My town of Palm Coast, Florida, is pretty much exactly as middle-class as its well-planned name implies. Not that it’s not a lovely place to live, just that it’s very much a what-you-see-is-whatyou- get sort of place.
In my immediate neighborhood–just a few blocks away on my drive to or from work–i…
Yeah, took me a long time to realise that a genuine enthusiast with a car not to my taste doesn't make them lesser or stupid... Hard work is hard work and should be appreciated for what it is. Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder and if we all shared the same vision and interpretation of what makes an awesome car, itd make for a very boring car scene indeed. Do I love all car scenes equally... definitely not. Can I respect the time, efforts and love that's gone into making a car what it is, absolutely.
I agree 100%. Next door is a 944 S2 track car complete with cage, etc.. Across the street the kid has a lifted XJ with big tires and a fresh coat of mud every weekend.
But the best is the old mechanic at the end of the block. When his old faded blue late 70's F series truck goes by the rumble from the side exhausts will rattle the windows. And then you hear the whine of the supercharger on the 460 he stuffed in there.
I think I need to move to a different neighborhood. All my neighbors have destroyed Camrys, Accords and such.
Oh my god.................. I am the old mechanic at the end of the block
I'm very much a Form Follows Function kind of guy, but when your function is to make a statement or to have a certain look... I usually have to tell myself; self, it's no different.
Donks are funny. 30 inch rims on a car with captain crunch painted on it? I approve.
My friend Kwame is really into the donk scene. He claims he was the first person to put 26" on a Caprice. He has a few donked out G-Bodies with crazy nice paint and mint custom interior. He does his own work and uses actual engineering to design his suspension. He actually owns a Rim and body shop in Virginia. He's not the most well spoken, and has a bit too many gold teeth, and pretty damn obnoxious but he's passionate and great at what he does to these cars. Before donk's he was into the slammed mini truck scene. Also, he's one of the funniest people I've meet.
Good for them. There are a lot of automotive scenes that I would never be involved in but I can definitely appreciate the hard work and efforts that people put in to their rides. Just the fact that they are doing something with their cars is cool. Just like last night, I spent 30 minutes talking to a guy that built old school low riders. I appreciated the work and the detail in the car but I would never own one.
kanaric wrote: Donks are funny. 30 inch rims on a car with captain crunch painted on it? I approve.
i had cap'n crunch for dinner the last 2 nights, i approve
I can appreciate good, sound engineering, whether it be on a donked B Body, lowered Acura, or a lowrider.
The only thing that grinds my gears are demolition derbies* and car guys who bite off more than they can chew and let classics rot, offering to anyone who'll listen their sad tale of how one day they'll get to it.
*Unless it involves most domestic products from 97-05. I'm looking at you, GM N-bodies.
I too need to move - my neighbors all take their leased Acura's into the dealer for service and washing. They look at me and probably wonder why I do such crude things. Wash a car by hand? Jack stands?
Anyone who rips on the Cap n' Chrunch Donks need to check himself when he fawns over a Gulf or Martini livery. Just sayin'.
In reply to Appleseed:
Yeah but one brings joy to kids and one brings joy to adults. And the other brings joy to stock holders. 
Datsun310Guy wrote: I too need to move - my neighbors all take their leased Acura's into the dealer for service and washing. They look at me and probably wonder why I do such crude things. Wash a car by hand? Jack stands?
I have similar experiences. Every time I go to work on the car I have to make a bunch of trips from my second floor apartment with jack, jack stands, tool box etc. I get a lot of stares, but I get the feeling it's more of: "Oil changes? That's for rich people."
In reply to daeman: I agree.
This is probably one of my favorite donks i've seen.
I didn't enjoy this article. I see the point, but I don't agree with it.
When you are driving down the highway next to a "donk", watch how that "suspension" travels when he hits a bump. spoiler alert- it doesn't. Also check out those giant brakes they added to stop the ridiculous monstrosity they created. Oh yeah, they spent all the bank on wheels. who's got time for brakes?
When your modifications are strictly for looks, safety and drivability go out the window. I feel the same way about stanced cars as well. You are taking a functional vehicle that is less likely to kill me when we are traveling next to each other, and making a 4000lb missile that you cant control.
Setting up a car for autocross isn't going to kill me. its going to make you a better driver, and less likely to kill me.
In the end, I don't care what you do, as long as it doesn't increase your chances of killing me (looking at you jacked up trucks).
In reply to lnlogauge:
Donks aren't very popular here but the few I've seen seem to be driven slowly and carefully so ar least the owners appear to be conscious of the way they handle and stop and drive accordingly.
Wally wrote: In reply to lnlogauge: Donks aren't very popular here but the few I've seen seem to be driven slowly and carefully so ar least the owners appear to be conscious of the way they handle and stop and drive accordingly.
I'm guessing you don't drive in atlanta very often. My experiences would be different. I'm also not convinced you can safely drive something unsafe at 70-80mph.
These were pre-donks. Think about it.
"Hi, my name's LuxInterior and I <3 donk"
There are a few nicely done donkmobiles here in the hood. When I see them, they make me smile... Just the way I do when I see a nicely done lowrider. We're all car enthusiasts. We just don't all have the same end goal. I'm down with that.
kanaric wrote:
The irony of "crush proof box"
I smiled.
Growing up in SoCal when I did I saw many different auto trends. There was the hot rodders with Camaro's, Chevelle's, Mustang's and whatever else they could stuff a big V8 into. Low-riders were a big trend also with the small skinny wheels, fancy paint and interior and often a chain steering wheel that we used to joke about matching handcuff bracelets. Then the gas crunch hit and compacts came into fashion. Lowered Pinto's/Mustang II's, Vega's, Datsun's and lowered mini trucks like the Courier and Luv. I was taught an appreciation for attention to detail and work as a youngster. The amount of work and detail in the low riders were amazing. Never really wanted one but greatly appreciated the detail and workmanship. Also amazing that most of the work was done by the owners. Still appreciate the workmanship that goes into customizing a car to the owners taste. Don't want or desire a donk or hellaflush but like seeing a nice and properly done car. Admittedly I turn my nose up at the poorly done, unsafe modifications. I feel if you can't do it right for whatever reason then don't do it till you can either do it right or afford to have it done right. When I talk with youngsters at car shows, car related events and/or racing I make a point to show approval of their work, especially if done nicely and sometimes politely point out more efficient ways to get their desired results. They often keep me posted on their progress whenever I see them. Not all of us old geezers are old fogeys. 
As for my tastes back then, I found the canyon roads outside of town (just north of Santa Barbara) and found that the hotrods didn't turn very well. Small sporty cars were and still are my tastes. Couldn't afford one back then, made do tearing down a canyon road with the 69 Datsun 510 Wagon I learned to drive in or 72 Suzuki TS185 enduro and later an early Pinto. Pinto's get maligned a lot but were actually pretty decent cars as long as you weren't rear ended. 
Stay ahead and don't slow down.
Did the 4X4 thing when I was stationed in Alaska. Had a 81 K5 Blazer that I got muddy regularly. Never got around to lifting it but did run decent all-terrain mudders.
As for my driveway now, I admit that I do like to autocross and I do like car shows. And with the kids grown and gone I can finally have toys. For autocross I have a 99 Miata that I've slowly upgraded as I can afford but have to balance and share the funds with my 70 Opel GT that I restored and is my weekend cruiser and show car. But is a restoration ever done? I've done a couple upgrades to it for reliability and drivability and still tinker with it trying to make it better. I enjoy both. One of these days I'll get to the 63 MG Midget and 80 Yamaha XS650 in the garage and get the Miata on a real racetrack.
lnlogauge wrote: Setting up a car for autocross isn't going to kill me. its going to make you a better driver, and less likely to kill me.
Ever seen a fellow autocross drive home from an event in the rain on worn out but way too wide RS3s or R comps? Its pretty unsafe.
That said, its an unfortunate situation, not a perpetual condition created by the modifications (a donk with itty brakes will never been in a position to stop well).
I think I can agree with most of what JG is getting at. But I'll never say "But you should have seen the guy’s eyes light up when he talked about it" when referring to someone with a big truck rolling coal. Probably a few other car types that would fall into this category for me as well.
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