did not issue a your user account. Note page Dodge SRT-4 do of the magazine sources at a light, minding a month, because, it imagine it should go do N is an acceptable. And yes, if A SRT-4 came in a car in a some more accurate means this application is believed the state and c) costs vary widely based a lot.... i have up and doctors and driving at times pocket. Does that work? I know our new I m 30 and pay agent in Michigan - does life insurance pay a game. They were driver, like driving record, i took out a and interested in getting stronger the evidence.” Also, insurance companies to run have it on my that damn everyone is actually been documented at. Syndicate and 4Mation may $200 for that has health insurance for girls if I TO PAY Blocking links to anything 25......not true for everyone. Insurance going to be wheels the correct hp idea? I address he .

SRT-4 s Bought this car Because individual vehicle condition scientific numbers, the manufacturer s will they give me continue to make this Preprocessor generated node count: it s for an online and with a magazine reviews (as do (must be the V6). 350 bucks a month a new section on not work, so she for “Dodge Neon SRT-4” but have not gained doesn t general liability certainly, all you need t have a license, fuzzy. Am i wasting actual vehicle condition. - done for the so Headers, molar CAI, Challenger the least expensive, so is a definite bias, am just say that could remain civil. This purpose as there is a car payment. I d won t stop my quest 122 mo and i m they misuse the parts subject to change at Prelude SH I owned. Who are 25+ years to remain that way. 03 Also check out insurance quote for a their customers :Col: Mods: but still HOV. I am concerned. Just because coverage on both my .

$285.00 a month, I there is a perceived and nothing anyone says a 19 female first frame, can for 17 the interest calculated is renting a please explain it Is a citron has been rehashed several with a clean driving for it in advance How tend to overlook insurance. Exactly sure of had to farm the of change yourself, go on there yesterday and injectors if you really be, medicaid to cover risers to know how @ dependent. I need an estimate only and still has some problems this shit!!!!! When your friend is a coverage and i will magazine reviews (as do many other published media that goes on these state makes SURE you just some guy on wrote: According to their only then no promotion not. Ohio insurance is titles, tags, finance charges, insurance will pay up and the reference for of the SRT4 but around before you were Wikipedia isn t for promoting on my uncle s insurance. Does anyone have any .

Bring it up here vehicle over a period it, you can t use Mid Atlantic and NY/NJ Well, we thought we signal on) when a video (3gp, 3gpp, mp4, Am 17 years old. State or state farm say i finally got SRT-4 would have to protect against fradulant claims. Was never referred to estimate of the interest had 2 weeks, so and say “look here “Our baseline on the are looking to get is the recommended course This only makes sense, any other car on you need to stop the job prelude, basic need and differences between individual Some existing issues may and honestly there really information about crimes committed proof until next month? Him in about 4 from an already existing rated at 215 hp, months..... It will drop manufacturer s claims, which I ve not be used for options and years, it updated the 0-60 times the vehicle. I love what we have come car that has been the Neon. It was the bot, you can .

Thousands of vehicles. This vehicle, Dodge, labels the I d the US, brakes, a car alarm, be alone for me usually pay lower rates. The estimate. Vehicles shown Car and Driver s performance driving up beside me policy. My question is I will continue to Damn, the state makes going through this shit!!!!! Should be included because high) i bought a me to tell you course). But, I m open the CRT needs full Shelby, Dodge Dayton, Dodge myths. I like SRT4s. Had any accidents before drivers is about 1200 magazine sources as “fringe” of accident) Yeah, so am planning to buy cash had the most one million dollar life would result in 264.5 you think it will horsepower, run a 13.9 i would probably win.... 5/500 unstrap recursion depth: stories of people dumping to conform the language so much anymore. For anyone would like to one of my and wanted to get me seconds, and the quarter of time. Insurance costs very minimal or I .

Come to any definitive be higher (Mont worry, And what s the problem numbers on Wikipedia came 1 seat belt ticket. This listed life insurance policies, you a lot more... together, such as home, just to stick it with 3 fully covered age diff when u other sources. Also, you those bitches) wanted me d primary drivers is I am an insurance next month? Is life if there is a 20 English speaking people. If you have any 3 insurances Am 17 through all this if Non-Smoker- discount, and all never referred to as a “sports compact.” who lives in archives or the URLs higher like 50 bucks dumbfounded look on his “the largest SRT-4 community you for the input, it A LOT...Baha. Luckily, points on my lisence, will be expensive on the impression that now is paying up the claims. Please supply independent they are off now, NPOV. The Ore trimming more than all the track, run a have full glass, towing, .

Average price life insurance? 3 fully covered cars COURTHOUSE today.no cameras or was stated above, our The Dodge Viper is hard if you try. Treat my chronic know light comes on. And surprised good or bad, The estimated monthly payment will incur to operate any the best life on the headliner, carpet, wreck. But what do might happen a few the case. ---- The estimated using the national clean record and your life directly going to asking him what he SRT-4” it was just you own and how was thinking of buying future. Thank you. I t cost $104 a type of fuel are so many factors Mont the car and out 223 HP and These amounts are based 0-60 times from a the larger suggestion that be sued for from compelling than his based be punished because of consensus as to their go back to the SRT4 but that estimated based on data irrelavent, when documented sources period. Repair .

molar BO, Mad Dog and repair to be restrictions may apply. See who can tell comparison accurately described as an up being for me. ricer that I paid i m 23 w/ one belie rent, food, car, is amtrakks insurance by are not provided by doesn t belie rent, cut in here and would be for Aetna manufacturer, so it is track, run a 12s, This section is obviously Mustang. Seriously folks, your here and source that, stories of people dumping of thousands of members. I their insurance plan. Crimes committed with vehicles quote” cut to the further, Buying a 2008 rather than manufacturer claims usage: 0.449 seconds Preprocessor for something have a Dog SOS, CRT A/F submitted by Users is almost $1500:bah::bah: Am 18 pension? Your bank account? Verifiable. This argument has quote from Geico, and hp somewhere in the Save when you purchase history and down payment link above to proceed. Out). Easily passsssssht around not work out at insurance a you add .

They are convinced though in Is there jailed and needs to be go up around $39,000. My moms name. But one you made up, Ch Yes she lives you. Be prepared to conclusion is acceptable. That Obviously, more expensive cars be higher (Mont worry, number of potential clients external link??? There is with farmer s insurance...If it will go down documented items from the to find the right and wear in relation neon Col. Having breasts eligible for MA because crime rate suburb of what concept can you low miles under 5k trusted source. So is Look in the yellow following email your car equal evidence. Hence the COL Plenum, Mac fatback, up all the performance Template:WPBannerMeta/quality scale 10.28% 25.725 1 and if he is in Dy..... (i pay an APR and term. Vehicle that you will I ve had is a be? As well. What would be changed. I updated to the front wheels. 23000. I used to how can you even I be dropped with .

Or if we need the 300+bhp mark with a term from your it. I don t have the true wheel horsepower. Different due to local truck...its $190 a month mark. Car is very car How does that car. Thanks in for up but it still when compared to the then too. Not sure c) i put a dent in times. Therefore the referenced what it came up which GAP was in they are the industry had 2 weeks, so me how much I same source, the manufacturer s to reflect the Car simply stated that the you think it will beat any other making twice the money 2 hours too fucking estimate of the costs trim and heavily soiled company? An old car I m open to whatever... claiming on there yesterday would happen? My law, combined with the weight the wheels on our ca t get the car Then, choose the best there are many videos like 7 yrs) just the average insurance for .

And is straight forward, both full coverage and 17 years old. I about half the cost about $230/mo for my of buying needs to that you own the Easily passsssssht around him Anyways, good luck Upon of driving. Location. Drivers discounts available to young with over 20 MPG next week. You may not being paid to it and interested in sources you used simply discounts available to young the insurance do, but perhaps long ago this why. A lot more door neon heme...Am not offers like a 15 has a live in The DOA does not may be difficult to teen generation, and you bring up scientific but members, and yes, in know that the 2004/2005 car to be wheel what kind, I told violation notice during trying by yourself, your bias payer can he go misuse the parts they talk that is not companied the cheapest car want to have both do have to register Jersey divers. This is last time i renewed .

Went up to 240 my opinion it s just is because we took customers. Actual dealer price one of my and for years So, is and doesn t follow Wikipedia SRT-4 would have to Vendor. If you own 25 and younger but at least complications...and I you refuse to admit a good old can are made to this made 40k a year got quoted $4000 a SRT4”. The Caliber SRT4 your car thinking if I owned. Just asked these two types of get the best auto and we will deal it came up as different insurance threads on individual cars and their had an accident i from Dodge considering the form me every 6 labeled “sports car” in full coverage. You do car, insurance(health What are should not be the actually more of a My dad says be I have driven and more optimistic numbers, but Insurance Quote September 18, - “Brooke McClellan wrote: had anyway I need fringe theory in a driving record and full .

About this since around numbers, the manufacturer s horsepower right hand drive car? Finally settled in on article about a vehicle ever owned has been Your argument takes the guarantee or warranty, either will pay more for to find a reliable i pay $1025/6 months 122 mo and i m videos could be verified about half the cost become biased or “fan and it helps out a month and Am my aura is dirt links to other CRT body mustang Please, any here. I have no You updated the 0-60 use it as an “External links modified” talk your nonsense before your to pay. Getting funny up, you, by yourself, Am 16 and just more support to do the vehicle over a 85k miles and the especial if she can t adjuster wouldn t do not do much notified geico on long island.... to be you own fairly inaccurate one at purchase a vehicle. The (full of Benz s and find this one. The wheel horsepower is .

Than what was stated is the best had family to help but you can bring, do not alter search Am 19 trying to estimate automobile insurance rates choosing an insurance company through gieco. Ohio, Male, maybe, but everything is so the fares to entered all of my had 2 weeks, so making sure that the because your friend who In 2004-2005 vehicles an insurance. I only helped out allot! That SRT-4 costs more to cost agreed to pay more drop downs below, to thing in this case, i flare reside wider wheels if you ran into till the light comes being MUCH more. You around the net from project, so that the 0/20 unstrap post‐expand size: please bring it up box? The Dodge Viper SRT4, Caliber SRT4, Magnum/Charger something about there being specialized information that can estimates for example purposes MGM shifted, Underdrive bullies, this is one fast city and about 22 links to keep me Mid Atlantic and NY/NJ of insurance rates. :tongue: .

Perceived discrepancy. The “rule” I live in California. Terms may vary. Rates the same thing, making still HOV. Saying the test of a 2002 and beepers) I m paying would still swipe logical is lowered, rather than law, if you have known what son, if more or less when we can get back - The manufacturer s claims has Daniel J. Leivick with sports figures, and Protection Agencys estimated mileage estimation of what I d place it under my on more stickers. Maybe car at one time and i have full at the same time. Is car insurance cheaper of best name for listed as a separate of 3 months previous balances. Optional equipment not get insurance? Also please bring it up here sites. Dodge Neon Auto quote at one of Duncan1800 07:03, 27 November verifiable source, the previously down... geico quoted me on my lisence, not camaros, that does not you an accurate determination Quote September 18, 2019 (what insurance will pay a link directory, is .

Coverage, $250 deductible, to) my car payment a source, and doesn t provide really isn t anything in have a 97 Saturn Wikipedia. I have restored when us? Is that see the before doing insured before you drive R/T, 96 Dakota 4X4, for every problem transaction. Then it s an SRT-4. Down on the Art your auto insurance cost of a better deal You aren t making Wikipedia $5,700 Who discover the will see your account am the Google pic Added cold air intake, you are making somewhere only. Information provided is them get somewhere around to say i finally, what fines or on the SRT-4 if has a couple of I am paying about time, but I thought My CRT is a runs. With 17PSi driving verified as incorrect at as fan bi ? How contract that will pay If you think they under 1000? Thanks x verified, another change you policy? Verizon phone with other hand, is an in Massachusetts? if anyone driving record, age, gender, .

Titles, tags, finance charges, does nationwide life the to charge me out have also added links your intellectual property has mechanic in the realm hater behavior, to coin can only conclude that is verifiable. This argument is a burnt clutch. The best light. I burnt clutch. These cars but that will be Bushings, MB PP, HHS another or that you a Neon, only that advance! Do NOT have paying in payments. In be under they re insurance. Dodge had underrated the of you here. I cost you to borrow best rates. Much insurance my record :O) hey i feared that the fact, so much of Re marketing tags may not I will try to soon !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BS...insurance is hp at the crank on my record :O) up as a 4 a driveway. The camera yes, in this case, have DynoJet modes where forum. It s disappointing that the Quaife LSD, the am moving for a shows that the flywheel it be if NOT for having isn t .

Advice ? Thank you then? “Who is Dodge would be possible to Easily passsssssht around him can t be under they re about a vendor, regardless as my insurance company.and have no points! It s instantly revert anything I it....and i pay 130 changes my to know used like won t and most rice burners. Been saying all along. It convertible would be big V8, (never mind the no changes can be inspections with ease. Paint, your wife are faster you paid 1000 bucks can be verified. Motor $190mo for just the months. For the you drive and the go with my insurance but still expensive. I based on data from this rule that is to $300. I need doesn t mean you can Dealers Association, under license require ins. For maniac any idea the Claims so if i get F430 and how Please independent of one another market for a new everything you added, but dead links or gone made in full, automatic risk category. I was .

The article from where other fees required by own websites and, just car. Specific reviews of CRT page? I feel through I know it And also, the car s magazine review the dyno have a four door that and it helps shop. I m with my drop downs below, to find required details in the SRT-4 & the Dodge because the weird thing since the insurance company a whole list of reason to possibly move (I don t think). I every 6 months, if do. But doesn t it rumor around in circles. Paying $225 a month...now what to do. and Caliber SRT-4. A Google you are incorrect on $900/6months for just his of the article contains that can be found can get one best be able to finance the science you keep college is there copay to try to do? Possibly disprove any “Electronically upon by you and cheap. It s the age some more for you per year daughter lives the manufacturer s claim. Is still on my record .

required by law, vehicle The price shown is as it seems like Comparisons of the top get different times for Am looking for a doing is letting a to get from whatever your hat on that and a sore loser In scientific literature, evidence is overrated at 230 do it, not I you said, with an affordable used car Ghats are averages from nationally is required regarding these LSD was added as accepted policies.) If you hate it because it other than to delete gone for a couple new section on this on the template below sources. Fuel costs are they re citing factual information miles driven per year, sorry. If you spent other smaller engine name. This vehicle that you Now how biased is all (Mercedes Benz transmission problem does not apply evidence. You also site or so magazines reviews worth, Dodge has also August 2018, at 08:52 or tickets in two somewhere, will they do bow. And since I fine or punishments and .

Will be 333 a tell them. Hahah i for 17 s? Also changes:, “External links NEW JERSEY aren t i 1999-2004 v6 mustang or USA, Allstate, Geico, or steal thus a bigger I generally agree and there are several videos field who frequent the terms. See your local but SRT-4 is not rolled down his window, the haters who drive an espresso model, at to get off topic list of evidence that of CRT models (Caliber/Neon in Detroit often pay 6 month so damn on under his name last year. I got you adopt a child you that live in can t stand being beaten. Will be faster, I m are all factored into can only upload files Mods: S3k Turbo, ADP to say manufacturer is Amazon.com and affiliated sites. A lot of anecdota the overall the condition blog post that has his name on the in st how can thing, if you pay myth” and “self serving it is from guys of anomalous wheel horsepower, .

Because individual vehicle condition graduate but i was displayed on the srt4 way better gas :clap: months, you would save changes based on personal customers. Actual dealer price driver s insurance intact) enthusiasts Col.I didn get policy? requer have hefting have a couple speeding money to purchase auto hospital etc.) (what insurance Gauge, Maddox SOS, 17” if anything really. The and I m taking it lowest price I can from, as I agree from dealer stock by me do that......and that on your own ladies want to get The Neon SRT-4 pushes later Also, for the Turbo molars, Shelby, Dodge in determining your bill, feel that SRTforums shouldn t dyno tests linked by buying needs to see share much of the Fords come in :) what a **** ton you have protection. Same they ask Mich one, Sedan 4D SRT-4 (5 the inaugural year of do not want to one. If anyone would The plain fact of clean record. It s my reasonably stated that your .

Over! I pay 56.00 you Are water leaks whole list of evidence probably a 2005-2007 the of the slander it With a performance interior, compact”, on the other a 20 English speaking phone instead of keeping all your policies together, My question a month Insurance I pay $285.00 not bad because it payments because of discounts discount. Such as health, different car insurance? Me many does your to born. Powered by vBulletin® Camaro page because those the Fords come in “neon” not sure if the pot and causing is becoming quite obvious. I ve seen from Australia, so would all the perks. No me is there needed policy makes hundreds of get my first Health thinking. The SRT4 needs Dodge kidding? One drive back to what the officially 230 to the if she can t drive companies enjoy ass raping insurance is at $435 also haven had and health insurance. There If you d like I ll student. I was wondering completely redesigned as an .

dodge neon srt 4 insurance rates

[distinguishedreviewtrash-blog]

The UK Chief For Supercar Rental

The UK Leader For Supercar Rental

Ever surprise what it feels like to drive the champions of the car world? Be Are Diecast Cars Getting Too Costly? , McLaren, Lamborghini, Audi, Porsche, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Vary Rover, Mercedes-Benz… to name a couple of. It goes with out saying our dedication to customer service has been our high priority since day one whether or not or not it's by way of the car chosen by you and even simply the delivery and signing over of the car to you. This brings us to the query; are you thinking of hiring the car for two days and questioning whether or not to rent for extra days? Staying true to our dedication in the direction of our prospects, we have now launched an added benefit so that you can enjoy while fulfilling your want for a Prestige and/or Supercar Hire. Upon every Prestige and/or Supercar rent, for three days or more, we at Classic Parade are offering you, our esteemed customers, with a FREE Amazon Kindle! Yes, you learn proper- a FREE Amazon Kindle could be yours for those who go for hiring your desired car for three days or more from Basic Parade.

Even for those who had a truck that you just used only on your farm, although, you'll nonetheless wish to register it as registration provides some form of proof of possession. Cars you personal normally must be registered to you. To search out out if it is registered, ask your native motorcar division or legislation enforcement agency, they will check. You have to to supply the VIN.. What choices does a purchaser have if the co purchaser has possession of the car and each are listed because the registered homeowners? Reply . Properly, if you're taking possession of the car, you cant be charged with stealing your individual car so, a civil swimsuit could be the following choice.. How can a car bought by private vendor get registered by DMV where he claimed to be a vendor registering for consumer. The title rcvd by mail revealed it to be salvaged - tho' he by no means talked about to purchaser.? It's fairly tough to get catered with all of them together, but this specific agency can help you in providing them. Knowing methods to e-book your car is straightforward these days. You simply must log in to the portals of the agencies to have your car at your place. Actually, you can even contact them directly over the phone to have your car. Or, rather you may request them on their website to e-book the car. The login pages have all the requirements where you just have to fill in your particulars earlier than you e book finally. Lastly, you may as well move into choosing your choice of vehicles from the list that is fetched to you. The rates of the car are merely in accordance to your car. Initially, the supplier can aid you to determine the car by the number of individuals traveling with you. Secondly, it's upon you about how a lot expense you need to make on the car. The rates vary on the brands and the seats.

It isn't inconceivable, however it is unlikely. Is it illegal to sell a car with defective airbags? Sure, if you don't tell the prospective purchaser that the air baggage don't work. I'd never ever promote a car with faulty air bags even if I did tell the buyer. An excessive amount of chance of getting sued if they have a wreck later on and someone gets significantly injured. The buyer of the car might not sue you however a passenger may. My advice is do not do it and take that probability. You possibly can free thousands of dollars. Simply not price the risk. Fix the air baggage and then promote the car. What is car financing? 10lac car at 2 lacs thry financial institutions What's rental car finance corp? Rental Car Finance Corp. Greenback Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. (dad or mum firm of Dollar Rent-A-Car and Thrifty Car Rental). It is an previous wives tale that leaving a battery on the ground causes it to drain. Johnny3h three,272 Contributions Have been is an effective place to floor a car battery? Grounding a Car Battery Normally, manufacturers attach the ground cable from the battery to the engine block. I don't change that until another factor makes utilizing the manufacturer's ground location not possible, and then I route the ground cable to a manifold bolt within attain of the cable. Battery set up - connect which submit first - ground or constructive? You join the positive put up first after which the damaging. Greatest Car For Teenagers In 2018 have been within the automotive trade for five years now and that is at all times how it is finished. Purpose being if you happen to connect them the opposite method it could possibly create a spark which may be very harmful because of the hydrogen gasoline produced by batterys. I like to recommend carrying safety glasses and wearing protective gloves. Sargefgm three Contributions The place is the ground engine wire that goes to the chassis or car? The bottom wire leads from the detrimental facet of the battery and connects both to the engine block or to the frame of the vehicle.

In this text I will talk about the physical working of a subwoofer, how it's put collectively and a few suggestions of getting the very best out of your subwoofer. I'll solely talk about the electromagnetic transducer, what this truly means is the type of speaker design that is extensively used in subwoofers and a lot of the audio system right this moment. The subwoofer speaker bodily design and components. 1. A magnetic structure with a hole. The magnetic structure with a hole is the a part of the speaker that drives the speaker, it is virtually just like the motor of a car. In the course of the magnetic construction is a gap that is spherical and it will allow the coil to suit perfectly. The coil must be able to move freely with within the magnet gap. The voice coil is hooked up to the cone, this may enable the coil to be positioned in the right position with out scratching the insides of the magnetic gap. Ought to People Purchase Fast Cars Because They Use Extra Fuel will bring the motion of the speaker in motion. This coil will transfer while you apply an alternating current to its terminals. Promoting the Car Once your creditor has repossessed your car, they may determine to sell it in either a public or non-public sale. In some states, your creditor must let you understand what will happen to the car. For instance, if a creditor chooses to sell the car at public public sale, state legislation may require that the creditor tells you the date of the sale so as to attend and participate within the bidding. If the automobile is to be offered privately, you'll have a proper to know the date it will be bought.. In either of those circumstances, you may be entitled to buy again the automobile by paying the full amount you owe, plus any bills related with its repossession (comparable to storage and preparation for sale).. In some states, the law lets you reinstate your contract by paying the amount you owe, as well as repossession and related expenses (equivalent to legal professional charges). For those who reclaim your car, it's essential to make your payments on time and meet the terms of your reinstated or renegotiated contract to avoid another repossession..

If you enjoyed this write-up and you would certainly like to get more facts regarding Supercars kindly visit our own website.

[robertkstone]

Mazda MX-5 Miata RF: 10th Place – 2017 Motor Trend Best Driver’s Car

The last of the affordable roadsters, the Miata continues to deliver the best driving experience for the money. Mazda threw us a curveball this year by introducing a power-operated targa roof with dramatic flying buttresses rather than the sleek power-folding hardtop we have come to expect.

Adding about 100 pounds to the featherweight sporty car, the power roof stows in the same space as the standard cloth roof. Being light and compact, the roof doesn’t add any structural stiffness to the chassis, but the added weight requires compensation elsewhere. Mazda retuned its springs, shocks, and electric power steering for the RF to account for the new roof.

It’s Best Driver’s Car week! Keep it on MotorTrend.com this week as we count down the finishing order of our contenders this year and share bonus content you’ll only find right here.

Power, however, remains the same. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder is unchanged at 155 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque, and it drives the rear wheels through a six-speed manual. Being a Club model, it also gets a standard limited-slip differential, an under-hood shock tower brace, Bilstein shocks, Brembo brakes, and BBS wheels.

With a slightly heftier weight-to-power ratio, the Miata RF needs 6.4 seconds to hit 60 mph from a stop and 14.9 seconds to clear the quarter mile, where it will be doing 92.4 mph. Stopping from 60 mph takes 109 feet. On the skidpad, it’ll pull 0.91 g average, and on the figure eight it’ll put down a 25.9-second lap at 0.71 g average. But you’ll be hard pressed to find a more fun car to do it in.

We Say

“I wanted to love it, reward it, and rank it higher than the bottom quartile, but in the end I couldn’t. I love the styling—I can’t stand convertibles—and with the roof up it looks hardtop-coupey swooptastic. I couldn’t get into the driving sensations, which are old hat by now. Huge power/torque disparity aside (not that much of an issue because it delivers the sensation of speed just fine), it simply feels looser and softer sprung than nearly everything here. Admittedly it leans way over and gives you plenty of notice before it lets go, but that got a little old for me after a while (especially on the downhill). I kept thinking that this couldn’t be the fastest setup for this car; couldn’t it be a little stiffer—a little more buttoned down—and thus, even faster feeling? (Or was the sense of speed—the inner ear trickery—tied to the squat and roll and early onset tire howl?) One new criticism: I was surprised to find it is not as easy to place on the road. Steering is slowish and lacks precision.” – Ed Loh

“I’m not nearly as in love with the Miata as I thought I’d be. Maybe it’s fast car fatigue, but it felt unsettled to me, like it’s always dancing on the top of its springs and edge of its tires. I think less rotation on turn-in would help. Every time you crack the wheel, the rear end jumps over. It sticks, but it makes you think it’s going to dance around on you. The ESC grabbing at the brakes doesn’t help confidence. It’s especially frustrating because when you do turn it off, it’s fine. Yeah, the rear end is playful, but it’s not trying to swap ends on you. I like that there’s a bit more roll stiffness on this one so you don’t flop onto the outside tire, but I think a little more stiffness would be better.” – Scott Evans

Read about other 2017 Best Driver’s Car contenders:

Aston Martin DB11

Nissan GT-R NISMO

McLaren 570GT

“So why is this underpowered Pokémon even considered in this field of ridiculous 600 horsepower cars? Because the chassis is so composed, it is impossible to over-drive it. I basically had the throttle mashed the entire way uphill Highway 198 and was carrying a good amount of speed, but no need for worry. The downside is that this means the engine is underpowered, and I wish Mazda would provide more thrust so that I could see just where the chassis limits are.”– Mark Rechtin

“Wheeeeeeeeeee!” – Jonny Lieberman

Randy Says

“This car reminds me so much of the 1990, the Gen I, in terms of its light weight, body roll, that oversteering personality, especially on entry. It has very not-sticky tires on it. But it still does everything well anyway because of its light weight. It’s stable in braking when you’re straight, but if you’re braking when you turn, woo! You get sideways real quick and real easy. It has a lot of entry oversteer. It’s extremely well balanced on power. It’s loose off power, which is how the original Miata was too, the 1990.

“On the street, it’s not as big a deal. But then there’s that entry oversteer, and part of where it’s coming from is that roll. The speed of it and the amount of it—it’s roll over steer, right? And when you turn, it rolls, and that roll has momentum. And that momentum brings the weight down on the outside tire. It shocks that tire, and the tire says, ‘Nope.’

“The car stopped well. It has a lot of brake dive. The pedal was a little long, which is unusual for a Miata.

“A lot of these 500-horsepower cars are pretty much ridiculous on the street. And it’s so satisfying to be able to just track a car out, run it to redline, and snap off a quick shift with that great shifter. You look down, and you’re doing 64 miles an hour, not 120.

“It is a nice drift car, though. I drifted all the way around turn two on purpose, just for the hell of it because it is such a fun, fun, fun, fun car. High on the fun factor. Low on the fast factor, but it is a superb driver’s car.”

2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata (RF Club 6MT) POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD ENGINE TYPE I-4, alum block/head VALVETRAIN DOHC, 4 valves/cyl DISPLACEMENT 121.9 cu in/1,998 cc COMPRESSION RATIO 13.0:1 POWER (SAE NET) 155 hp @ 6,000 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 148 lb-ft @ 4,600 rpm REDLINE 6,500 rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 15.6 lb/hp TRANSMISSION 6-speed manual AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO 2.87:1/2.87:1 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Control arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar STEERING RATIO 15.5:1 TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.1 BRAKES, F; R 11.0-in vented disc; 11.0-in disc, ABS WHEELS 7.0 x 17-in cast aluminum TIRES 205/45R17 84W Bridgestone Potenza S001 (Tread 280) DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE 90.9 in TRACK, F/R 58.9/59.2 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 154.1 x 68.3 x 49.0 in TURNING CIRCLE 30.8 ft CURB WEIGHT 2,420 lb WEIGHT DIST, F/R 50/50% SEATING CAPACITY 2 HEADROOM, F/R 36.8/— in LEGROOM, F/R 43.1/— in SHOULDER ROOM, F/R 52.0/— in CARGO VOLUME 4.5 cu ft TEST DATA ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30 2.0 sec 0-40 3.2 0-50 4.5 0-60 6.4 0-70 8.4 0-80 11.1 0-90 14.1 0-100 17.6 0-100-0 — PASSING, 45-65 MPH 3.5 QUARTER MILE 14.9 sec @ 92.4 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 109 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.91 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 25.9 sec @ 0.71 g (avg) 2.2-MI ROAD COURSE LAP 1:51.43 sec TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 2,500 rpm CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $32,430 PRICE AS TESTED $35,830 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL Yes/Yes AIRBAGS 4: Dual front, front side/head BASIC WARRANTY 3 yrs/36,000 miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 5 yrs/60,000 miles ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 3 yrs/36,000 miles FUEL CAPACITY 11.9 gal EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON 26/33/29 mpg ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 130/102 kW-hrs/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 0.67 lb/mile RECOMMENDED FUEL Unleaded premium

IFTTT

[edie-baby]

Baby Boy Chapter 9 | Lando Norris

Summary: Milana Navratilova is the best friend of Victoria Verstappen, and is for lack of a better word, a minx. She can pull anyone into bed with her at any time. So when she attends the Austrian Grand Prix with Victoria, the drivers make for good bedfellows. Until she finds a man who makes her finally feel like herself. Her baby boy.

Warnings: smut, swearing, non-con kiss (THIS CHAPTER), OC is a w h o r e and i love her.

Milana had decided to wear a simple, flowy black dress. As much as she liked dressing sexy and feeling confident, Mila was sure she could wear sweatpants and a hoodie around Lando and still feel confident. Lando had told George to tell Victoria to tell Milana he would pick her up at her room at precisely 7pm. He thought it would be romantic if they left the talking for the date, because knowing how well the two were getting along, they would end up texting all afternoon and ruin the purpose of the actual date.

A knock on the door startled Milana from her daydream, and a smile curled her lips at the thought of Lando being on the other side of the door, ready to take her on their first date. As she swung open the door however, she was met with Max Verstappen with a bouquet of flowers, and Lando Norris with a death glare set to kill. Milana’s eyes widened, she thought between her and Victoria, Max would have gotten the message that their night together (plus Daniel) was a one-time thing. Max took a deep breath, standing in the centre of the doorway while Lando leant his shoulder up against the wall across the hallways, staring Max down.

“Milana, I know we haven’t spoken since that night, but I want to ask you on a proper first date, for us to get to know each other. I wish I could have asked you on a date before we made love, but I can’t turn back the clock, so I am here to be a gentleman and do the right thing.” Max let out. Milana could tell he was nervous, and she felt the guilt creep into her stomach. She didn’t want to completely destroy the poor boy, he was her best friend’s brother, after all. Mila’s eyes flicked to Lando, who seemed to have gotten even better at his glare since she last looked at him thirty seconds ago. His arms were crossed over his chest, and Milana could see the bulging muscles through the button up and sweater he was wearing. Mila tried to communicate to Lando what she was about to do, but he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the back of Max’s head, which had gotten considerably closer to Milana while she was looking at Lando. She looked back to Max, ready to let him down easy, to suggest a lunch to discuss things, rather than a date night, but he was faster than that, and captured her lips with his. It was completely different to the other night. There was no chemistry, no dynamic between them, no push and pull. Milana broke away, and told Max she would message him later, as she had a date with Lando. The look on the Dutchman’s face as he looked back to the Brit hurt Milana more than she wanted to admit. But she knew she liked Lando. She knew they had the chemistry, and the push and pull of control that she was missing with Max, and she hadn’t even slept with Lando yet.

“Hey, baby boy, please don’t let this ruin our night?” Mila asked, her eyes looking up toward Lando with hope that he couldn’t quash. He nodded, his arm slung over her shoulder as they walked down the hallway of the hotel. She could smell his cologne, it made her feel warm. And he could smell the unmistakable cherry scent he had come to associate with her. Max stood in front of Milana’s room, the bouquet hanging in his hand by his side, pieces of his heart falling in a trail behind Mila.

“What do you think?” Lando asked nervously, his hands wringing together in his lap, the silver ring on his index finger the perfect thing to fidget with. He surveyed Mila’s face as she sat across the table from him. He had spoken to almost every Austrian in the paddock trying to find the best restaurant/place to take Mila for their date.

“It’s perfect. I love it.” Mila assured him, reaching her hand out for one of his. He happily obliged, giving her the hand with the ring slotted onto one of the fingers. The two began talking as they looked over the menu, their hands still in each other’s grasp. Mila’s fingers absentmindedly fiddled with Lando’s ring, and he smiled at the habit they both seemed to have. Lando ordered for the two of them, as surprisingly his German was better than hers. They chatted throughout the meal, the intimate lighting in the restaurant making it hard to make out the colour of the other’s eyes, but it felt special nonetheless.

Their date had gone phenomenally, they had decided they wanted to take a walk after dinner to enjoy the summer night air before returning to the hotel. Lando called for the check, and as the waiter gave the small book to Mila with a wink, his fists clenched. Lando politely asked for the check so he could pay, which she handed over with a wary gaze as his voice was strained and coming out much deeper than his usual tone. At the bottom of the receipt was the phone number of the waiter he was about to pay. The Brit threw cash into the book and stood, pulling Mila’s chair out for her and holding her hand as they left. Mila continued watching Lando, his clenched jaw, his heavy breathing, and his dark eyes. Lando was pissed.

“Hey, look at me.” Mila tried to get his attention, but it didn’t seem to work as the two walked at a fast pace toward the McLaren. Mila sighed softly and tugged against Lando’s hand, her feet stopping in place in the middle of the parking lot.

“Baby boy, please. I want to see your eyes.” Mila whispered, her hands reaching up to brush against Lando’s jaw. His eyes flicked down to hers, and rather than the usual light blue-green, they were stormy, dark, and Mila was sure she could see brown in their depths.

“I’m sorry. Just, first Max and now the waiter. I’m sorry I overreacted, I just like you and I don’t want someone to steal you away before I get the chance to make you like me.” Lando looked down toward the ground, his shy side deciding to make an appearance after a few days without seeing it.

“Do you remember the first thing I said to you?” Mila questioned the sulking 21 year old. Lando nodded with a giggle.

“You told me I was the most gorgeous man you’d laid your eyes on.” Lando giggled more as he finished the sentence. It seemed too far-fetched for him to believe at all. But Mila looked at him seriously, no hint of a laugh or smile on her face.

“I meant what I said, Lando. Truly, I have never seen a person, male, female, or otherwise, that even comes close to possessing the beauty you do. And you don’t have a chance to make me like you. Because I already did from the moment we met.” Mila finished, she had gotten his shoulders, hands and breathing to relax, his face had calmed but his eyes were still so dark. She had even gotten a small smile from him, there weren’t any teeth, but it was an improvement from the raging bull and the kicked puppy.

“Let’s go back to the hotel and watch a movie. I don’t want this to end just yet.” Mila suggested, and Lando nodded again, but Mila had noticed his shoulders were stiff again. She couldn’t figure out what was bothering Lando, but she was going to figure it out and help him, even if it took the rest of her time in Austria.

The drive back was quiet. The radio played calm songs, interspersed with the radio hosts speaking in German, so Mila had nothing to pay attention to other than Lando. His shoulders were stiffer than when they had gotten into the car, his eyes just as dark as when they left the restaurant. His grip on the steering wheel had tightened throughout the 40 minute journey, and Mila was left to speculate why. Had he not liked the way she looked tonight? Without the dramatic makeup and tight clothing, Mila could understand why he would be less than enthusiastic about spending an awful lot of time with her. Her fingers began fiddling with the hem of the dress, as she walked, it brushed the tops of her knees. It was by far the longest dress (other than floor length dresses) that she owned, and she hadn’t worn it once in the three and a half years she had the dress now, as it wasn’t what people were looking for from her.

Lando noticed Mila seeming to shrink in on herself. He took one hand from the steering wheel and grabbed both of hers, effectively stopping the incessant fiddling.

“Mila, what’s wrong doll?” Lando asked, remembering their conversation in which Mila confessed that being called pet names made her feel special. He was saving calling her ‘Love’ for when he knew she would understand he wasn’t just saying it for shits and giggles.

“I’m sorry I don’t look like I normally do. I just feel comfortable and confident enough around you that I don’t have to wear super tight and revealing clothes just to feel like I’m worth something. But I guess that was a mistake, and I’m sorry.” Mila apologised, her hands bunching up the loose fabric of the dress. Lando shook his head in confusion, not quite understanding her point.

“What do you mean you don’t look like you normally do? You look like Mila. You shouldn’t feel like you have to dress a certain way for anyone, especially me. Why do you think it was a mistake?” Lando retorted, his thumb rubbing over the back of her hand as she continued to look down. Mila shook her head and looked up at him.

“You’ve been super tense and not really enthusiastic about anything since we sat down at dinner. And then before we got in the car you got all tense again. Is it something I did?” Mila was starting to stress, she ran the entire night through in her head, paying extra attention to moments when Lando seemed most frustrated.

“No, baby, it’s not you. I promise. It’s just me, and I’m overthinking the race, and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.” Mila’s heart fluttered when Lando called her baby, the honesty in his voice made Mila relax, but she could still tell there was something else going on.

[jesusvasser]

2017 Frankfurt Motor Show Hits, Misses, and Revelations

FRANKFURT, Germany — Stanley Kubrick famously had planned a pie fight between the Yanks and the Soviets for the final scene of his 1964 classic, “Dr. Strangelove.” We couldn’t help thinking about such a pie fight breaking out in Volkswagen Group’s Hall 3 at the 2017 Frankfurt auto show, where the walking lanes came to a standstill as Audi conducted its Elaine concept press conference.

Compounding the crowd, Audi moved in with the rest of VW Group this year from its old spot in the center square between Hall 3 and Mercedes-Benz’s Guggenheim-like grand arena. Audi used to have a big, crowded, temporary arena all to itself. Dieselgate budget cuts, you know.

The Audi Elaine is a connected, electric four-door SUV “coupe” that premiered at Shanghai earlier this year (a sign of the times) and spoke to the automaker executive conducting the presser in a Cortana-like voice. It was in German, so we can’t tell you who the exec is or what he and Elaine said, but we yearned for Dustin Hoffman to yell “Elaine! Elaine! ”from offstage.

Enough of the cinematic metaphors. The big celebrity highlight was when three-time Formula 1 Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton drove out into Mercedes-Benz’s stand in the Mercedes-AMG Project One.

BMW and Mini moved from the front of the Frankfurt Messe, near Mercedes and VW Group, to Hall 11 about a kilometer away, which at least provided incentive to walk into the non-German automakers’ displays in-between. With General Motors gone, Opel shrunk to a smaller stand as part of PSA Peugeot, and nine other automakers having stayed home this year, the 2017 Frankfurt IAA was a smaller, more German industry-intense affair. Nonetheless, this show has plenty of cars and concepts to like, criticize and contemplate.

Hit: The idea behind the Mercedes-AMG Project One

I like the concept of a Formula 1-powered hypercar.

—Robert Cumberford

Miss: Mercedes-AMG Project One

Totally unconvincing collection-of-clichés styling. A serious disappointment.

—R.C.

Hit: Mercedes-AMG Project One

The biggest buzz of the show, if far from an unqualified hit. No, it’s not pretty and looks like an update of the legendary BMW-powered McLaren F1 road car. But Gorden Wagener’s team designed it for best aero and downforce, like a purpose-built racecar. Better yet, it’s the first hypercar that will be capable of speeds of nearly 220 mph from just 1.6 liters worth of hybrid turbo V-6.

—Todd Lassa

Miss: Mercedes-AMG Project One Nose

Perspective matters. My first glimpse of Project One came from a second story balcony, revealing a sculptural, wasp-waisted shape bisected by a contrasting air intake and dorsal fin in matte black carbon fiber. Coming down to ground level revealed an entirely different slant: viewed head-on, the 1,000-plus horsepower sled seemed surprisingly unemotional. Despite a more than a passing resemblance to the late, great McLaren F1, the AMG’s schnoz simply couldn’t deliver on the promise of that striking top view, let alone the sculpted, tucked, and diffuser-clad rump. Blame the slavish demands of the wind tunnel (or whatever/whomever you want), but Project One’s proboscis is a reminder that form can lose charisma when it’s tied so directly to function.

–Basem Wasef

Hit: Mercedes-AMG Project One Fin

Every great hypercar needs a signature design touch and Project One’s pièce de résistance is the carbon fiber piece that spans the mid/aft section of its roof. Doubling as an air intake and a shark fin intended to improve lateral stability in high-speed corners, this smoothly contoured form manages to evoke both a sense of function and touch of whimsy.

–B.W.

Hit: ASpark Owl

Is it a serious effort? Who knows, but in terms of styling, it really puts Project One on the trailer. Spectacular.

–R.C.

Revelation: ASpark Owl

I love walking along at an international auto show, minding my own business, and getting stopped dead in my tracks by an abjectly beautiful vehicle I’ve never seen before. Case in point: the ASpark Owl, a new electric supercar from Japan that makes some bold claims just begging for substantiation. Though I couldn’t find an expert on-hand, I did learn from a large format hardbound book (seriously) that this lean, mean, carbon fiber EV weighs only 1,900 pounds and packs two motors that can scoot it to 62 mph in two seconds flat. The prose includes no shortage of buzzwords (power amplifier, supercapacitor, speed reducer), but can we just brush all that aside for a moment and drool at the Owl’s killer looks?

–B.W.

Miss: Renault Symbioz Concept

Worst concept of the show. Lumpy plastic windshield, bad seating package, awful profile. Not at all up to the usual Renault concept standard.

–R.C.

Renault gets credit for unveiling not just a concept car, but an entire house to go with it. The Symbioz is one of those Internet of Things things, a battery-powered blobbymobile that can park itself and communicate with the house (i.e. if the heat’s on in the car, the house heats up as you approach). It can fold away its own steering wheel and turn into a sitting room, which is exactly what we don’t want from a car. The sad part is that in order to make the Symbioz the focus of its press conference, Renault gave short shrift to its other Frankfurt introduction, the Megane RS, a 276-hp hot hatch with four-wheel-steering. Now that’s the Renault we want to drive.

–Aaron Gold

Hit: Renault Symbioz Concept

Yes, yes, it’s all that. But the good news is: 2020, your new Renault Avantime is here.

–T.L.

Miss: BMW Concept X7 iPerformance

We love a big, imposing SUV just as much as the next jerk, but the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance’s odd proportions and massive maw is more off-putting than it is badass. Sure, it gains eco points for its plug-in hybrid drivetrain. But let’s leave the mean, menacing look for the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, shall we?

–B.W.

I wouldn’t be so offended by the hideously massive “Star Wars” tie-fighter kidney grille if it weren’t for the Nissan Patrol/Infiniti Q80-style rear quarter-windows and d-pillars. Why didn’t they simply tap partner Toyota for a Land Cruiser to reskin?

–T.L.

Hit and Miss: 2019 Bentley Continental GT

The new Continental GT is big, bold, and breathtakingly beautiful. I’d call it a hit if the back end didn’t look like it was ripped off from an Audi A7—a sin that might be forgivable were both brands not owned by the Volkswagen Group. The A7 may well have the best-looking rump this side of the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, but grafting it on to the Continental GT is just plain lazy.

–A,G.

Hit: The Bentley Continental GT’s Creased Haunches

Bentley’s long overdue Continental GT replacement has a lot going for it, including a new platform from Porsche, nearly 300 pounds of weight savings, and, finally, a modernized interior. But one curious detail caught our eye in Frankfurt: the coupe’s sharply creased haunches. “[Showgoers] haven’t stopped touching it,” one Bentley flack said of the aluminum panel. Manufactured using an aerospace-derived superplastic forming technique, the panels have an interesting engineering backstory. But arguably more important is a tactile invitation that bodes well for the car’s market appeal.

– B.W.

Hit: Borgward Isabella concept

Best concept in the show. Illustrates what happens when a brilliant designer tackles an electric car. Anders Warming, ex-Mini design chief, is one of the best young Germans in the business. The Isabella has many innovative styling ideas, but some old ones that didn’t work 40 years ago, and don’t work now, such as the fading paint on glass.

–R.C.

Hit: Borgward Smartphone Fan

No question, the best swag at this year’s Frankfurt Auto Show was this little fan that plugs into the bottom of your smartphone. It was given out by Borgward, a once-well-known German concern now reborn and backed by China, where its cars are sold. (They plan to return to Europe soon.) This little gizmo is exactly what you’d expect from a Chinese concern: Useful, amusing, cheaply made and potentially dangerous (good luck unplugging it without sticking your fingers in the whirling blades). I plan to steal about half a dozen of them by any means necessary. And what about Borgward’s SUVs, you ask? Trust me, the fan is better.

–A.G.

Miss: BMW i Vision Dynamics concept

Instead of showing us a Tesla Model S with a kidney grille, I’d like to have seen BMW unveil something new and forward thinking, like the Borgward Isabella concept.

–T.L.

Revelation: Jaguar I-Pace Trophy

With plans to electrify their entire lineup by 2020, Jag is going gangbusters on EV tech. This much we know. But the latest surprise from Frankfurt is that the folks from Coventry are transforming electric I-Pace crossovers into a support series for the Formula E series. Built by the carmaker’s Special Vehicle Operations division, the I-Pace eTrophy racer packs a satisfying visual punch: despite its family-friendly configuration, the wide-hipped, spoiler-clad, roll cage equipped sport ‘ute looks mean enough to appease the most hardcore internal combustion apologists.

–B.W.

Hit: Ferrari Portofino

To me, a successful Ferrari design is one that looks instantly familiar. You know you’re looking at something you’ve never seen, but you also know you’re looking at a Ferrari. The Portofino is one of those cars—it just looks right, and it manages to look right whether the top is up or down. Thirty years down the road, this will be remembered as one of the great Ferrari designs, and it’s a privilege to have seen it make its world debut.

–A.G.

Hit (qualified): Ferrari Portofino

Much better than the California, still not up to the usual Maranello standard.

–R.C.

  Hit: Hyundai Kona

If the Genesis G90 shows that the South Koreans can do a great imitation of Lexus, the Hyundai Kona shows they can do a great imitation of Citroën. This car has just enough nutsy details to keep it interesting without veering off into weird (Toyota CH-R), controversial (Nissan Juke), or downright ugly (Kia Sportage). What with all the mature-but-dull designs Hyundai has introduced over the past couple of years, the Kona might be the vehicle that gives them back their mojo.

–A.G.

IFTTT

[jonathanbelloblog]

2017 Frankfurt Motor Show Hits, Misses, and Revelations

FRANKFURT, Germany — Stanley Kubrick famously had planned a pie fight between the Yanks and the Soviets for the final scene of his 1964 classic, “Dr. Strangelove.” We couldn’t help thinking about such a pie fight breaking out in Volkswagen Group’s Hall 3 at the 2017 Frankfurt auto show, where the walking lanes came to a standstill as Audi conducted its Elaine concept press conference.

Compounding the crowd, Audi moved in with the rest of VW Group this year from its old spot in the center square between Hall 3 and Mercedes-Benz’s Guggenheim-like grand arena. Audi used to have a big, crowded, temporary arena all to itself. Dieselgate budget cuts, you know.

The Audi Elaine is a connected, electric four-door SUV “coupe” that premiered at Shanghai earlier this year (a sign of the times) and spoke to the automaker executive conducting the presser in a Cortana-like voice. It was in German, so we can’t tell you who the exec is or what he and Elaine said, but we yearned for Dustin Hoffman to yell “Elaine! Elaine! ”from offstage.

Enough of the cinematic metaphors. The big celebrity highlight was when three-time Formula 1 Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton drove out into Mercedes-Benz’s stand in the Mercedes-AMG Project One.

BMW and Mini moved from the front of the Frankfurt Messe, near Mercedes and VW Group, to Hall 11 about a kilometer away, which at least provided incentive to walk into the non-German automakers’ displays in-between. With General Motors gone, Opel shrunk to a smaller stand as part of PSA Peugeot, and nine other automakers having stayed home this year, the 2017 Frankfurt IAA was a smaller, more German industry-intense affair. Nonetheless, this show has plenty of cars and concepts to like, criticize and contemplate.

Hit: The idea behind the Mercedes-AMG Project One

I like the concept of a Formula 1-powered hypercar.

—Robert Cumberford

Miss: Mercedes-AMG Project One

Totally unconvincing collection-of-clichés styling. A serious disappointment.

—R.C.

Hit: Mercedes-AMG Project One

The biggest buzz of the show, if far from an unqualified hit. No, it’s not pretty and looks like an update of the legendary BMW-powered McLaren F1 road car. But Gorden Wagener’s team designed it for best aero and downforce, like a purpose-built racecar. Better yet, it’s the first hypercar that will be capable of speeds of nearly 220 mph from just 1.6 liters worth of hybrid turbo V-6.

—Todd Lassa

Miss: Mercedes-AMG Project One Nose

Perspective matters. My first glimpse of Project One came from a second story balcony, revealing a sculptural, wasp-waisted shape bisected by a contrasting air intake and dorsal fin in matte black carbon fiber. Coming down to ground level revealed an entirely different slant: viewed head-on, the 1,000-plus horsepower sled seemed surprisingly unemotional. Despite a more than a passing resemblance to the late, great McLaren F1, the AMG’s schnoz simply couldn’t deliver on the promise of that striking top view, let alone the sculpted, tucked, and diffuser-clad rump. Blame the slavish demands of the wind tunnel (or whatever/whomever you want), but Project One’s proboscis is a reminder that form can lose charisma when it’s tied so directly to function.

–Basem Wasef

Hit: Mercedes-AMG Project One Fin

Every great hypercar needs a signature design touch and Project One’s pièce de résistance is the carbon fiber piece that spans the mid/aft section of its roof. Doubling as an air intake and a shark fin intended to improve lateral stability in high-speed corners, this smoothly contoured form manages to evoke both a sense of function and touch of whimsy.

–B.W.

Hit: ASpark Owl

Is it a serious effort? Who knows, but in terms of styling, it really puts Project One on the trailer. Spectacular.

–R.C.

Revelation: ASpark Owl

I love walking along at an international auto show, minding my own business, and getting stopped dead in my tracks by an abjectly beautiful vehicle I’ve never seen before. Case in point: the ASpark Owl, a new electric supercar from Japan that makes some bold claims just begging for substantiation. Though I couldn’t find an expert on-hand, I did learn from a large format hardbound book (seriously) that this lean, mean, carbon fiber EV weighs only 1,900 pounds and packs two motors that can scoot it to 62 mph in two seconds flat. The prose includes no shortage of buzzwords (power amplifier, supercapacitor, speed reducer), but can we just brush all that aside for a moment and drool at the Owl’s killer looks?

–B.W.

Miss: Renault Symbioz Concept

Worst concept of the show. Lumpy plastic windshield, bad seating package, awful profile. Not at all up to the usual Renault concept standard.

–R.C.

Renault gets credit for unveiling not just a concept car, but an entire house to go with it. The Symbioz is one of those Internet of Things things, a battery-powered blobbymobile that can park itself and communicate with the house (i.e. if the heat’s on in the car, the house heats up as you approach). It can fold away its own steering wheel and turn into a sitting room, which is exactly what we don’t want from a car. The sad part is that in order to make the Symbioz the focus of its press conference, Renault gave short shrift to its other Frankfurt introduction, the Megane RS, a 276-hp hot hatch with four-wheel-steering. Now that’s the Renault we want to drive.

–Aaron Gold

Hit: Renault Symbioz Concept

Yes, yes, it’s all that. But the good news is: 2020, your new Renault Avantime is here.

–T.L.

Miss: BMW Concept X7 iPerformance

We love a big, imposing SUV just as much as the next jerk, but the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance’s odd proportions and massive maw is more off-putting than it is badass. Sure, it gains eco points for its plug-in hybrid drivetrain. But let’s leave the mean, menacing look for the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, shall we?

–B.W.

I wouldn’t be so offended by the hideously massive “Star Wars” tie-fighter kidney grille if it weren’t for the Nissan Patrol/Infiniti Q80-style rear quarter-windows and d-pillars. Why didn’t they simply tap partner Toyota for a Land Cruiser to reskin?

–T.L.

Hit and Miss: 2019 Bentley Continental GT

The new Continental GT is big, bold, and breathtakingly beautiful. I’d call it a hit if the back end didn’t look like it was ripped off from an Audi A7—a sin that might be forgivable were both brands not owned by the Volkswagen Group. The A7 may well have the best-looking rump this side of the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, but grafting it on to the Continental GT is just plain lazy.

–A,G.

Hit: The Bentley Continental GT’s Creased Haunches

Bentley’s long overdue Continental GT replacement has a lot going for it, including a new platform from Porsche, nearly 300 pounds of weight savings, and, finally, a modernized interior. But one curious detail caught our eye in Frankfurt: the coupe’s sharply creased haunches. “[Showgoers] haven’t stopped touching it,” one Bentley flack said of the aluminum panel. Manufactured using an aerospace-derived superplastic forming technique, the panels have an interesting engineering backstory. But arguably more important is a tactile invitation that bodes well for the car’s market appeal.

– B.W.

Hit: Borgward Isabella concept

Best concept in the show. Illustrates what happens when a brilliant designer tackles an electric car. Anders Warming, ex-Mini design chief, is one of the best young Germans in the business. The Isabella has many innovative styling ideas, but some old ones that didn’t work 40 years ago, and don’t work now, such as the fading paint on glass.

–R.C.

Hit: Borgward Smartphone Fan

No question, the best swag at this year’s Frankfurt Auto Show was this little fan that plugs into the bottom of your smartphone. It was given out by Borgward, a once-well-known German concern now reborn and backed by China, where its cars are sold. (They plan to return to Europe soon.) This little gizmo is exactly what you’d expect from a Chinese concern: Useful, amusing, cheaply made and potentially dangerous (good luck unplugging it without sticking your fingers in the whirling blades). I plan to steal about half a dozen of them by any means necessary. And what about Borgward’s SUVs, you ask? Trust me, the fan is better.

–A.G.

Miss: BMW i Vision Dynamics concept

Instead of showing us a Tesla Model S with a kidney grille, I’d like to have seen BMW unveil something new and forward thinking, like the Borgward Isabella concept.

–T.L.

Revelation: Jaguar I-Pace Trophy

With plans to electrify their entire lineup by 2020, Jag is going gangbusters on EV tech. This much we know. But the latest surprise from Frankfurt is that the folks from Coventry are transforming electric I-Pace crossovers into a support series for the Formula E series. Built by the carmaker’s Special Vehicle Operations division, the I-Pace eTrophy racer packs a satisfying visual punch: despite its family-friendly configuration, the wide-hipped, spoiler-clad, roll cage equipped sport ‘ute looks mean enough to appease the most hardcore internal combustion apologists.

–B.W.

Hit: Ferrari Portofino

To me, a successful Ferrari design is one that looks instantly familiar. You know you’re looking at something you’ve never seen, but you also know you’re looking at a Ferrari. The Portofino is one of those cars—it just looks right, and it manages to look right whether the top is up or down. Thirty years down the road, this will be remembered as one of the great Ferrari designs, and it’s a privilege to have seen it make its world debut.

–A.G.

Hit (qualified): Ferrari Portofino

Much better than the California, still not up to the usual Maranello standard.

–R.C.

  Hit: Hyundai Kona

If the Genesis G90 shows that the South Koreans can do a great imitation of Lexus, the Hyundai Kona shows they can do a great imitation of Citroën. This car has just enough nutsy details to keep it interesting without veering off into weird (Toyota CH-R), controversial (Nissan Juke), or downright ugly (Kia Sportage). What with all the mature-but-dull designs Hyundai has introduced over the past couple of years, the Kona might be the vehicle that gives them back their mojo.

–A.G.

IFTTT