Robert Downey Jr. drove away from the final scene of 2012’s The Avengers in a low, open roadster finished in a deep red close to Iron Man’s armor, wearing a New York plate that read STARK 33. That exact car now sits on Cars & Bids with no reserve, and every dollar of the winning bid goes to a charity chosen with the buyer. American Honda will also cover the platform’s buyer’s fee once the sale closes on October 31.

The Acura Los Angeles design office, then led by Dave Marek, took the second-generation NSX concept from the Detroit auto show and ran with it, practically putting those design cues into the car it was developing. Trans FX in Oxnard, California, then created a resin and fiberglass bodyshell over a first-generation chassis, beginning with a relatively worn 1991 NSX with 252,000 kilometers. Marek subsequently revealed that he chose this car for a film set because they needed something that would start every time the cameras rolled, and nothing was better suited to that aim than the original NSX.

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The suspension was lowered by two inches, and aftermarket sport seats were added. For good measure, the wheels were staggered, with 18 inches up front and 20 inches in the back. The power still comes from the factory 3.0-liter DOHC VTEC V6 engine, which produces roughly 270hp and 210lb-ft of torque when new, and it is still mated to a five-speed manual transmission that sends power to the rear wheels.

The finished car has no hardtop or side windows, leaving the cockpit totally exposed to the elements. They also left the screen-used plate and some unique LED taillights in place. After all of the filming, Acura decided to keep the car, bringing it out of storage for public viewing in 2025 at Monterey Car Week and then again at Sundance.

A certificate of authenticity, a signed photo of the creative director with the car, one key, and two key fobs travel with it.Ownership comes with hard limits. The listing calls the car a non-registerable manufacturer prototype that carries no usable VIN for street purposes. It sells on a bill of sale, cannot be titled or driven on public roads, and remains subject to an Acura usage agreement.

In terms of the car’s condition, let’s just say that it’s been well-loved and used for the last dozen years or so. There are micro-scratches on the bumpers, A pillars, and doors, paint cracks on the C pillars, scuffs on the interior trim, and a bent armrest. Plus, the exact mileage on this car is practically a mystery, as it was only test driven in brief bursts of about 20mph while they were creating it.

So it’s worth emphasizing that whoever wins this auction will most likely see it as a nicely kept film prop rather than a daily driver. Which is interesting given that Acura essentially chose this high-mileage donor car because it knew it only needed it to be dependable enough to complete the task on camera.

When San Antonio–based software engineer Nikhil Jathar first went to Washington, D.C., to advocate for federal support for technology education and research funding, he was in awe of the opportunity. It was spring of 2025, not long after Jathar settled in the United States from India, when he got an invitation to join the annual Congressional Visits Day organized by IEEE-USA.

“My first reaction was, ‘Wow, I get to visit Congress,’ ” says Jathar, CTO of AvanSaber, a business software company he cofounded in 2014. At the time, he did not have a specific lobbying position on behalf of the company. But he was intrigued by the invitation—which goes out to all U.S. IEEE members—and as he read more about congressional visits, his motivation deepened. He realized: “I need to try this. I want to see where it goes.”

Congressional staffers say they welcome the knowledge and perspective that engineers like Jathar and other visitors from beyond Washington, D.C., provide. It’s also important for those visitors to be clear on what they are advocating for. One staffer for the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, who agreed to speak anonymously due to the office’s media policy, says, “Ideas for new policies come from multiple places. It could begin at the [legislator] or staff level, an ask from a constituent, or needs from industry. It’s up to us to figure out what would do the most good,” the staffer said. “For instance, if you leave it to the lobbyists, they’re understandably going to do what’s in their clients’ interests.”

For engineers in the United States, speaking with elected representatives is an effective way to shape key policies, but it takes some preparation and the right approach, as Jathar learned over the course of two visits.

Mapping Your Way Into Washington

Congress’s job is to act on behalf of the people, and it has rules for how people can lobby it. It distinguishes between broader advocacy—conversations between constituents and U.S. representatives—and professional lobbying, which involves paid professionals and is governed by the Lobbying Disclosure Act. Many professional groups like IEEE also organize congressional visits for their members. Those visits can be subject to lobbying rules, so the organizers told Jathar that: “You are representing the organization, not your own views.” He would need to stick to the talking points IEEE-USA had prepared for all its participants, regardless of their specialty, to promote across several congressional offices.

On Jathar’s first visit, those organizational talking points included advocating for funding smart grids, authorizing Department of Energy research, and investing in STEM education. That represents one of the trade-offs of access in Washington. IEEE-USA’s priorities didn’t all overlap directly with Jathar’s work, but they were broad enablers of science and technology and, he says, “STEM education funding is close to my heart.”

Anyone can approach their representatives in Washington with their personal priorities, Jathar notes, but given how pressed for time congressional staff are, they are more likely to prioritize a meeting that represents the views of as many of their constituents as possible. “I could have gone outside the IEEE structure,” Jathar says, but congressional staff “are more likely to listen if you are part of a much bigger organization.”

For Jathar’s first congressional visit, organizers assigned him to call on the offices of several representatives from both political parties based on where he lives: Representatives Greg Casar (D-Texas), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), and Barry Moore (R-Ala.). “Meeting a staffer or a senior member from their office is good. They tend to relate to these issues more than a representative, because a representative has 10 different high-level things they have to worry about whereas the staffer can be more focused on the policy details,” Jathar says.

A typical visit like this may last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, so Jathar kept his talking points simple and short. “First and foremost you’re gonna get a very small window,” he says, “Make sure you’ve got everything ready to present in bullet points and not a lot of jargon. You can always bring that out later if they ask more questions.” Simple visual aids, in the form of one-page handouts, may be helpful for communicating numeric or technical information, too.

“If you leave it to the lobbyists, they’re understandably going to do what’s in their clients’ interests.”–Staffer for the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

The House Science Committee staffer agrees: “I prefer meetings where people know what they want and know what we’re doing in Congress.” In addition to having a clear request, the staffer says engineers and other advocates should keep track of where Congress is in its cycle: Is it appropriations season, and when is the next budget being set? How far along is a given piece of legislation in the process, and what is realistic to change at that point?

During Jathar’s 2025 visit to one Capitol Hill office, he learned firsthand the importance of preparation. For one of the three representatives he visited, staff politely pointed out that the legislator they worked for was not on the committee with jurisdiction over the IEEE-USA talking point they were discussing. “They explained that there are only certain things [the legislator] can do on that issue and that there are other people we need to talk to, to achieve more,” Jathar recalls.

Shortcuts to Influence

Earlier this year, Jathar decided to go back to Capitol Hill with his newfound knowledge, again within the framework of an IEEE-USA visit. This time he was able to provide something else legislative staff want from engineers: authoritative technical knowledge.

“When I introduced myself as a software developer to one staffer, his first question was, ‘Do you think AI will replace coders?’ ” Jathar says. The conversation went back and forth, with the staffer asking Jathar and his other engineering companions questions. Jathar went on to explain that his company developed an open-source business-management software it calls ERPClaw, designed to be used with AI agents such as OpenClaw. That led naturally to discussing the role of open source in AI, which plays a role in one of IEEE-USA’s proposals for democratizing AI. This time Jathar was able to align his organization’s advocacy with his expertise and the staffer’s areas of interest.

It’s too soon to know what legislative impact that advocacy might have, but it’s the sort of informed, relevant proposal that legislative staff seek out. “The people who build trust have more cachet with congressional staff because they’ve asked for something that’s reasonably thought out,” the House Science Committee staffer says. In turn, congressional staffers can advocate better within their offices for policies brought to them by people they trust.

And talking about the issues you care the most about can deepen that trust. The House Science Committee staffer once visited Congress as an advocate before switching to the other side of the table. On that visit, as on Jathar’s, the professional society organizing the visit provided a pitch. “I was making a pitch that was given to me without a lot of personal buy-in,” the staffer says. Instead, “you should feel emotionally connected to any issue you’re advocating for.”

Jathar’s support for the open-source movement is like that. Open source gives smaller companies a foundation they can adapt and build upon, while allowing other developers to extend that work. “We can progress a lot faster,” Jathar says. “I’m not doing it only because it’s good for my business, but because I feel it’s good for any technological advancement.”

KRAFTON has launched Battlin, a new tournament platform for India’s gaming sector. The platform integrates every aspect of tournament participation, from discovery to hosting and rewards. It will initially focus on BGMI, helping players find and join tournaments more easily.

BGMI has plenty of competitive players, but finding and managing tournaments can still be difficult. Participants rely on group chats for room IDs and even on third-party apps to register for these events. Moreover, they even have to provide proof of completion through screenshots. This is where KRAFTON’s Battlin platform comes in handy. The platform lets you find, join, and track tournament results all in one place. It also displays reward conditions and disbursement timelines before registration.

The Battlin’ app gives tournament organizers features that let them control the whole process. They can set up the tournament, register participants, schedule matches, organize rooms, notify participants, track results, and provide rewards. Automated brackets, rooms, and notifications reduce the effort required to run competitions. The platform also manages reward disbursement, so organizers don’t have to pay participants. This helps make the process clearer for players. Battlin is open to individuals, content creators, colleges, gaming cafés, and gaming organizations that want to host tournaments. They can use the same infrastructure as official competitions to organize events and build audiences.

Battlin Open Season 1: Registration, Dates, and Prize Pool

Registration for Battlin’ Open Season 1 has now opened on KRAFTON’s new Battlin platform. Participants can register on Battlin until November 1, 2026. The tournament has 5,000 seats. The tournament will start on November 2, 2026, with two tracks. The winning team of Track 1 will win a BGIS slot and a cash prize worth Rs 5,00,000. The prize money for Track 2 will be Rs 15,00,000.

Track 2 Finale is scheduled for November 29, 2026. This event will be the first in the Battlin Open series to produce a winner. All the results of the tournament will be tracked via the platform where the rewards are going to be issued. KRAFTON states that Battlin tournaments will depend on players’ skills and performance. The platform offers no betting or staking features. Through accessible tournaments and transparent reward processes, Battlin’ aims to support grassroots competitive gaming in India.