Our recently expanded look at CCs For Sale had a serious shadow side that seems to erupt every time we show a picture of a donk. As in comments that are excessively negative and spill over into racism/stereotyping/generalizations/put downs/etc.. I understand that we all have our preferences in cars, and how they should be used/customized/modified. But (thankfully), it’s a free country in terms of creative automotive expression, and we might all try a bit harder to widen our comfort zone and avoid falling for the easy traps.
Here’s a suggestion: lighten up, and tap into your sense of humor or wonder. Isn’t this straight out of a fantastic dream or comic book, a kid’s toy in full-size? Wow; truly amazing. And who gives a damn how it drives or handles?
Let’s not forget that the whole point of artistic expression is to do something that hadn’t been done before, which of course explains why artists aren’t painting like the Rembrandt anymore. It has to always push some boundary, or it’s not art or creative. Don’t forget that lots of famous dead artists were hated rebels in their time. Young people have naturally always tried to push the envelope in the case of cars. The lead sleds of the 50s are the closest approximation of donks today; they purposely defied practicality to thumb their noses at that notion. The were an act of youthful rebellion and artistic expression.
The same applies to Ed Roth and his ilk. There was nothing practical or functional about his creations. He was an automotive beatnik, and he pushed the boundaries constantly. And those of us that grew up in the 60s thought he was eminently cool. The old school hot-rodders didn’t.
And it goes on and on, generation after generation. Low riders, ricers; the whole point is that these cars are challenging you to hate on them; that’s the reaction they’re trying to evoke from you, by going against all your practical arguments about camber, tire wear, handling, bearings, and other logical concerns. Old folks’ finger-wagging, and trying to be arbiters of ‘good taste’.
And in the case of donks, there’s the race factor, as they are disproportionately associated with African-Americans. Needless to say, comments about drugs, guns, bullet holes, liquor and other stereotype/racist associations are highly inappropriate and not welcome in the comments here. There were a number of them at the recent Olds 442 post, and I had to remove them. We know nothing about the owners of these cars. It’s a bit disappointing to see people fall for the trap.
And all the wailing about old cars being ruined for donks or other customization is a bit absurd. If you want to save every GM B-Body out there, go buy them all. Folks, it’s just an old car; as in a collection of steel and other bits. Most were likely in bad shape to start with. How many cars did you lay to waste in your youth, or otherwise cause their demise? They can’t all be saved, which is ok. How well are you taking care of your body?
1908 IH donk
A lot of energy goes into making any customized car. We live in a society that encourages individual expression, and customizing cars has been a popular outlet for that for a long time now. If you can’t find any appreciation for the effort that goes into them, just move on, but no strongly negative comments or put-downs, please.
The internet is all-too often an ugly place, and has exacerbated the divisions in our society, politics and even cars. But CC can be better than that, and hopefully be a unifying force for those that love cars. I’m not expecting pink clouds and unicorn farts, but let’s make an effort to expand the range of our appreciation and not forget that every car has a story, even a donk. And it’s worth hearing, or seeing.
During the 1930’s, Plymouth offered a 20″ wheel options for rural mail carriers to raise ground clearance for their cars on the generally poor rural dirt roads on which their route deliveries were. Never considered they were “donk”. Are urban roads so bad they need higher ground clearance…….?
Here in Houston, you could actually probably justify a donk for driving on some of our terrible roads. Also for driving through our floods. Much more practical than a low rider!
while i have no reason or desire to own one i am fascinated by “lowriders” with the hydraulics (maybe that’s redundant?). i wouldn’t expect CC to make them into a recurring appearance but a technical article on how these are built would be to me a very interesting read.
Well said.
I was challenged by some of the comments I saw about the donk Cutlass the other day. Donks don’t interest me, but recognizing that a family member of mine has a Hispanic significant other that is into very customized vehicles, I’ve come to appreciate that even if not my cup of tea, a ton of artistic work and sweat goes into some of these vehicles. I regularly see Facebook entries about how her boyfriend’s truck has won a show prize, etc.
Frankly, he’s too busy working to afford his hobby, and working too hard on his hobby to have time to be a menace to society.
Stereotypes about vehicles really are a bit dreary. My driving a late model F-150 has about as much to do with my genitalia as my dad’s genitalia had anything to do with his driving a succession of very full-size cars years ago. Ask me about my boats, large family, snowy drives to work, my (former) rental property business and my over six foot stance, and you’ll understand my truck better.
Love the 1908 Donk! Back when they began to replace the horse, it seems most if not all cars were …Donk-ey?
What’s the adjective for something having the qualities of that noun?
That top photo looks soooo fake.
The yellow on the wheels looks like a poor photoshop
The side pipe doesn’t look right either
There is also a clear shadow of the side mirror on the side of the door, but no other shadows in the image
Here you go, the original images and from different angles (it’s the DONKey King)
http://just-spinner-rims.com/donkey-kong
If only they would’ve perched a Mercedes on top of those rims. 😉
We all have our prejudices, and blindspots, our unrecognised corners of ignorance. The mark of how decent a person you are is how hard you work to counteract them.
In my own case, I expect it to be a lifelong work, and to be done imperfectly.
To those who made inapt comments – I didn’t see them – it could easily have been me, though probably not on this topic and hopefully never about race.
Though on this topic, I have always assumed the high risers or donks had a big dollop of humour to them.
Do I “get” them? Not at all, but I was a child who found distorted Hot Wheels toy cars annoying. My purple Mercedes pagoda had stupidly big wheels, donks for sure, and I didn’t like it at five. A bit uptight then, and probably still. Personality traits possibly do not shift greatly through life, but attitudes and learning does, they must, or there has been no life.
CC is indeed a refuge from the madness. That is for me the single greatest appeal. If a shop, the smaller sign would read “Eccentric Interests Intelligently Catered For.” In small print, “Bullies and High Pissers Not Welcome.”
A heartfelt credit to PN and all those who edit and write the stories. Even the donk’s tale, or anything else I disdain. And if I comment on somesuch, I will try to do so having thought a little about my own thoughts first.
Curbside Tragics
Late to the party here, but I’m reminded of when Jeremy Clarkson filmed a segment with a younger set of car customizers somewhere in the UK — a group we in America would probably label derisively as a “rice rocket” crowd. I expected Clarkson to launch into a tirade about the ludicrousness of their designs, the impracticality of their modifications, and other clichés you hear in real life and read on the internet. Instead he made the better and larger point: here are some young people who love cars.
Look around you. How many young people are still enthusiastic about automobiles in general, let alone old iron, largely from the 70s and 80s? We should be celebrating their efforts and creativity. Furthermore, many of these donks would end up in the crusher otherwise.
I don’t really care what they’re doing to the cars. In fact, personally, I find the millionth Chevy-powered hot rod blandmobile to be much worse, where they strip away all chrome, original interior, and other defining characteristics. But that’s my personal take. If you’re still angry, note that donk enthusiasts tend to leave the body and interior rather unchanged. Most of these cars could be reverted to stock much more easily than the hot rods I described and many people laud.
Regardless, the aversion to donks reminds me of the aversion to low riders when they came out of Latino communities. By most measures, they were no different than what mostly white modders were doing in earlier decades. The real reason for bias against the lowriders was obvious.
As to the practicality of donks, yes, granted. But one, who cares? And two, many of us don’t have a leg to stand on. Was it practical for me to put an aggressive sports suspension on my sports car, one that required me to take every speed bump or driveway at an angle? Where every pothole could result in the need for another alignment job? No. But I wanted my car that way, and to me, it looked really cool. The ride sucked for daily driving, and I damaged the underside in minor ways, but I still loved it. I’m sure these guys feel the same way about their creations.
Yup.
I imagine that it’s a hard line to walk determining the mix of posts to include. Paul has invited us to a party at his place. A good host wants to provide a good mix of people but he has no responsibility to tolerate boorish behavior. The guests should always behave in a manner that allows the other guests to have a good time. I want the party to continue.
+1 Nicely put.