"You're very welcome, Dr. Richards," HERBIE chirped, then zipped off to the recharge station.
Johnny took a closer look at the bits and pieces scattered around Reed's lab. It wasn't the usual jumble of complicated machinery. It was stuff he actually recognized. Pistons, valves, wedge heads, gears. Reed never did anything in half measures.
"Sweet." This was better than week old reruns. Johnny was pretty satisfied with the performance of his cars so he hadn't overhauled anything in a while. It'd be fun to dive into a new project.
He walked over to join Reed and picked up one of the clay models. He turned it over a few times, then peered over at the legal pad. "What do you have so far?"