Last night, I saw Christopher Nolan’s three-hour long adaptation of O Brother Where Art Thou, set in the Bronze Age Greek world and titled The Odyssey. Christopher Nolan is, of course, a very good director and takes great care to insure that everything seen in the movie matches his vision perfectly. The entire film is a testimony to one man’s very specific vision of a particular part of the world at a particular time and place, which means that everything that shows up on that screen can be understood to be very carefully chosen.

And, of course, that includes the cars.

Like every other bit of scenery, prop, environment, and the overall mise-en-scène, Nolan has clearly very carefully curated the cars that appear in the movie, and I think he (and, of course, his team of some of the very best car-casters in Hollywood) have done a brilliant job. The cars chosen were absolutely not chosen at random; there is always some deeper meaning behind them.

One of the simpler ones is what you see up top there, where a Heinkel Trojan was used in a scene that takes place near the end of the Trojan War that kicks off the events of the whole movie. Maybe the use of a Trojan in this context feels obvious, but I think it’s a clever nod to the overall themes of the movie.

Similarly, the long panning shot of a battlefield’s aftermath and impromptu graveyard, showing the devastating human toll of the war, is deftly balanced out by the inclusion of that rare and wonderful Citroën 2CV Sahara, one of the dual-engined four-wheel drive 2CVs.

The car is very much at home in that arid, rugged environment, and its militaristic simplicity heightens the tone of the scene and establishes the context further. It just fits, and is masterful car casting on Nolan’s part.

At first I was a little taken aback by the use of an Oldsmobile Toronado in the scenes where the Trojan Horse, secretly packed full of Greeks (is this a spoiler? Do I need to do spoiler alerts for stories almost three millennia old?) is being dragged into the gates of Troy.

But, the more I thought about it, the more sense it made: there’s a power to the big V8 Toronado, one that reflects the power of Troy at that moment, during the actions that lead to their destruction. And, like the Trojan Horse, the Toronado holds a sort of secret, at least it did when it was first introduced, in the form of its front-wheel drive layout. I think that’s what Nolan is getting at here, and, as a gearhead, I appreciate it.

Nolan’s films are generally quite dark, something he has been criticized for in the past, and while I tend, generally, to agree that often his scenes feel too underlit and desaturated, sometimes there’s a Caravaggio-like chiaroscuro that these dramatically lit scenes take on that works phenomenally well.

Here we see a Volvo 240 with additional driving lights used to great effect in such a dark scene; you never really get to see the car clearly, and I think that just makes its use all the more powerful.

There’s a powerful scene of Odysseus finally making it back to the shores of Ithaca, where he is visited once again by the presence of the goddess Athena. The scene is one of finally getting a glimmer of hope after an incredibly long and torturous journey, and I love how Nolan emphasized this flickering spark of hope by having a yellow Amphicar swim by in the background, unmentioned but a potent reminder that this beleaguered man’s fortunes have, at least, the possibility of change, if he can live up to this long-sought outcome.

While I’d hesitate to say The Odyssey is a car movie, or even really about cars, I do respect the car casting and how appropriate and careful it all seemed to be. It would be really easy to make the cars feel like just some tacked-on afterthought in a movie like this, but Nolan managed to pull it off with an artful grace and an unexpected gravity.

Fantastic work. I definitely recommend you go see it, and if there are other cars that you think deserve special mention, let me know in the comments!

The Odyssey images: Universal Pictures

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Nintendo urged a court to dismiss a lawsuit demanding that it pass tariff refunds on to customers, saying that people who bought a Switch console or other products have no legal right to refunds that Nintendo is due to receive from the government.

Nintendo said in a motion to dismiss yesterday that plaintiffs are "ask[ing] this Court to invent a legal duty out of whole cloth to retroactively re-price completed sales simply because the legal landscape has changed." Nintendo said the plaintiffs "have no legal entitlement to the tariff refunds Nintendo stands to receive."

The lawsuit was filed in April by two customers who seek to represent a class of all US residents who bought Nintendo products from February 2025 to February 2026. California resident Gregory Hoffert and Washington resident Prashant Sharan filed the class action complaint in US District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleging unjust enrichment and a violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act's prohibition on unfair or deceptive acts.

"Nintendo engaged in unfair acts by: (i) raising prices due to tariffs; (ii) failing to disclose that it intended to seek tariff refunds; and (iii) retaining tariff refunds despite having passed the costs to its customers," the lawsuit alleged. In their unjust-enrichment claim, plaintiffs said Nintendo profits were "unjustly obtained as a result of its price increases on goods subject to unlawful tariffs." Nintendo raised prices for the original Switch console by $30 to $50 and added $5 to $10 to the prices of various Switch 2 accessories.

Nintendo told the court that "the doctrine of unjust enrichment does not apply when a party voluntarily pays a purchase price and receives a product in return." Nintendo said plaintiffs "received exactly what they paid for: Nintendo products that Plaintiffs knowingly and voluntarily purchased at the advertised price. Nor is there anything 'unjust' about Nintendo retaining money that it may receive from the government as tariff refunds. The fact that Nintendo stands to receive tariff refunds does not give Plaintiffs any legal entitlement to those funds."

Consumers paid price of Trump tariffs

A similar lawsuit was filed in May against Sony by plaintiffs who bought PlayStation consoles. Sony has not yet filed a motion to dismiss that case, which is in the Northern District of California, but is likely to fight it using similar legal reasoning as Nintendo's. Another lawsuit seeking tariff refunds for Xbox buyers was filed against Microsoft on July 17.

Many companies raised prices in response to tariffs imposed by President Trump. In February, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump illegally imposed the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs, and the lengthy refund process began in April.

Trump imposed another round of tariffs after the Supreme Court ruling, and those tariffs were judged to be illegal by the US Court of International Trade. Ordinary residents of the US have paid the price of Trump's trade war.

"As it stands, Defendant has retained profits generated from its sales of products subject to tariff-related price increases and should not be permitted to retain those ill-gotten profits when it is seeking a refund of the duties it paid," the lawsuit against Nintendo said.

It's easy to see why consumers are angry about having paid tariff-inflated prices. The government isn't issuing refunds to any resident who indirectly paid for Trump's tariffs. The government refund portal set up after the Supreme Court ruling is for importers and authorized customs brokers.

Over 100 tariff lawsuits against businesses

Nintendo is one of many companies that sued the Trump administration in an attempt to make sure the government doesn't worm its way out of issuing refunds. The class action against Nintendo pointed to this lawsuit as evidence that "Nintendo stands to receive a windfall: it has already recouped tariff costs from consumers through higher prices, and it now stands in line to recover those same unlawful tariff payments from the federal government."

Lawsuits seeking refunds from companies aren't just being filed against gaming console makers. Since the Supreme Court ruling, "plaintiffs’ firms have filed more than 100 putative consumer class actions against businesses nationwide that have sought refunds of tariffs paid as a result of these now invalidated charges," said a July 9 article by Foley & Lardner lawyers. These cases have been filed in more than 30 federal districts in over 20 states, they wrote.

The legal theory behind the lawsuits is not specific to any industry. "Plaintiffs have filed class actions against companies across varying industries and points in the supply chain from food manufacturers to logistics providers. The specific allegations in each case differ, but the primary legal theory is the same: companies cannot pass tariff costs to consumers and retain government refunds for the same tariffs," Foley & Lardner lawyers Erik Swanholt and Kelsey Boehm wrote.

Holland & Knight lawyers wrote in a legal alert that "any business that both passed tariff costs through to customers and is pursuing government refunds could become a litigation target."

Nintendo tries to compel arbitration

With lawsuits in the early stages, no court has ruled on the core legal theories, Holland & Knight lawyers wrote. Businesses have several potential defenses, such as arguing that there can be no unjust enrichment when there is a contract between the parties.

"In many jurisdictions, unjust enrichment is unavailable where an express contract governs the parties' relationship," Holland & Knight partners Ashley Akers and Austin Rainwater wrote.

Businesses can also argue "that the challenged charges were imposed while the IEEPA tariffs remained legally effective and enforceable," the Holland & Knight alert said. "According to this view, the Supreme Court's subsequent decision invalidating the tariffs does not necessarily render charges collected before that decision unlawful or create a retroactive obligation to refund amounts previously paid."

Although the lawsuit against Nintendo did not allege breach of contract, the Holland & Knight alert said some of the tariff cases make this claim. "This is the principal claim in many shipping and logistics cases. Plaintiffs allege that tariff-related surcharges were not authorized under applicable shipping agreements, terms of service or tariff schedules," the law firm said.

Companies are likely to ask courts to enforce mandatory arbitration provisions contained in their terms and conditions, and Nintendo has already done so. Nintendo filed a motion to compel arbitration with Hoffert because of evidence that he "affirmatively accepted contractual agreements with Nintendo at least twice." Nintendo said in its motion to dismiss that it "expressly reserves the right to move to compel Mr. Sharan’s claims to arbitration if discovery reveals his claims are arbitrable."

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In case you missed it, which seems impossible but no judgements, David has been hard at work building a World War II Jeep essentially from scratch, using nothing but parts sourced on eBay. As his Jeep was coming together in its resplendent red-oxide primer finish, I was looking for a new radio-control project with an eye toward something affordable and fun to finish rather than a higher-performance (and more expensive) model. Tamiya‘s Wild Willy 2 made the short list, and the added fun of finishing it off as an extremely loose replica (just barely) of David’s Jeep made it my final choice as a fun build that would be even more fun to share with you for Toy Car Thursday.

If this is your first exposure to hobby-quality RC, please understand that there are much more detailed, realistic, and high-tech models out there, and the Wild Willy is very much a beginner fun-runner model – in case its cartoony chibi-style design wasn’t already getting that point across. I plan to do more advanced builds in future Toy Car Thursday installments (hopefully with a Traxxas TRX-4 soon) to show you what that end of the hobby spectrum looks like, but for now, let’s have some low-cost RC fun.

First, a little about the Wild Willy 2, or 2000 as it’s also called (so named because it came out in late 1999). That’s right, we’re building what is essentially a 27-year-old kit today – and you thought full-size automakers held onto platforms for a long time.

But remember, this is the Wild Willy 2, the sequel if you will. The original Wild Willy debuted in 1982, and was dubbed Tamiya’s first “stunt vehicle,” as its high center of gravity and short wheelbase made it a wheelie machine.

The Wild Willy 2 retains the look of the original, but is on the WR-02 chassis and replaces the original kit’s solid rear axle suspension with a fully independent design. Here’s what you’ll find when you open the box:

It’s pretty much standard for all RC hobbyists to grab the wheels and tires out of the box first. The WW2 gets squishy chevron tires pre-mounted to chrome wheels. Most RC models require the tires to be superglued to the wheels so they don’t peel off under cornering and acceleration loads, but the WW2 is mild enough that no gluing is required.

Most RC models’ bodies are vacuum formed from .040 clear polycarbonate for durability and light weight, and painted from the inside. The WW2 uses an injection-molded ABS body that is mostly unchanged from the original. The biggest difference is the grille, which sports horizontal openings instead of vertical – almost certainly to avoid licensing issues.

I do wish Tamiya molded the seat and fuel tank separately so they could be installed after painting, but oh well. The proportions are cartoonified, but it’s very nicely detailed and precisely molded.

The multi-piece body is assembled with screws, no gluing required. Digging deeper into the box, we find the assembly manual and parts bags. The bags are lettered to correspond with steps, and if you can handle a no. 2 screwdriver (JIS preferred, just get the Tamiya one), you’ll have no trouble – here, page through the manual yourself.

Like a static model kit, the plastic parts are attached to sprues. Numbers molded alongside the parts make it easy to ID what each step calls for.

You’ll need a little painting skill to get Willy close to his box-art look. He’s a pretty large figure compared to tiny 1/24 and smaller guys, so it’s really not that hard to achieve decent results. You can also see the NOS bottle, winch, steering wheel, and other accessories on the tree.

Willy’s a determined-looking guy, I gotta say.

A slight bummer for me is the factory-assembled gearbox. I wanted to do it myself, Tamiya! No matter, I can still take it apart. And why would I bother? So I can install ball bearings, that’s why. Nylon bushings are standard. You can see the installed Mabuchi 540 brushed motor, the quintessential stock motor for 1/10 scale models. Much, much faster (and brushless) motors are available, but for Wild Willy, the silver-can 540 is enough.

Tamiya supplies an electronic speed control made by popular brand HobbyWing, but you’ll need to provide a two-channel transmitter and steering servo to complete the model, as well as a battery and charger to power it.

Before any assembly, I did some disassembly and installed ball bearings in the transmission. This set was just ten bucks at Amazon.

The WW2 uses a gear differential, which I opened up so you can get a peek inside. The gears are pressure-cast metal.

Power is transmitted from the diff outputs to the rear wheels via “dogbones,” a simple solution that allows for smooth suspension movement and accommodates the change in distance between the wheel hubs and differential as the suspension cycles.

The WR-02 chassis is modular, with the front and rear subassemblies completed individually and then joined together.

It’s getting there …

Figure painting underway. If your hobby bench isn’t a mess, you’re doing it wrong.

Along with the ball-bearing upgrade, a wanted to give my WW2 a better set of shocks right from the get-go. I don’t mind plastic shocks, but the WW2’s friction-damped units are pretty meh. A screw head is pushed and pulled through a greased rubber sleeve to provide damping force. It works, kinda, but the feel is terrible.

I picked up a set of cheap aluminum oil-damped shocks when I ordered the ball bearings. Incredibly, I didn’t even need to fill them; they arrived full of oil, ready to install.

Plastic on the left, fancy aluminum on the right (obviously). In addition to better bump-eating ability, I also bought the shocks purely for a bit of anodized color amongst all the black.

Getting close! Just need to paint a few more details …

Et voila, there he is, Wild Willy ready to go wild.

Note the wheelie bar tucked between the shocks.

I’d give my figure painting job a firm six out of ten. I’d go higher, but the detail and realism the guys who score 10 can achieve is way too impressive for me to be higher than a six.

Willy’s got NOS! It’s not hooked up to anything, but he’s got it. I’ll make a little tubing for it on a rainy day.

Lots of fun! I’ll share video on socials when I get a chance to give Willy a good shakedown run. Hopefully you enjoyed hanging out for the build, and maybe you’re even inspired to build a Wild Willy (or Racy Tracy) of your own.

Story images: Peter Vieira
Top image graphics: Tamiya; Peter Vieira

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It feels like it’s been ages since there was more than one model of Fiat on sale new in America. First, there was that stint when the only offering was the 500X. Next, there was that run when the only model available was the 500e. However, a second Fiat has crossed the Atlantic. It’s called the Topolino, it’s unbelievably cute, and we finally know what it costs.

Back up a second: What on Earth is a Topolino? Well, the name was originally associated with the mousey-looking 1936-through-1955 Fiat 500, but has since been applied to a more modern small, low-output machine. The Topolino we’re talking about here is a sibling to the Citroën Ami, a low-speed electric vehicle built in Morocco that serves as a cuter alternative to a golf cart.

We’re talking just eight horsepower here, and a standard top speed of a mere 19 MPH. Juice comes from a little 5.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, and the Topolino sports a modest range of 46 miles. Granted, there is a quicker version coming. Fiat’s planning to launch a street-legal kit this autumn that raises the top speed of the Topolino to a dashing 25 MPH. Enough to keep up with city traffic, but don’t you dare try to take one of these on the interstate.

While the Topolino normally features the exact same door assembly on either side of the vehicle, you can have Fiat leave them behind at the factory. Should you live in a particularly sunny locale, the marvellously camp Dolce Vita version swaps the doors for ropes and adds a canvas roof. Just enough elemental protection for a light shower, not quite enough for gale-force winds. Best of all, the beach car version doesn’t come at a premium. Both Topolino variants carry a sticker price of $14,985 including a $990 freight charge. Yep, essentially $15,000. However, in the world of golf carts, that’s surprisingly okay value.

Let’s say you want a two-seat Club Car with a comparable propulsion system. That would be the Club Car Onward 2 Passenger Li-ION XR, which starts at $14,099 before freight. For that money, you get a top speed of 19 MPH and comparable range to the Topolino, but you don’t get doors or side panels or rear panels. It’s also not exactly street-legal, but then again, neither are the earliest Topolinos at launch.

What about something more substantial? Say, a GEM e2. With street-legal tires, proper rollover protection, and a real windshield, it was arguably the most car-like of the golf cart crop before the Topolino came along. However, the GEM e2 starts at $15,240 before freight, and that doesn’t include doors.

As crazy as it sounds, the Fiat Topolino might actually be an alright deal. It’s priced competitively against similar golf carts while offering no-cost weather protection and a windscreen defroster. Sure, nigh-on $15,000 is still a lot of money to spend on something limited to roads with speed limits of 35 MPH or less, but it could steal some real sales in this sort of space. Of course, it’s no Changli, but then again, what is?

Top graphic image: Fiat

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We are really talking here about corruption on a world-historical scale, the kind generally only found in tinpot dictatorships:

President Donald Trump’s reported income soared to more than $2.2 billion in 2025, as the president took in more than $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency, digital tokens and related partnerships, according to his latest financial disclosure forms.

The 927 pages of disclosures, released Tuesday, indicated that Trump’s income substantially increased after he reentered the White House last year.

Overall, Trump reported assets worth at least $2.4 billion and income of over $2.2 billion. His assets are almost certainly worth more, since the federal disclosure forms require only that asset values be reported in ranges that top out at“over $50 million,” which leaves the full value of the president’s holdings unclear.

In his 2024 financial disclosure, filed a year ago, Trump reported assets worth more than $1.6 billion and income of over $600 million.

In addition to income from crypto ventures, Trump reported over $620 million in real estate, hotel and golf-related income.

The president also reported receiving $86.5 million from settlements in five separate lawsuits against ABC, CBS, YouTube, Meta and the social media platform X.

The 2025 disclosure includes $635 million in royalties from a license agreement with Celebration Coins; at least $525 million in proceeds from token sales by World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency project founded by Trump and his sons; $65 million inproceeds from World Liberty Financial’s equity sale; and $196 million in net proceeds from a stablecoin transaction.

Trump also saw increased income from his golf clubs and resorts. He reported $121 million fromTrump National Doral in 2025, up from $110 million a year earlier, and $77 million from Mar-a-Lago, up from $56 million.

In retrospect, I’m not sure enough attention was paid to the fact that Hillary Clinton preferred not to use two BlackBerries in the 2016 campaign.

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A new state law limits Florida communities’ aims to offset greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the global climate and intensifying disasters such as hurricanes.

Specifically, HB 1217 prohibits local governments from pursuing net-zero emissions goals. At least 10 cities and counties have implemented such policies, including Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, and Leon County, where Tallahassee, the state capital, is located. But the new law will not necessarily upend these policies, said Bradley Marshall, senior attorney at Earthjustice, an advocacy group.

“It’s certainly meant to scare municipalities and local governments from trying to do things to further net-zero policies,” he said. “Now, its exact impact and what it exactly prohibits is probably up for some debate. Things that are adjacent to it—emissions reductions and even climate change reduction policies—on their face will not run afoul at all of a ban on adopting a net zero policy.” 

The measure requires local governments to submit an affidavit annually to the state Department of Revenue verifying compliance. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed the measure on April 22, Earth Day, and the law will take effect July 1. It states that “net zero policies, carbon taxes and assessments, and emission trading programs are detrimental to this state’s energy security and economic interests and inconsistent with the energy policy and the environmental policy of this state.” 

“I proudly sponsored HB 1217 to fight for jobs and affordability in Florida,” according to a statement provided by the office of Rep. Berny Jacques (R-Clearwater). “This bill protects our residents and businesses from additional costs by ridding our state of Green New Deal policies. Carbon taxes and fees are not welcome in the Free State of Florida.”

DeSantis implemented a law in 2024 erasing several instances of the words “climate change” from the state code and restructuring the state’s fossil fuel-based energy policy around reducing reliance on foreign sources and strengthening the energy infrastructure against “natural and manmade threats.” The measure also nullified goals aimed at enhancing renewable energy use. The goals were initiated in 2022 after 200 Floridians, all under the age of 25, filed a petition for rulemaking calling on the state to move toward 100 percent clean energy by 2050, a benchmark scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

“This bill is definitely part of a larger coordinated push by the political enablers of the fossil fuel industry to obstruct any tools—legal or legislative tools—to hold the industry accountable for its contributions to climate change,” said Laura Peterson, senior analyst at the Union for Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group. “Florida is really on the front lines. So I imagine the governor is taking this step because he sees what’s coming down the pike. It’s not getting better. So I can only assume that this is an effort to satisfy some of the pressures that he’s getting from donors and from his party to protect the industry. And he’s doing it at the expense of his constituents.”

There is overwhelming scientific consensus that fossil fuel emissions have accelerated the planet’s warming since the industrial age, leading to more extreme disasters such as hurricanes. One study concluded it now is scientifically feasible to link individual emitters with specific harms, for the sake of litigation.

HB 1217 also prevents local governments from purchasing items such as vehicles or appliances based on the fuels they use or production of the items. Local governments may not participate in carbon-trading programs or use public funds to support other organizations with net-zero policies. Cities and counties also may not charge a tax or fee tied with carbon emissions.

When the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) announced in 2020 its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, the municipal utility and city were recognized as leaders in a state where most local governments at the time were more focused on climate impacts such as sea level rise and flooding. The commitment set in motion one of the biggest evolutions at the utility in its nearly century-long history, utility leaders said at the time. OUC is the second-largest municipal utility in the state, serving more than 288,000 customers in Orange and Osceola counties.

“We are aware of the legislation regarding net-zero emissions policies,” a statement OUC provided to Inside Climate News says. “Our focus remains on delivering reliable, affordable energy while continuing to reduce our carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in a responsible and balanced way. Since 2020, we have made meaningful progress in lowering CO₂ emissions and remain committed to further reductions including a 50 percent reduction by 2030 and 75 percent by 2040.”

Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, and Broward and Miami-Dade counties also have been pursuing goals of net-zero emissions by 2050. Miami, Miramar, Pinellas County, and Sarasota have similar goals.

But in Leon County, leaders have taken several steps back in response to HB 1217. They rescinded a 2023 resolution declaring a climate emergency. They also rolled back plans to phase out fossil fuel-powered vehicles and amended a policy to remove a mandate for recycled paper. The Paul Russell Road facility, which the county bills as the nation’s first government retrofit building to achieve net-zero certification, will lose that certification, although the building’s solar and energy efficiency systems will continue operating unchanged.

Susan Glickman, vice president for policy and partnerships at The CLEO Institute, an advocacy group, worried the law could have a chilling effect on other local policies aimed at moving Florida to cleaner energy.

“It means that everyone is going to pay more money on their power bills, and there are plenty of people who can absorb a higher energy bill,” she said. “But there are a lot of people who cannot, and this is coming at a time when housing prices are up, groceries are up, and insurance prices are high. And so there are people who are suffering out there.”

This story originally appeared on Inside Climate News.

Amy Green covers the environment and climate change from Orlando, Florida. She is a mid-career journalist and author whose extensive reporting on the Everglades is featured in the book MOVING WATER, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, and podcast DRAINED, available wherever you get your podcasts. Amy’s work has been recognized with many awards, including a prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award and Public Media Journalists Association award.

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