Hendrix pushed down the accelerator on his modified GMC Bulldog stepvan, weaving between an old couple in a beige Jackrabbit and a convertible full of chipped-out teenagers. Trying to keep up with Synthia’s Saab Dynamit as she zipped through the afternoon traffic on Cal-Trans 405, heading toward the Santa Monica Mountains. Her car was a sleek and sporty inverted bubble of macroglass and cherry-red steel. It was exceptionally fast, and since his modified Americar was no longer functional, he had to follow her in the stepvan.