#auto detailing motor

[flmboyz]

1940 Ford

[mgmotorkolkata]

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[copperbadge]

[ID: A photograph of an old-timey automobile, dating from 1912; it has a soft rag top and looks like a Model T, but is in fact a Marathon K-20, made by Marathon Motor Works with a cast-iron engine and sold at cost to try and get people more interested in driving. It sits in the corner of a large well-lit room with floor-to-ceiling glass, clearly a museum exhibit of some kind.]

I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from Marathon Village when I stumbled over it while researching Nashville, but I'm actually super glad I decided to give it a shot. It's super weird, which I love, and very fun, which is a bonus! The "village" is really just a city block consisting of a handful of buildings, formerly the Marathon Motor Works. The "museum" the village houses is super tiny, really just a foyer and a single room, but it has a couple of really rare Marathon autos in it and whoever is curating the museum really has a love of the cars and of teaching, you can tell.

For example, the K-20 up above has a full page placard detailing the research that was done on it and the modifications made. My favorite part is that the Marathon logos were either pried off or ground off at some point between its sale in 1912 and it being acquired by a restorer in 1952, which they believe is because it was stolen in New York and had to be anonymized. I mean, it's 1912 and someone has stolen your car, what are you even going to do about it? It was probably stolen later when cars were more common so it wouldn't IMMEDIATELY BE SPOTTED because it's the only fucking car on the road, but still.

Aside from the museum, across the street, the old manufacturing plant has been converted into a small mall; there are a couple of tasting rooms (Jack Daniels has a large presence, and there's a wine bar), a cafe, a deli, and a handful of "get yourself a Nashville t-shirt here" type places, selling shirts and bottle-openers and such. I got a great sticker that I'm going to have to put somewhere prominent that reads DOLLY/REBA 2024. As I told the cashier, "I support literacy, the arts, and murdering your man if he's a no-account scoundrel." That could have been awkward but she enthusiastically agreed that it's good domestic policy.

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1932 Bucciali TAV 12 "Golden Arrow" by Saoutchik

Paul-Albert Bucciali built only six cars between 1926 and 1932. They were built to display the front-wheel-drive system Bucciali invented. Bucciali received an American patent and licensed his technology to Peerless Motor Car Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Unfortunately for Bucciali, Peerless never used the license.

This Bucciali features a specially designed Voisin V12 sleeve-valve engine with four carburetors. Drive to the front axle is through a four-speed transaxle. The huge wheels, fabricated from steel, have integral brake drums. The coachwork is by the French Carrozzeria Saoutchik. The distinctive stork on each hood side is made from German silver, phosphor bronze, and gold-plated brass. This stork was the insignia of Bucciali's WWII fighter squadron. The original chassis price was an incredible 130,000 Francs, and the coachwork was an additional 85,630 Francs. Only one Bucciali was sold to the public. This is it!

The original owner, George Roure, displayed his Bucciali at the 1932 Paris Auto Show. Subsequently, he sold it to Count de Rivaud, who later mounted the body on a more maneuverable Bugatti chassis. In the 1970s, the body was reunited with what remained of the Bucciali chassis and drivetrain, and after a long, challenging restoration, the Bucciali was returned to its original state. The work was begun in Detroit by the noted collector Raymond Jones. In addition to using many factory blueprints, Paul Albert Bucciali was consulted for special detail as to the colors and design of the interior. The car now appears exactly as displayed at the Paris show in 1932.

Starring at the 1932 Paris Auto Show, the front-wheel drive, twelve-cylinder, sleeve-valve engined Bucciali stunned show-goers. Cloaked in one-off coachwork by Saoutchik, the car received acclaim as the most advanced and modern French automobile.

The Bucciali was sold originally to a Paris banker, who drove it for three years. The coachwork was then removed and fitted to a Type 47 Bugatti chassis. The Bugatti fitted with the Bucciali's coachwork was sold and brought stateside after World War II. The original chassis remained behind in France.

In the 1970s, the Bucciali body was reunited with the original chassis, which was purchased from a French collector. With the assistance of Paul Albert Bucciali, the car was restored to the original, spectacular state that it is today.

[umgeorge]

"Spa Counts As A Victory For Me"

In an interview with auto motor und sport, George Russell reveals why Spa counts as a victory for him, why the Mercedes has become a winning car again, and how he sees his new teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Was the denied victory at Spa your greatest race? Russell: Absolutely, for a number of reasons. I trusted my gut feeling that I could get through the second set of tires. I protected the tires where I had to and attacked where the tires didn't mind. Four corners still had the old aggressive asphalt. I had to be careful, more so in left-hand bends than in right-hand bends. It felt like I was sitting in the simulator. I didn't see any cars in the rearview mirror or in front of me. That happens very rarely. There weren't even lapped cars there.

When were you sure that you would no longer be caught up? Russell: On the two large video walls on the track I could see my lead over Lewis, Leclerc and Piastri lap after lap. I counted every round. With ten laps to go I had 13 seconds to spare and they were gaining seven tenths per lap. I knew then: If they caught up with me, it would only be at the very end. And overtaking was harder this time than usual. That gave me confidence. When I saw the checkered flag it was an indescribable feeling. Let's be honest: For me, this race counts as a victory, even if it was taken away from me. I was first across the finish line. I stood on the podium and celebrated with my team. Everything you do when you really win.

How big was the disappointment after the disqualification? Russell: She was limited. I'm not fighting for the title this year. The 25 points I lost might end up costing me third or fourth place in the World Championship, but I'm not racing to be third or fourth. If it had still been about the World Cup, this disqualification would have haunted me longer. Together with the defect at Silverstone, I've already lost 40 points.

When was the frustration digested? Russell: Pretty quickly. It helped that the very next day I went on vacation with my girlfriend, my sister, my brother-in-law and their newly born child. I'm an uncle now. It was easy for me to leave the Formula 1 world.

When did you hand the trophy to Lewis? Russell: I didn't. I don't even know where it is now. I found out just 25 minutes after the end of the race that there was a problem with the car. That's why I didn't take the trophy with me.

Would a full victory lap to pick up tire shreds have saved you? Russell: I think so. This is a procedure that you already do in the kart. My set of tires weighed over a kilogram less than Lewis's. We've never had such a big difference. I was 500 grams lighter than my usual fighting weight. And the plank under my car had worn more, which also added up to a few hundred grams. These three factors led to the underweight. A tire with a pickup truck easily weighs 400 grams more. With four tires that would have been enough.

We have already seen a few times that one-stop strategies led to success even though they were not actually thought to be feasible. Is this a lesson for the future? Russell: I think that during the race you have to examine the circumstances even more and react to them if necessary. In Spa on race day there was suddenly a strong tailwind on the long straight. That made overtaking very difficult. You have to adapt your strategy. The route itself also plays a role. With the little grand pianos in Spa, the DRS gave you two and a half tenths. In Barcelona it would have been six tenths. My tactics from Spa would never have worked in Barcelona.

Four cars can win a Grand Prix. A mistake on Friday can cost you victory on Sunday. Is that in the back of your mind? Russell: The smallest detail can make a huge difference. Saturday and Sunday. In the last two years it wouldn't have mattered whether we qualified two tenths faster or slower. The starting position would have been the same. Today there is a difference of five starting places. In Zandvoort we made a mistake with the setup. We only realized that afterwards. That's why we ended up in the middle of nowhere. But that's how racing should be. That's how it was in karting, in Formula 3 and Formula 2.

Can the Mercedes win on every track? Russell: We surprised ourselves in Spa, but we showed less than we can do in Zandvoort. In Monza we were strong on one lap, but we lacked the speed in the race. We still struggle to understand why we are fast or not. But the big swings are no longer there. But the others aren't doing any better either. But I think McLaren is still slightly ahead.

What still needs to be improved on the car? Russell: We struggle more when the rear tires are under a lot of pressure. This increases the hotter it is. Then the traction suffers. The problem is not easy to understand. Our predictions are true in reality. We know what we gain or lose depending on the temperature. But it doesn't do us any good to compare ourselves with ourselves. We lose more relative to the competition when it's hot. The question is: Are our opponents particularly good in the heat or are we not good enough? The same applies to cooler conditions. Either we are particularly strong or the others are bad compared to us. And these are exactly the little things that can have huge effects.

Hamilton and you praised the current car from the start, even though Red Bull dominated at the start of the season like last year. What gave you the confidence that the W15 could be made into a winning car? Russell: For the last two years we've had a car that's been extremely moody. When we pushed to the limit in the corners, the rear started to slip at the entrance to the corner. No matter what vehicle setup, we simply couldn't get rid of this problem. When we tested the current car for the first time in Bahrain, we were confronted with the opposite handling. But we knew we could solve this problem much easier and faster. That was the turning point for us. That's why the upgrades worked. Each change put the car in a better window. The old problem was essentially in the DNA of the chassis and therefore could not be eliminated.

From your perspective, the last two years have probably been disappointing. In the end, did you learn more from the difficulties? Russell: The last two years have flown by, and I feel like I still have 15 to 20 years ahead of me. That's why I don't see it as wasted time. As a racing driver, you always want a perfect car. You learn that this is not possible. When you have success over a long period of time, people think it lasts forever. This is a fallacy. When Vettel became world champion four times in a row, you couldn't imagine that someone else would win. The same with Lewis and now maybe with Max too. If the season had started after the summer break, nobody could say who would be world champion. These wave movements are the nature of this sport.

This is the third year now that you have been racing on an equal footing with Lewis Hamilton. Did it surprise you that you can consistently keep up with one of the best drivers of all time? Russell: I never had any doubt that I could compete with the best. And I have been working towards this opportunity. I became champion in all junior categories. The results spoke for themselves. When I entered Formula 1 with Williams, over three years I always beat my teammates in qualifying, with two exceptions. That was confirmation, but not headline news. That's why I wanted the opportunity to assert myself against Lewis because that was the only way I could show what I can do. Toto Wolff and Mercedes knew it beforehand. They didn't need that confirmation. Lewis is a complete racer and I learned a lot alongside him. But I knew that I could keep up with him in terms of sheer speed.

The qualification duel, which ends 12:4 clearly in their favor, also speaks for this. Russell: I'm really happy with my performance in qualifying this year. Mentally I have never been as strong as I am now. Qualification is purely a matter of your head. Every driver on the grid knows how to drive fast. But it is important to show this at the crucial moment. You sit in your car for 45 minutes on Saturday afternoon and everything revolves around a lap in Q3. You have exactly one round in which it's all or nothing. In which your weekend is decided. Then no one cares anymore how fast you were in FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1 or Q2. I have worked for a long time to ensure that I can perform optimally at the right moment. But it's always extremely close between Lewis and me. There is only one driver pairing that is even closer together in terms of lap time.

You will be the veteran and team captain at Mercedes in 2025. Are you ready for this? Russell: This is the next step in my journey. I'll be in the team for four years and part of the Mercedes family for eight or nine years. I feel ready in every way to fight for the World Championship in 2025. I also feel ready to be a little better together with the team every race and to help develop the car further. Next year we will build on what Lewis and I have sown over the last three years.

Your new teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli is joining a top team straight away. Is it easier or harder for him than you, who was able to study with Williams for three years? Russell: When you're thrown in at the deep end, you learn faster. From my experience I can say that I learned more in my first year alongside Lewis than in my three years at Williams. Every driver who has won championships in their career is fast. You can put him in a top team in his first year, like Lewis once did at McLaren. I'm sure that Charles at Ferrari or Max at Red Bull would have done a good job in a smaller team even without the pre-season preparation. Maybe at the expense of one or two mistakes, but that's part of it. Kimi will learn from this. You either have the speed or you don't. Kimi has it.

[diabolus1exmachina]

Siata 208 CS ( 1 of 6). 

Societá Italiana Auto Trasformazioni Accessori (SIATA) created a marvelous assortment of machinery in its 45-year history under the guidance of the Ambrosini family. Founded by Giorgio Ambrosini in 1926, Siata specialized in performance modifications for Fiats, creating the overhead-valve conversions, multi-speed gearboxes, superchargers, and multi-carb intakes that competitive Italians wanted for their diminutive cars. The Italian auto giant conspicuously ignored—with few exceptions—the high-performance market as the Agnellis concentrated their empire around sensible, reliable, and mass-produced cars of small proportions.Siata received substantial financial assistance from Fiat following the Second World War, and by 1949 they were producing small automobiles which wore custom, house-labeled coachwork. Firmly grafted to Fiat and its engineering, Siata took a giant leap forward with the arrival of Rudolf Hruska in 1950. Hruska had worked in Porsche’s design office before the war and later collaborated with Carlo Abarth on Piero Dusio’s Cisitalia Grand Prix project. Fiat itself plotted its re-entry to the top ranks of Italian performance automobiles in 1950 with the introduction of their two-liter V-8 (dubbed "Otto Vu"), whose development was entrusted to Siata and executed in total secrecy by Hruska’s team.

The unusual oversquare, 70-degree V-8 engine featured all-aluminum castings with wedge-shaped combustion chambers. Induction was through a pair of dual-throat, downdraft Weber carburetors. With its high-revving short-stroke design and 8.5:1 compression ratio, prodigious power was channeled through a four-speed manual gearbox. Hruska planted the engine into a tubular chassis, and this became the basis of Fiat’s 8V.

Debuting at the 1952 Geneva Salon, the 8V caused an absolute sensation perhaps best equated to a meltdown of Italy’s motoring press. For many, the Siata-developed, Fiat-badged supercar defied belief. In particular, the advanced chassis featured a fully independent suspension with coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers at all four corners and was a marvelously sophisticated platform for its time, with supple and predictable handling that amazed drivers accustomed to the rigidly sprung, “flex-framed,” live-axle sports cars of the time.

Approximately 200 Tipo 104 engines were made to supply the 114 8V examples which Fiat ultimately produced. Eighty-five or so surplus engines were thusly returned to Siata, which seized the opportunity to supply them with additional house-made upgrades and implant them into the very chassis from which the earth-shattering Otto Vu had been developed.

The resulting Siata 208 CS was available as an attractive barchetta-like Spider or streamlined berlinetta, which Siata commissioned from a small pool of local coachbuilders including Bertone, Vignale, and Stabilimenti Farina. It is said that Siata openly encouraged the carryover of major styling details which these same companies were providing to Ferrari during the same period.

Perhaps the shapeliest design ever rendered upon the 208 CS, however, was executed by Balbo of Turin. Just nine berlinettas were made, of which only six examples are known to remain extant.

[littlemisspascal]

Fast Cars and Lightning Bolts Part 4

Pairing: Din x Female Reader

Word Count: 3200+

Rating: T

Summary: It’s kind of ridiculous, really, the way everything else fades away the longer you stare at Din. The gaudy banners in all capital fonts seem to blur and the colorful bouquets of balloons lose their vibrance. The Din Djarin Effect, you used to call it, a comforting distraction to indulge in when the rest of the world felt too close, too much all at once. 

Author Note: 2 years later I'm sure 99% of people have lost any care about this series, but it felt nice returning to this fic after so long away. Hope someone out there enjoys this 😊 All likes, comments, and reblogs super appreciated 💗

Warnings: Helmetless Din, dialogue heavy, racing au, heavily inspired by Ford v Ferrari, language, worldbuilding, No physical characteristics of Reader described except for having hair + a heart condition (I’m not a doctor, all medical details are fictional)

Series Masterlist

Mos Espa is hotter than you remember.

Or maybe it’s how different the city looks—flourishing businesses, smiling faces, and cleaner streets (literally and figuratively, not one piece of trash or shady character in sight)—that’s making it hard for your memories to sync with your reality. 

There’s a bustling crowd of hundreds at the Fett Motor Company Headquarters by the time you arrive. You almost forgot how overwhelming being in the midst of large groups of people can be, all clamoring for a handshake or autograph. Like feral dogs fighting over the same piece of meat, pulling and tugging until they get their portion of the prize. 

Today’s a significant one for Fett Motor Company. Not only are they announcing their partnership with you and subsequent entry into the world of auto racing, they’re also celebrating the launch of their newest model. Dozens of reporters and photographers from every major HoloNet site have come, drawn to the promise of a spectacle and juicy bits of gossip to spin a story out of.

Attending events like this has always been the part of fame you liked the least. Too chaotic and invasive for your tastes. Makes your heartbeat start to climb until it’s in your ears, an incessant reminder of your retreat from the spotlight.

There are a plethora of people in every direction you look. Do they notice your trembling hands? The bottle of pills in your jacket pocket? Can they tell you’re in over your head? 

So many people. So many pairs of eyes.

And then, just when you think you’ll be swallowed whole, there’s Peli blasting her way through the crowd with waving arms and shrill exclamations, providing you a path to freedom. The rush of absolute relief nearly has you sinking to the floor, but she’s quick to latch onto your wrist, towing you to sanctuary in a quieter room away from access of the general public.

“Thanks, Peli,” you say, letting out a shaky breath as the tension digging into your spine starts to loosen. 

“Don’t mention it, LB,” she shrugs, then nods at something off to the side. “I figured it’d go smoother if I saved your hide instead of tin can man. He looks like a biter—and not in the sexy way.”

“What?” Sometimes your engineer makes no damn sense. You look at where she’d gestured, first noticing Ahsoka (the young Togrutan mechanic had practically stubbornly glared you into letting her come along) talking animatedly to—

Your eyes widen.

“He…” you trail off, mouth abruptly dry. “He actually came?”

“Well, yeah,” Peli replies, looking back and forth with furrowed eyebrows. “You invited him, didn’t you? He told me he wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Funny. Last thing he said to you, back in that diner one week ago, standing up from the table with an expression devoid of the previous softness, was, “I’m nobody’s puppet, not even yours. Find someone else.”

It’s kind of ridiculous, really, the way everything else fades away the longer you stare at Din. The gaudy banners in all capital fonts seem to blur and the colorful bouquets of balloons lose their vibrance. The Din Djarin Effect, you used to call it, a comforting distraction to indulge in when the rest of the world felt too close, too much all at once. 

You give yourself a tiny shake, forcing yourself to blink. Today’s too important for your career to lose focus.

Walking up to the pair, you greet Ahsoka first with a friendly nudge of your elbow against her arm. Blue eyes widen in surprise before she beams at you, utterly oblivious to the straightening of Din’s posture you catch out of the corner of your gaze. 

“Lightning, you made it!” Ahsoka’s one of your youngest employees, full of big emotions and just a tad bit impulsive at times, but Peli swears she’s got one of the brightest minds for vehicular engineering the woman’s ever come across in all her years. And that’s the exact kind of talent you want to surround yourself with these days.

“Welcome to the madhouse,” Din remarks dryly, and you hate the instant locking of your eyes with his, the sensation of a loss of control of your own self. You hate the reminder that for all the things time and distance have changed, there still remain some constants entirely uninfluenced by either. 

Still.  Better to have loved and lost than to have continued down the road you and your ex-boyfriend had been on, pretending things were fine when they were anything but. And having him here in Mos Espa, looking at you, speaking to you, that’s more than you had dared to hope for one week ago, parting ways in the diner; definitely more than five years ago, breaking up in the middle of your living room. 

You smile at him, unable to stop yourself. Another one of those pesky constants you can’t shake. “I’m glad you came,” you tell him genuinely. Then, a hint of teasing, “Forgot how nice you look all dolled up.”

He has ditched his usual oil-stained clothes for his clan armor, Mandalorian beskar pristinely forged by his mentor to fit his exact measurements. The rare metal glints dangerously in the afternoon sunshine streaming through the skylights, a far contrast from the soft and silky fabrics of the expensive suits other men have chosen for the occasion. It’s purposeful, this look, there isn’t a doubt in your mind. You can already imagine the numerous photos of champagne and fancy ties and plastic smiles online, and there Din will be, stubbornly resisting to blend in.

Honestly though? You would’ve been upset if he’d tried. 

His lips curl at the corner. “You don’t look half bad yourself, mesh’la.”

Maker. You’re tiptoeing the line of dangerous territory, feeling hot all over in a way that has nothing to do with the temperature. And judging from that look in Din’s eyes, a daring sort of regard, the bastard knows it.

“Have you seen the new Fett Firespray?” Ahsoka asks, her voice startling you out of your staring contest. Embarrassing, how easily you’d forgotten she was standing right next to you.

“It’s uglier than a shaved bantha’s ass,” Din remarks, so utterly deadpan it takes an incredible amount of self-discipline not to bark out a laugh. 

Ahsoka huffs, the kind of sound kids make when they think an adult has said  something stupid. Maker, she really is young, isn’t she? “It wasn’t that bad. All those customization options for the interior were pretty cool.”

The unimpressed scowl twisting Din’s mouth tells you exactly what he thinks about the options. Pretty cool definitely isn’t his opinion on the matter. No, you’d bet it’s on the complete other end of the spectrum. Which means that’s where your opinion can also be found.

Ahsoka may be the brightest of her generation, but Din is Din. When it comes to cars, there’s no one’s judgment you trust more. Another constant that’ll stretch the length of your combined lifetimes.

Fennec Shand and Peli approach at your side, putting an end to your conversation with Din before you’re ready for it. Your fists clench against the nervous energy pulsing in tandem with your heartbeat, then immediately slacken upon registering the unknown Duros accompanying them, red eyes peering at you with scrutiny.

“I’d like you all to meet the senior vice president of Fett Motor, Cad Bane.” Fennec introduces with a respectful dip of her chin, hands clasped behind her back. Her hair is styled in another long braid with intricately woven orange ties holding every strand in place. “Bane, this is Lightning Bolt.”

Rather than shake your outstretched hand, Bane merely tips his wide-brimmed hat in acknowledgement. His crimson stare never lessens in its intensity, as sharp as the pointy teeth peeking from his lipless mouth when he speaks.

“Afternoon, little lady. You look…rather ordinary outside of a race car,” he says, and that’s enough for you to determine three things. One: his voice is as deep and gravelly as the depths of a bottomless chasm. Two: he’s a master at intimidation. And three: he’ll mercilessly squish you beneath the heel of his boot the second you let your guard down.

You absolutely cannot show weakness in front of him.

“Ah, well, despite what the tabloids might say, I’ve always been just a regular, ordinary mortal girl.” You force your mouth up into a small grin, tacking on a rueful little laugh you learned over the years will smooth the spikes of even the prickliest of bastards. Hard to tell if it works on Bane, his features so stoic they might as well be carved out of stone. “I brought along one of my best mechanics, Ahsoka Tano. And this is my–”

You cut yourself off, triggered by the inaccuracy. The acknowledgement that Din isn’t your anything anymore. Once upon a time you were so close you might as well have been the same person. Tangled up in each other’s souls. Indistinguishable. LightningandDin. But the way Din’s looking at you, guarded in a way you aren’t used to seeing, well. Not everything can remain a constant after five years. 

Surprisingly, though, Din saves you from having to make up a label on the spot. “We’ve met.”

The curtness of his delivery throws you off. Your eyebrows furrow, flicking a quick glance between the two men, sensing a frosty tension that wasn’t there mere seconds ago.

“Yes,” Bane says, something in the drawl of the word you can’t determine. But it definitely isn’t pleasant. “We have.”

Curiosity and wariness fizzle uncomfortably in your stomach. Here and now isn’t the time or place to ask questions. Too many eyes. Too many cameras. 

The whole thing feels very…sharp. One wrong move and someone will wind up scarred forever. The jackrabbiting beat of your heart doesn’t offer any comfort to the situation either.

A hand lightly grasping your elbow is almost enough to have you biting through your bottom lip. Jerking your head to your side, you meet Fennec’s even gaze. A calm port in this brewing storm. 

“Walk with me?” It’s phrased as a request, but you and the woman both know it isn’t one. “There are a few details I need to discuss with you.”

You nod, and follow after Fennec with your head bowed, focusing on the taps of her boots against the stone floor. She leads you to another private room, a small nook empty except for a pair of Gamorrean security guards standing near a door which opens up to the courtyard swarming with people waiting for the big news to be announced. You suck in a breath, feeling like for the first time since you arrived your lungs stretch to their fullest capacity. 

“So, what is it?” you ask. “What details do we need to talk about?”

Fennec leans back against the wall. “Before you go give your speech, I need to make sure we’re on the same page regarding our future partnership and procedure going forward.”

You try your best, but you can’t stop the incredulous arching of your eyebrow. “Are you checking that I read the fine print of the contract?”

And something interesting happens then. Fennec’s jaw quirks, the faintest, most miniscule display of unease. “Well, it’s just–”

“Page 3 paragraph 2 explicitly states that responsibility for the day to day practical affairs of the Fett race team is handled by me,” you cut in, pointing your index finger at your chest. The bottle of pills in your pocket rattles with the movement, drawing Fennec’s eyes there for a split second before your sharp glare has them recentering on your face once more.

“That’s correct,” she agrees. There’s a carefulness to her voice you’ve heard before many times in your own tone. Used when the topic of conversation is a potentially explosive one that could result in tempers flying. “Day to day stuff, that’s your job. But in regard to broader decisions that may or may not affect the wider company…” Her tongue runs over her lower lip, buying a pause to plan her next words, before she eventually comes out with, “There’s going to have to be some give and take with the gotra.”

“The gotra,” you repeat, audibly clumsy and unfamiliar coming out of your mouth. 

“Senior creatives, Lightning.” Her expression is back to annoyingly neutral. “Just so everybody involved is comfortable.”

“Well, color me confused, Fennec.” You draw yourself up to full height, arms crossing over your chest. You might not be as intimidating as Cad Bane, but no one survives long in the racing world without a bit of iron in their spine and fire in their stare. “Because up until this exact moment, I was comfortable.”

“Look out there,” Fennec says, gesturing with a tilt of her head towards the courtyard, an MC standing on stage addressing the crowd. The same one you’ll be giving a speech to only a handful of minutes from now. “What do you see?”

Your eyes drift over each of the figures. There’s an air about them, sensed even from where you stand, suggesting they’ve never changed a tire in their lives, let alone picked up a hydrospanner. They’re pencil pushers, not grease monkeys. 

“You know what I see?” Fennec asks rhetorically when you say nothing, pointing a nail painted onyx black at the door. “A machine. Thousands of parts moving hopefully in harmony because it’s my job to make it so. And it’s my job to guide you through it.” The nail’s aimed at you now. You swallow, your mouth dry. “I am here to help you, Lightning Bolt. But we have to trust each other.”

A crack splits open your chest, aching and inflamed, upon the realization that Din was right. Controlling people is their specialty. You press your lips together into a thin line, knowing the assurance Fennec wants but you’re reluctant to give it. Trusting others has never been easy for you. It’s something that must be fairly earned, not handed out carelessly. That’s how you spare yourself unnecessary pain. 

The presenter’s wrapping up his opening welcome, you can hear the applause like distant thunder. You pull out your pill bottle, mechanically opening it and popping two into your mouth, all too aware of Fennec watching the entire process. The meds taste like ash on your tongue, scraping the tender inside of your throat, but they’ll serve their purpose of keeping you numb onstage. 

Tucking the bottle back away, you start to turn for the door. “Excuse me, Fennec.”

“Lightning,” she holds up a hand, reaching for your shoulder then quickly backtracking, awkwardly hovering in front of you. “Do not go on that stage if you don’t trust me.”

You stare her down. “I said, excuse me.”

Hearing the firmness in your tone, Fennec sighs, her shoulders slumping marginally. She yields and moves out of your way.

The walk up to the stage, the shaking of hands and greetings along the way–none of it truly registers. You’re just going through the motions. Like you’re on autopilot. Like…like someone else is pulling the strings.

“Hello everyone,” you say into the microphone, voice steady and emotions tightly wound in the depths of your chest. You introduce yourself with a bright, picture perfect smile. “Most of you probably know me better as Lightning Bolt though. And like my cars, I’ll make this fast.”

The crowd ripples with laughter, softening the edges of your smile into a slightly more genuine one. Sometimes there’s no reaction, just blank stares or, worse, eye rolls. Speeches have about a fifty-fifty risk of making you feel like you’re flying high or that you’ve just struck concrete face first. You never quite know what to expect until after your first attempt of cracking the ice.

This time, you’re soaring.

“I was just a youngling when my mother told me the luckiest souls are those who know what they want to do. Because they’ll never work a day in their lives.” The crowd shifts a little and you catch a glimpse of Fennec and Bane standing together with other authoritative-looking figures, including a massive black-furred Wookiee���the gotra you were warned about, you assume. It’s the man further behind them though, beskar gleaming like there’s a spotlight trained directly on him, that has your heart leaping. “But I’ve come to learn there’s a precious few in the galaxy who find something that they have to do with their lives. An obsession they can’t shake. Pushing them to their farthest corners.”

You’re hyper-aware of the hundreds of eyes on you–of Din’s eyes on you, sunlight turning the dark brown into liquid gold smoldering in a forge–and you rapidly try to organize your thoughts as memorized words spill from your lips because time is running out and you have to make a decision.

Why is it, whenever you find yourself faced with making one of the hardest choices of your life, Din can be found at the bleeding center? Why do they always involve him?

“I’m one of ‘em.” You remind yourself to take a breath, that you have to breathe even as it feels like your insides are being crushed. “And I know one man who feels exactly the same.”

Din hasn’t blinked, staring at you like he always does in your dreams, and just like in those dreams all you want is to reach out and touch him. 

“His name…”

He’s your weakness. Always has been, always will be. 

“His name is Boba Fett.”

Time seems to stand still, captured in ice, chilling you to the bone, and Din’s eyes have widened, you can see it from here, see how he can’t believe what you’ve just said.

And you–you taste the name like poison. You’ve never even met the Daimyo, unable to cut out a hole in his schedule big enough for a face to face conversation with you. He didn’t even come out of his palace to make an appearance at his own damn car launch. You can’t pull your words out of the air though, can’t erase them from anyone’s minds because the ice shatters with roaring applause. 

You might smile, your lips are numb so it’s hard to tell. You want to say: Forgive me, love. Forgive me for surrendering to them. Maybe you would if not for the threat of the gotra hanging above your head like a knife. 

Some things must be hidden behind closed doors. And sometimes…sometimes you must put your career first above all else.

Averting your gaze back to Fennec, you nod at her as you pitch your voice over the cheers. “And together, we’ll make history. We’re going to build and race the fastest car the BEC’s ever seen. I personally guarantee it.”

You step back from the podium and wave both hands, pretending it’s excitement twisting your guts into knots. You might’ve fallen for it, if not for the last second guilty glance at the back of the crowd, stomach dropping at the lack of familiar brown eyes and beskar. 

Funny, how quickly soaring can switch to plummeting when one flies too close to the sun.

And all you can do now is brace for the inevitable impact, hoping you made the right choice.

[spark-my-nature]

Baby You Can Drive My Car - DRW

Hi friends! The boy's posting that picture earlier of them at the racetrack, ironically, nearly caused me to drive into a pole. This is entirely unedited and typed in a rush, but I absolutely could not stop myself, because... good god, Danny could run me over and I'd thank him.

Anybody notice the zipper sticking out of Danny's suit at the bottom? Implying it can unzip from there? I'm so normal about that little fun fact.

Words: 3.4K

Summary: Danny looks ridiculously good in the racing suit, and you show him just how good.

Warnings: Language, oral sex (m receiving), semi-public, Danny being unfairly gorgeous, that's about it

Cars were never of much interest to you. You could appreciate a cute old fashioned Volkswagen, and you loved car rides with your boyfriend, but that had more to do with his hand on your thigh as the wind tussled your hair, and the abandoned dirt roads outside Nashville that you went for some fun in his backseat. But the moment any of the men in your life started rambling about models and motors, you were tuned out faster than a radio playing pop music at Sam’s house. You weren’t necessarily ignorant to the subject, not when you’d grown up surrounded with auto enthusiasts like your granddad and father, but cars just never sparked your interest.

Daniel Wagner, however, singlehandedly may very well change your mind.

The boys’ time in Bahrain was just as magical as you’d hoped and expected it to be. Such amazing people showing the very love and community that made you so proud of the guys for inspiring. And Danny made every moment offstage with you just as incredibly magical, as he always managed to do. Even something you found as dull as racecar driving. 

One of the things you loved about Danny was that he was the perfect balance of masculine and boyish, without being too much of a douchey bro-type guy. You knew he liked cars, and he spoke about his interest in a way that made your heart rush with affection. And who were you to complain that your sweet boy wanted to take you driving in his porsche? Especially when he looked so ridiculously delicious leaning his toned arm against the sleek black door of the car, eyeing you up so hungrily. Cars didn’t interest you, but Danny driving them certainly did. 

You hummed to yourself as you came back down the steps between the bleachers of the racetrack after a trip to the bathroom. You’d left your sweet drummer in the management office area when you’d escaped for a bathroom break, drawing out a sweet goodbye kiss as long as was socially acceptable. His eyes crinkled with playful affection, and he murmured softly to you, “Hurry back, babe,” as he gave your ass a playful swat. You’d giggled and spun around, leaving him to sign waivers and listen to details about racing that, frankly, bored you to tears. 

But as you returned now, you nearly dropped your phone as your eyes looked up, landing on your boyfriend. The four guys posed against the railing that separated the seats from the track, Josh hopped up of course, and Jake posing suavely as he leaned back beside him. You giggled slightly at Sam, the only one sporting a pink version of the suits they sported. 

Your eyes kept coming back to Danny though, like a magnet. His large, callused hand easily gripping the globe of the helmet, the other hanging as he leaned an elbow on the rail beside his best friend. His heavenly mane of curls draped effortlessly down his shoulders, and his eyes dark and mysterious as he stood still, the boy’s photographer snapping away. You stood frozen for several minutes, drinking him in shamelessly. Hell, he was yours to ogle, you may as well. 

Finally, the camera returned to it’s travel bag and the guys broke into laughter and jokes once more. Danny’s bright smile returned, lightly backhanding Sam as he no doubt teased him for the colour of his suit. Sam’s eyes found you before Danny’s did, and you would have noticed the smirk on his face if your own weren’t glued to your boyfriend’s. He tapped Danny’s shoulder with his fist, nodding behind him toward you, and Danny turned to look over his shoulder, finally noticing you. 

Realizing you’d been caught drooling, you blushed and swallowed, all of a sudden noticing how flustered you were. Danny’s pleased smile could’ve brought you to your knees, and you nearly folded as he bit his lip, suggestively raising his brows at you, a silent “Yeah? You like this?”

You smiled bashfully, approaching him with your wrists held behind your back, a light skip in your step. You cleared your throat softly, looking up at him once he was in front of you, “Hi.”

He smirked wider, and his hands came to rest on your hips, his eyes raking up your body. “Hey,” he playfully returned. “Somebody got a staring problem?” 

You giggled shyly, resting your hands on the material covering his chest. “I’m not allowed to appreciate my boyfriend?” You batted your eyelashes up at him. 

He quickly glanced behind him, making sure nobody was still listening to your exchange, before turning back to face you with that naughty twinkle in his eye. 

“I think you’re appreciating a little more than usual,” he observed coyly, letting his hands slip slightly down over the curve of your ass, stepping closer to your body. 

You simply shrugged, letting out a flustered giggle. “You look good,” you said softly, rubbing his chest through the suit. 

He raised a brow at you, his eyes lifting nonchalantly to gaze around the room as he quietly said, “And you look like you wanna eat me alive.” 

As his eyes landed back down on yours, he looked far too smug for your comfort. You blushed, stepping closer, if only to hide your flushed cheeks. “Maybe I do,” you mumbled. 

He hummed deeply in his chest, squeezing your ass quickly, his reply rumbling near your ear, “Be a good girl, and I might let you.” 

Your breath hitched, and you could feel his lips twisting into an amused smirk, but he simply smacked your ass lightly, gave the apple of your cheek a playful bite and pulled away, winking at you before turning and following the rest of the guys towards the track. 

That fucker. 

*************

You took a seat right up against the barrier, ensuring a front row seat as they readied up. You snorted, watching Jake and Sam’s slapstick comedy-like interactions, bickering over helmets and such. As the guys approached their assigned cars, Sam put an end to the argument with a skillful wet willy in Jake’s ear, tearing off to take cover behind Danny. You snickered, quickly filming the interaction to laugh with Danny later in the hotel, but you ended up focusing the camera on your boyfriend long after Sam had moved on. The screen magnified the mouthwatering sight of Danny shaking out his curls, then pulling the helmet over his head. He tugged at the racing gloves, opening the door of the car and slipping in. 

You swalloed, shaking your head at yourself. Yeah, Danny was gorgeous, but why were you thirsting so hard over this?

You decided he might like some cool footage of himself whipping around the track, and so you started a new video as you watched the guys have their fun. 

After the best part of an hour, they’d pulled to a stop in front of the barricade, hopping out as the whooped and hollered excitedly. You giggled at their adrenaline buzz, always finding them all so cute when they were all excited like this. Four puppies, honestly. 

Then you caught Danny’s eye, as he sat in the drivers seat, having merely opened the door but not moving out. He was already watching you with a dangerous smirk crossing his face. Your heart fluttered, and you bit your lip as he nodded towards him, silently beckoning you down there. You took a breath and quickly hopped the barricade, descending the stairs and strolling towards him with an extra sway in your hips. 

If Danny thought you looked like you wanted to eat him alive, he should see the look on his own face. 

His eyes, dark and wild, lasered in on your body as you approached him, and as soon as you reached the car, he growled softly, “Get in and shut the door.” 

Your eyes widened and you checked around you, seeing the Kiszka’s backs as they retreated into the office area of the facility, the door closing behind them. Danny and yourself the only people left in the track, you looked back at Danny questioningly but sat in the seat beside him, pulling the door closed behind you. 

The second you turned to face him, he leaned over the console and his lips met yours in a rush. You whimpered quietly, your hand coming to cup his sharp jawline, instantly melting into his frenzied kisses. His lips were rough against yours, his hands reaching to grip and paw at your thighs and hips. His lips curled into a dark smirk against yours, and his tongue slipped between both pairs of parted lips to brush against yours. He moaned quietly through your open mouths, his hand sliding up under your shirt and scraping those rough fingers you adored along your belly and up your side. You shivered under his touch, breaking away from his searching mouth for a gasp of air, fluttering your eyes open. 

“Danny,” you panted, a teasing lilt to your tone, “What’s gotten into you?” You ran your thumb across his smooth cheek, feeling another rush of heat in your belly as he shamelessly undressed you with his dark eyes. 

He bit his lip, muffling a needy whimper, “Dunno,” he confessed, “Guess the adrenaline, and then I kept thinking about the way you were lookin’ at me before.” Your nose brushed against his as he teased his face close to yours, your brow furrowing with growing desire as he spoke. “Just wanna make a fucking mess of you… right here, in this car.”

You whined softly, your eyes darting all over his face. “God, baby,” you breathed, kissing him quickly, “I want that too, but… we can’t, the car… the guys,” you looked over your shoulder, double checking you were still alone. He grabbed your jaw, forcing your gaze back on him. 

His voice deeper and breathier, he looked directly into your eyes. “Windows are tinted, and they’re getting a drink in the casino.” He licked his lips, brushing them against yours as though he couldn’t get close enough to you. You felt his hips shift in the driver’s seat, his thighs brushing and squeezing his growing erection. “Need you so bad, please babe,” he breathed. 

You tugged his lips to yours by his hair, your hand at the back of his head. He kissed you frantically and you moaned against his lips, barely breaking away as you nodded quickly, whimpering, “M’kay.”

He let out a sigh of relief, quickly running his hand up your shirt and cupping your breast through your unlined bralette. His thumb rolled over your nipple as you kissed, moving his lips down your jawline at your quiet whine. Your free hand that wasn’t tangled in his silky curls ran down his chest slowly, your nails making the meshy material of the racing suit whine as they dragged downwards. It came to rest over the hard bulge in his crotch, earning a growl from deep in his chest. You squeezed it needily, moaning rather pathetically as Danny pinched your nipple and sucked at your neck in teasing retaliation. He chuckled darkly at your reaction, his dark eyes finding your as he pulled away from your neck. 

Wordlessly, he held eyecontact as he guided your hand on his crotch slightly over, where he smirked as you found the zipper with a shaky breath. 

Your eyes dipped downwards then back up to his. “It… it zips from there too?” you whispered. He nodded, simply smirking so smugly at you. You bit your lip, your brows knitting together as you breathed, “…fuck…”

You wasted no time, quickly pulling that zipper upwards, abandoning it at his abs in favor of slipping your hand inside. His sweats blocked your access though, and he snickered at your frustrated huff, lifting his hips for you as you wiggled them down slightly. “So many fucking layers,” you grumbled, then finally, pulling his cock out over the waistband and spreading open the hole you’d made with the zipper. He shuddered slightly as your hand wrapped around his base, so achingly hard and hot. You ran your fist up and down his length slowly, your lips parted in a shaky breath. 

“Fuck sweetheart,” he sighed, shifting and slumping down in his seat a little. His hand reached down and pulled the small adjustment lever, moving the seat back a few inches for more room. You let out a breathy giggle, looking up at him. “What? You want something?” you nodded to the extra space between him and the steering wheel. 

He smirked, giving you a playful eyeroll. “You want it just as bad as I do,” he smugly teased.

You blinked innocently, squeezing him tighter before swiping your thumb over his little slit at the tip. “Want what?”

His eyes watched your hand’s movements for a moment, biting his lip hard as you teased at his tip. Then he looked up at your face through his lashes, “To suck my cock.”

You closed your eyes before he could see them roll back. 

Focusing back on his lustful face, you licked your lips. “Wanted to get on my knees for you the second I saw you earlier,” you confessed. 

He groaned, leaning back into the seat further, as though in invitation. “Fuck babe,” he rasped, “go ahead, then. Make me feel good, make me cum in that sweet mouth.” 

You whimpered softly, brushing your hair to one side and leaning forward across the console. His abs tightened and he gasped softly as you licked at his tip. His hand gathered up your hair, holding it back out of the way. He would tell you it was for your sake, but you knew he loved to watch himself sliding in and out of your throat. 

You hummed softly, taking the head into your mouth, letting your tongue slide over his sensitive underside as you sucked gently on him. He groaned softly, shifting impatiently. “Oh fuck yes…” 

You giggled around him, making him jerk slightly, letting your fist pump him as you suckled teasingly on his velvety head. Releasing him with a wet noise, you peered at him through your lashes. “Feel good baby?” you said darkly. 

He hissed, watching you squeeze and twist your fist the way he’d trained you. “Yes, so fucking good for me,” he breathed, pushing your head back down. You moaned at his forcefulness, that aggressive side of him that rarely made an appearance but was oh so fucking hot when it did. You took as much of him as you could in your mouth, beginning to work up a rhythm. Up and down, slicking up his length with your spit and the accumulating precum leaking from his tip. 

Danny’s jaw fell slack, his head falling backwards against the headrest as his hand followed your bobbing head, your hair his leash on you, controlling your speed. You moaned against him, feeling his head nudging your uvula, triggering your gag reflex. The wet cough you let out egged him on even more, as he grit his teeth and stared darkly at you as you descended even further around him. “Good girl, fucking choking on my cock,” he growled, shifting around slightly as he rolled his hips into your mouth with your movements. Not quite fucking your mouth, just toeing that line. 

You nodded around him, filthy wet slurps echoing in the otherwise silent car. You let your hand that was resting on his knee slide up and down his thigh, squeezing at the muscle as you held your head down, swallowing around him. You gagged and pulled off him, jerking him quickly in your mouth’s absence. 

Finally getting a good look at him, you panted softly. His eyes glazed over and dark as night, watching you through hooded eyelids, and his curls slightly frizzed from tossing his head against the headrest. He focused on your swollen lips, his jaw clenching in time with his fist tightening in your hair.

“Did I say stop? Fucking suck me,” he growled through gritted teeth. 

With a shove that would have been easy to resist if you wanted to, you moaned as his hot, slick cock slipped back into your mouth. His words sent a rush of heat straight to your core, and your thighs shifted together for friction. 

He chuckled, although it sounded shaky in his current state. “Wish I could watch you grind that pretty pussy against the seat.” 

You whined pathetically, sloppily bobbing your mouth around him as you rhythmically squeezed and jerked his base. He groaned, biting his lip before sighing. “Mmm, you like that idea, huh?” 

You nodded around him, resulting in a filthy slurping noise, pulling off him momentarily with a broad lick up his length. You gasped out, “I could cum just from this, I swear.” 

He let out a feral sounding grunt, looking down at you hungrily. “You could cum just from sucking my cock? Fuck baby that’s so hot,” he whined, his panting getting heavier. 

You groaned into him, angling him so his tip pushed into your cheek with each movement. He watched with his jaw hanging open as his cock stretched your cheek, his brows knitting tightly together in the centre of his forehead. “Oh fuck,” he gasped, his eyes squeezing shut as his head fell back. 

You pulled back, jerking his cock frantically, filthy wet fapping noises sounding everytime your fist met his pubic hair. “Fuck my throat Danny,” you begged breathlessly, a whine coloring your words. 

He grunted, nodding his acquiescence. With a tightened fist in your hair, his other hand held your jaw and he began thrusting his hips up into your face. 

“You’re gonna have to swallow, baby,” he reminded you, sounding delicious fucked out. “Can’t get cum in this car.” He managed a breathless chuckle. You moaned softly against him, nodding your understanding. No problem at all. As if you’d waste a drop anyway. 

His hips sped up, fucking into you desperately now, chasing his peak. “Ohh… Uh-“ He cried, holding your head in place as your tongue worked him while he thrusted. “Fuck… ohhh my God, fuck, I’m cu- OH fuck, I’m cumming,” he whined loudly, bucking into your mouth with reckless abandon, shallow quick thrusts filling your mouth as you moaned into his thick length. Then with a final, animalistically growled cry, he pushed deep into your throat, holding you there and spasming slightly with the intensity of his orgasm, spurting into your mouth as you swallowed and gagged around him. 

You pulled off as soon as he was through the peak of it, stroking him to work him through it as he came down from his high, both of you panting heavily. He let out a feeble whimper as he jerked away from your hand, becoming sensitive in his afterglow. You released him gently, pressing a kiss to his softening cock. Straightening out, you stretched your back, then smiled lovingly as you leaned into your boyfriend. He smiled lazily, pulling you into his chest and kissing your hair sweetly. 

Once he caught his breath, you pressed a kiss to his warm neck, nuzzling into him affectionately. He hummed contentedly, whispering into your hair, “Thank you baby…” He kissed your temple, “you’re so good to me.” 

You giggled softly, lifting your face to look at him. His eyes had gone back to that soft, affectionate glow, his soft smile absolutely melting your heart all over again. “I love you so much,” you told him softly, gently cupping his jaw and running your thumb over his cheek. 

He turned his head so his lips were under your hand, and he kissed your palm while holding eye contact from the corner of his eye. Facing you straight on again, he smiled brightly, mischief dancing in his eyes. “So should I buy one of these suits?” 

You groaned dramatically, playfully holding your hands over your heart. “I don’t think I could handle it.” 

He giggled, tucking himself back into his pants and zipping up. “Have I changed your mind about cars then?”

You bit your lip, eyeing him up. With a teasing finger tracing down his chest, you cocked your head thoughtfully. 

“Mmm… not yet, I’m gonna need more convincing.”

[darkmaga-returns]

David Blackmon Oct 19, 2024

A new report by Amnesty International “reveals how the world’s leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers are not adequately demonstrating how they address human rights risks in their mineral supply chains, potentially leaving communities exposed to exploitation, health risks and environmental harm caused by the rapid expansion of mines required for the metals used in batteries.”

Here are some excerpts from the report:

As global demand for battery minerals soars, the report calls for car makers to identify and mitigate human rights risks in their supply chains such as forced evictions, health harms from environmental pollution, and abuse of Indigenous Peoples’ rights in countries where minerals are extracted such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Philippines.

“The huge rise in demand for the metals needed to make electric vehicle batteries is putting immense pressures on mining-affected communities,” said Amnesty’s International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard.

“The human rights abuses tied to the extraction of energy transition minerals are alarming and pervasive and the industry’s response is sorely lacking. Communities are suffering from forced evictions, health issues caused by pollution and difficulties accessing water. As demand for electric vehicles increases, manufacturers must ensure people’s human rights are respected.”

…

“Mining for the minerals used in electric vehicles can entail huge risks for people and the environment. Amnesty International’s previous research has shown how industrial cobalt is linked to forced evictions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Car companies need to use their massive leverage as global minerals buyers to influence upstream mining companies and smelters to mitigate these human rights risks,” said Agnès Callamard.

In terms of supply chain mapping disclosures, companies like BYD, Geely Auto, Hyundai, General Motors, and Mitsubishi Motors scored the lowest, failing to provide detailed information about their supply chains. Furthermore, BYD does not disclose smelter, refiner, or mine site names. Geely Auto provided only general supplier locations without specifying mineral extraction sites.

Hyundai and Mitsubishi Motors demonstrated a similar lack of transparency, with no evidence of comprehensive supply chain mapping or mine site identification for cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel, making it difficult for stakeholders to verify how these operations affect nearby communities.

[zvaigzdelasas]

Details of the GM deal were not announced, but sources said the UAW won the same package of wage increases it agreed at the other two automakers, which raises top pay for veteran workers by 33%.[...]

Fain must now get the contracts ratified by rank-and-file UAW members. That process began on Sunday as Fain met with leaders of Ford-UAW local unions.

30 Oct 23

[anti-clerical]

What to Consider Before Hiring a Nationwide Car Carrier Service

When it comes to transporting your car across the country, choosing the right nationwide auto transport companies is crucial. With so many options available, it’s important to know what factors to consider before making a decision. From understanding costs and insurance to checking reviews and delivery times, being informed can save you time, money, and stress.

This guide will help you identify key points to evaluate, ensuring that your car arrives safely and on time. Let’s explore what to keep in mind before hiring a car carrier service.

The Importance of Transparent Pricing

Transparent pricing is crucial when it comes to finding information about a reliable nationwide car transportation reviews. Car owners deserve to know exactly what they are paying for and should not be surprised by hidden costs or unexpected fees. Transparent pricing builds trust between the customer and the auto transport company, ensuring a smooth and satisfactory experience for both parties.

Types of Additional Fees

Auto transport services may have various additional fees that customers should be aware of. Some common types of additional fees include:

Storage Fees: If the vehicle needs to be stored at a facility before or after transportation, there may be storage fees involved.

Expedited Delivery Fees: If you need your vehicle to be transported within a shorter timeframe than usual, there might be an expedited delivery fee.

Insurance Coverage Upgrades: Standard insurance coverage provided by the auto transport company may have limitations, so customers might opt for additional insurance coverage at an extra cost.

Fuel Surcharges: Fluctuating fuel prices can lead to fuel surcharges being added to the overall cost of transportation.

It is essential for customers to inquire about these potential additional fees upfront and ensure that they are included in the initial quote provided by the auto transport company.

Avoiding Hidden Costs

To avoid hidden costs with auto transport services, here are some tips:

Read Contracts Carefully: Thoroughly review all contracts and agreements before signing them, paying close attention to any fine print or clauses regarding additional charges.

Ask Questions: Don't hesitate to ask the best nationwide auto transport about any potential hidden costs or fees that may arise during the transportation process.

Get Everything in Writing: Request written documentation detailing all costs and fees associated with the auto transport service to have a clear record of what is included in the agreed-upon price.

Research and Compare: Conduct thorough research on the reliable nationwide car transport, comparing their pricing structures, services offered, and customer reviews to ensure you choose a reputable company that offers transparent pricing.

By being proactive and well-informed, customers can minimize the risk of encountering unexpected fees or hidden costs when using auto transport services.

Transparency in pricing should be a top priority for both customers and auto transport companies to foster trust and provide a positive experience.

Research and Choose a Reputable Nationwide Car Carrier Company

Before you can transport your car with a nationwide car carrier company, it is important to conduct thorough research on a reputable and reliable company. Start by asking for recommendations from friends, family, or colleagues who have previously used such services.

Additionally, read online reviews and ratings to find more information of the experiences other customers have had with different companies.

Once you have gathered a list of potential car carrier companies, it is essential to verify their credentials and licenses. Check if they are registered with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and have the necessary insurance coverage. You can also check their safety records on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's website.

Considerations when Choosing a Nationwide Car Carrier Company:

Years of experience in the industry

Type of services offered (open or enclosed transport)

Pricing and payment options

Insurance coverage provided

Delivery time-frame

Get Quotes and Compare Services

Once you have narrowed down your list of potential car carrier companies, reach out to each one to request quotes for transporting your car. Provide them with accurate information about your vehicle, including its make, model, dimensions, and any modifications that may affect transportation.

When comparing quotes, consider not only the price but also the services included. Some companies may offer additional perks like door-to-door delivery or real-time tracking updates. It is important to weigh these factors against the cost to determine which option provides the best value for money.

Tips for Comparing Car Carrier Quotes:

Ensure all quotes include similar levels of insurance coverage

Ask about any additional fees that may apply, such as storage charges or fuel surcharges

Inquire about the company's cancellation and refund policies

Check if they offer expedited shipping options if you need your car delivered urgently

Prepare Your Car for Transportation

Prior to handing over your car to the car carrier company, it is important to properly prepare it for transportation. Start by thoroughly cleaning both the interior and exterior of the vehicle. This will make it easier to inspect for any pre-existing damages and ensure a smooth handover process.

Next, remove all personal belongings from the car. The car carrier company is not responsible for any items left inside the vehicle during transport, so it is best to empty it completely. Additionally, disable or deactivate any toll tags or parking passes to avoid unnecessary charges during transit.

Steps to Prepare Your Car for Transportation:

Clean both the interior and exterior of the vehicle

Inspect for any existing damages and take clear photos as documentation

Remove all personal belongings from the car

Disable toll tags or parking passes

Ensure the fuel tank is no more than a quarter full to reduce weight

Finding a trustworthy auto transport service in California and nationwide is essential for secure, swift, and hassle-free car transportation. By considering key factors such as experience, reputation, pricing, and customer support, you can locate a reliable company.

Additionally, verifying certifications and licenses, checking the track record of safely transporting vehicles, and consulting reputable resources for reviews and ratings will help you make an informed decision.

Be cautious of red flags indicating an unreliable company. Taking steps to ensure the safe transportation of your vehicle, such as thorough inspection, removing personal belongings, and providing accurate contact information, is crucial.

Reliable auto transport companies may offer additional services like enclosed carriers, GPS tracking, expedited shipping, door-to-door service, and insurance coverage options for added protection.

With this guide in mind, you can confidently find a trustworthy auto transport services in california for your car transportation needs.

[coimbrabertone]

Champ Car: the World Series that Actually Was.

There's the old joke that Europeans always throw around, that we Americans invent our own sports that only we play, and then we call it the World Series. Now, nevermind that the baseball World Series features playing talent from all across the world - Shohei Ohtani, the top player right now, is Japanese, for instance - because there was an American sport that truly was a world series.

Champ Car.

The Champ Car story begins in 1978, when, following a plane crash that led to the deaths of eight top USAC - United States Auto Club - officials, Dan Gurney wrote the White Paper, calling for massive reforms. Dan Gurney was not only a team owner in CART, but his All-American Racers - under the guise of Anglo-American Racers - bad previously competed in Formula One.

In the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix, Dan Gurney won in his own car, the Eagle Mark 1, also known as the T1G. This beauty of a car, with its Weslake V12 engine, marked the only time that an American car with an American driver won a Formula One race.

When that guy says that your series is fucked, it's fucked.

So, Dan's White Paper led to the creation of CART - Championship Auto Racing Teams - which marked the team owners taking control of the series and organizing it on their principles. For more detail on this era of CART, I recommend Elizabeth Blackstock's Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys podcast, which recently did an episode on this.

For our purposes, the important thing to note is that, by the late 80s, CART was doing business as the "CART PPG Indy Car World Series" and began putting on events inside the US, but also outside of it. Toronto came first in 1986, there was a failed attempt to race in Fuji in 1989, a successful race in Surfers Paradise, Australia, from 1991, and a race in Vancouver from 1990.

There was a problem, however.

The reason that the Fuji race in 1989 failed was because the FIA intervened against CART racing outside of North America. CART's attention soon shifted to Surfers Paradise, where the FIA put pressure on the Confederation of Australian Motorsports to prevent Surfers Paradise from going ahead. Nevertheless, by 1991, CART was able to put on the Gold Coast IndyCar Grand Prix, which would soon become a mainstay on the CART calendar.

Shortly afterwards, CART and the FIA would reach a settlement: Surfers Paradise would be grandfathered in, CART had freedom to race anywhere they wanted in North America, but everywhere else in the world, CART would be restricted to ovals.

The first of these international ovals came at the 1.9-mile trapezoid known as "Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway" at Jacarepaguá, the former Formula One track in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This came in 1996, as CART was experiencing the split, where the Indy Racing League broke away and took the Indy 500 with them.

In 1998, backed by Honda, Indycar would see another international oval in the form of Twin Ring Motegi, finally giving the series its race in Japan.

The loss of the Indy 500 seemed to mark CART doubling down on the international expansion, because in 2001, two additional international ovals followed: Lausitzring in Germany and Rockingham Motor Speedway (no relation to Rockingham Speedway, formerly known as North Carolina Motor Speedway) in the UK. Additionally, the 2001 season opener was on the Fundidora Park street circuit in Monterrey, Mexico.

Between Monterrey, Motegi, Toronto, Vancouver, Germany, Rockingham, and Surfers Paradise, seven of the series' twenty events were held outside of the US. It was supposed to be eight of twenty-one, however, the Rio 200 was cancelled in 2001 and the event never returned.

2001 was generally a season of disasters for CART, as its showpiece European doubleheader of Germany and Rockingham was overshadowed first by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and then by Alex Zanardi's paralyzing crash at the Lausitzring.

2001, between various disasters, teams defecting to the IRL to get into the Indianapolis 500, and the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement placing stricter limitations on tobacco advertising, marked the beginning of the end for CART.

However, two things happened.

First, the European Commission's Competition Directorate began a probe into the FIA in 1999, accusing them as acting as a monopoly on motorsports. They believed that the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone were using Formula One and their other series to block competitors, prevent rival series, and prevent contracted circuits from hosting competing events. By 2001, the FIA and EC would settle, and the FIA would no longer have a monopoly on motorsports.

In the short term, this allowed CART to replace the struggling Rockingham event with a "Champ Car London Trophy" at Brands Hatch for 2003, in the long term...well, I'll get to that in a moment.

Second, after the 2003 CART season, the series went bankrupt and it was eventually bought out by a trio of team owners, Gerry Forsythe (Team Player's), Kevin Kalkhoven (PK Raving), and Paul Gentilozzi (Rocketsports) who rescued the series. Buying a supply of Ford's Cosworth engines, they put together the Champ Car World Series as a successor to CART.

The 2004 CCWS season consisted of fourteen races, of which, Monterrey, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Surfers Paradise, were outside of the United States.

In 2005, Vancouver was replaced by Edmonton.

In 2007, Montreal would be replaced by Mont Tremblant, additionally, a Belgian race at Zolder and a Dutch race at Assen were added. Monterrey was lost, but it was not seven events in the US, seven outside.

The 2008 Champ Car World Series that never was, was due to add Jerez to the calendar, making for six US races to eight outside of the United States.

Instead, however, Champ Car merged with the IRL to create the modern Indycar series.

In 2008, Edmonton was retained, Surfers Paradise was a non-championship finale, and there was also the race at Motegi, which had joined Honda in defecting from CART to the IRL in 2003.

In 2009, Surfers Paradise would go away, but Toronto would return.

Motegi would persist until 2010, but the oval would be damaged in the 2011 Japanese earthquake and the resulting tsunami. A final race in 2011 - appropriately called "Indy Japan: the Final" - would instead be held on the Motegi road course, as seen in MotoGP.

Edmonton would last until 2012.

From 2010-2013, Indycar put together its own overseas race, the Sao Paulo Indy 300 on a street circuit in Anhembi Parque. Thus 2014 was the first time since 1990 that there was not an Indycar race of some form outside of North America.

To make up for this, 2014 had three doubleheader races, at Belle Isle, Houston, and in Toronto.

Since then, there was an attempt to return to Brazil in 2015 at the other Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, this one in Brasilia, but that one failed to materialize.

Likewise, there was supposed to be an Indycar exhibition race at Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina in either 2024 or 2025, however, the controversial President Javier Milei slashed government spending, which ultimately killed not only the Indycar Argentina event, but also the long running Argentinian Motorcycle Grand Prix in MotoGP.

Champ Car was a flawed series. It was the spectre of CART dragging out the American open wheel racing split for another four years. In those four years, Sebastien Bourdais won the championship each time, him and his Newman/Haas Racing team often seeming like the only competent team in a sea of Brazilian paydrivers and Formula One rejects.

That being said, it marked the high point of Indycar racing overseas and, despite only existing for four years, managed to build a completely new car - the Panoz DP01 - to replace its aging Lola B02/00 chassis.

There is a lot that modern Indycar is doing right - the return of ovals with doubleheaders at Iowa and Milwaukee in addition to the Gateway race, and now the season finale at 1.3-mile Nashville Superspeedway is great - however, one area where it is supremely lacking is international events.

The 2024 NTT Indycar Series has drivers from all over the world - my last blogpost was about a Kiwi doing 234.2 miles per hour around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - but it does not have the schedule to back it up. The fact that one of the most popular stars in the series in Pato O'Ward is literally from Monterrey, Mexico and the series hasn't even seriously considered going back there is downright foolish.

NASCAR is making moves to potentially go to Montreal, Canada and Mexico City, Mexico as early as 2025. If NASCAR, with exactly two foreign drivers - Daniel Suarez and Shane Van Gisbergen - beats Indycar to international expansion, then the Penske Entertainment regime will have truly failed.

And that makes me sad, because like I made clear in the last blogpost, Team Penske is an amazing team with so much history and so many successes.

I just wish their series ownership was as successful as their race teams.

[things-about-cars-in-posts]

What would you consider the best, most reliable, low maintenance car? Bonus points for affordability. After having to take my 2011 Corsa to the garage for the fourth time this year due to a faulty temp sensor (this car just runs on a constant fever I swear. I'm in the UK for goodness sakes it shouldn't get that hot!!!), I'm curious as to whether there are any cars that don't have expiry dates outside of carefully maintained classics.

Well someone's not read my shooting brake post that thoroughly eh! :P

Jokes aside, I've touched on reliability a couple of times so those could be interesting reads for you, but I can tell you that, you'll hear it a lot, Toyota Land Cruisers are usually what you see when a dozen people need to cross a desert and camels aren't an option. And I cannot talk about the durability of old Toyotas without bringing up a piece of television that has been burned into my mind from when I was six or seven to this day and has never faded or faltered in clarity for a single of the seconds between them. Like, genuinely, you go pay me a visit eight years since I last saw it to hit me with a trick question about shot composition details and as you open the door shouting it you walk in on me losing my virginity and I shoo you away yelling "Piss off with your trick questions, I'm getting laid here".

But in terms of advice that is more actionable for you, I would as noted in other posts advise Toyotas and Hondas, and by extension Toyota's luxury brand Lexus (but please don't consider this advice against anything else, especially because these brands, Toyota and Lexus especially, have in some contexts developed a bit of a premium due to their reputation). And I know what you're thinking: "Mate I've a Corsa ya think I could get me a Lexus?" And the answer is yes. And other positively splendid pieces of kit.

I mean, you can find yourself plenty of first generation Lexus LSs in various states of rattiness, and one of those most famously did literally a million miles so I'm pretty sure you're going to be good on that front.

...but if you're not in the extremely lucky position of ULEZ compliance not being a dealbreaker, while looking for those, I also found some second generations...

...and I saw an ad for a third generation, and you know when you see an item and a price and you go through the description just to find out what the deal is and as you comb through you slowly realize that the part where they explain how this is not actually a functioning, usable product isn't there you start whispering "what the fuck? what the fuck?" and you put your hands in your hair and- yeah this is that level. Like genuinely I do not CARE if you were not asking purchasing advice and are not interested in changing your car you go phone your insurance for a quote and if it is anything below "This insurance price will actually ruin my life" you go click on that "Buy it now" button before someone else does.

But of course you may want a smaller car, what with coming from a Corsa and all that. Well, if that's the case, there's a little beauty that you're going to love love, and needs no TLC you and my help can't tackle. Remember my kei sportscars post? Well guess what it just so happens to turn out:

(if you are actually interested in getting a new car but have requirements these don't fulfill don't hesitate to drop me a line, there is little I love more than window shopping car ads and I have plenty other great ideas. If you want a new car you are going to end up with something cool whether you like it or not.)

Links in blue are posts of mine explaining the words in question - if you liked this post, you might like those!

[shamelessrabbithole]

If you've been following me for a while, you know how much I enjoy a good screen-match moment. I've been interested in the Foxbody production from the start and have found it really frustrating not to be able to identify the autobody shop where they filmed the dance scene. I can tell that it's propped with old-fashioned signage and even these red cabinets are uncommon because they are specific to the Ford brand motor company and to find any intact to purchase or rent is hard because they're collector's items.

Anyway, since for the life of me, I can't find this particular film set, I thought I might look for the car. And, I think I tracked it down. Cam would have rented it from the Picture Car Warehouse in Vallejo, California. It's is a 1985 Ford Mustang convertible and rents for $450 a day. The main difference that I can see is that the headrests have either been replaced or removed. But otherwise, both cars have very similar details, including auto-body damage.

The hood paint seen here has a similar wear pattern. 👇🏻

The hubcaps are a match. 👇🏻

Same streak of silver or gray on the bumper in the same corner spot on the side of the car that has a Ford ornament. 👇🏻

Same small ding on the edge of the black part of the driver's door. 👆🏻

I feel like he might've taken off or replaced the headrests, maybe because they interfered with the shot otherwise. Or the original ones were too beat up, though, in a movie like Cam's it would seem like the more beat up, the better. I dunno.

It also looks like he changed the lampshades and bedspread in this scene, so he might've taken similar liberties with the car, too. 👆🏻

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1972 Buick Silver Arrow III

Conceived by GM styling boss Bill Mitchell, the Silver Arrow III was a dramatic reinterpretation of the production boattail Riviera introduced in 1971.

Just as the fabulous Silver Arrow I show car (read about it here) was based on the production 1963 Buick Riviera, the SIlver Arrow III was based on the production version of the third-generation boattail RIviera introduced in 1971. (There was also a Silver Arrow II based on the second-generation 1970 RIviera, but it barely saw the light of day.)  All the Silver Arrows, of course, were the creation of Bill Mitchell, the colorful boss of GM’s design studio from 1958 to 1977.

Much as he did with the Silver Arrow I, Mitchell had the Silver Arrow III extensively modified to more closely resemble its original design studio counterpart (above).  The greenhouse and rear quarter panels were reworked and the roofline was lowered to produce a sleeker, more dramatic profile. (For comparison, see our feature on the production 1971 Buick Riviera here.) Other classic Mitchell touches included wire wheels, an ensemble of six rectangular halogen headlamps across the front end, and an exquisitely detailed cockpit in silver leather with bucket seats and console.

Introduced at the 1972 Detroit Auto Show at Cobo Hall, the Silver Arrow III boasted a number of advanced features, including four-wheel disc brakes and Max Trac, an early form of electronic traction control that was offered on the production Riviera as well. Above the backlight at the trailing edge of the roof was a set of high-level warning lamps that also served as secondary directional indicators. Additional show-car touches included a fully chromed and detailed 455 CID Buick V8 under the hood.

When the Silver Arrow III appeared on show floor at Detroit, Chicago, and elsewhere in 1972, we’re not quite sure what the ultimate effect was, except perhaps to throw some shade on the more conservatively styled production Riviera. It is known that Mitchell was quite proud of the two Silver Arrows—here, below, he’s shown posing with the pair. Both Silver Arrow I and Silver Arrow III are still in existence today.   -Photos courtesy of General Motors.