I want to drive a donk. This is a ridiculous vehicle with insanely oversized wheels and it’s usually finished in a bright color or with an oddly branded wrap. I should hate the donk… but I love the donk.
What oddball automotive fad do you secretly love?
Hooniverse Asks: What's the dumbest car fad… that you secretly love?
By Jeff Glucker
Jul 25, 2018
By Jeff Glucker
Jeff Glucker is the co-founder and Executive Editor of Hooniverse.com. He’s often seen getting passed as he hustles a 1991 Mitsubishi Montero up the 405 Freeway. IG: @HooniverseJeff
Ambient lighting. It’s such a gimmick, but I find that I enjoy the quirky things that make driving with me fun for my kids.
Bro Trucks
I like trucks. I like big trucks with big lifts and big tires. Please don’t think less of me, and please don’t tell anyone else – this secret stays here!
https://www.ford-trucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/F350.jpg
How do you even get in something like that? As a fat 45 year old with bad knees, I would need a step ladder. Do they keep a step of some sort in the floorboard? Is there a rope ladder that drops down? I’ve seen several bro trucks around, just never observed the ingress/egress.
It’s like a fat 45 year old trying to get into a Lotus, except completely different and without the assistance of gravity (for reference, the correct order of the “Lotus Position” is arse, head, legs, and getting out is the revers while trying not to faceplant)
It wasn’t that many years ago that my daily driver was a C4 Corvette and even fewer years since a lowered Z3 daily driver (I was about as fat back then too). I don’t mind a car that I can fall into and eventually pull myself out of. Getting in a Bro Truck looks like it would be about as graceful as trying to mount a horse without stirrups.
I’ve had a few similarly low daily drivers too (Miata, MR2, etc), but getting into a Lotus is another level it’s not just the lowness, it’s the wide high sills. It’s sort of like trying to post yourself into a little plastic and aluminium mailbox.
Good question. We always had to carry a little stool around so my Grandma could get up in a non-lifted 4 wheel drive.
Maybe a pair of these?
http://www.animationartgallery.com/images/WBC/WBCPD15.jpg
We have to do the step stool thing for my mother with the Jeep Wrangler at their lake place (non lifted YJ with YK 18″ wheels). After a certain age ease of getting in and out become the primary consideration in vehicle choice. I’m still several years from that.
When I first saw lifted trucks it seemed like the slickest idea would be a clamshell door with steps built into the lower section like the airstair on a Lear jet, Alternatively a larger version of the AMP Research retractable running running boards or a slide our ladder under the seat.
A rope ladder would eliminate the need for cup holders: you can’t get in with a beverage in your hand anyway…
Do axle ratios get changed when bros install these much taller tires? If not, acceleration and towing capability must be catastrophically compromised…..
Same applies for brakes too
I’d guess that 99% of the bro truck owners do not care about acceleration or towing or even going off-road.
Low Riders …
Something about the amount care and attention they put into their cars. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d904a85d741227ea671595f169148ed21240062823e09c934b4f859e02ada5ad.jpg
Don’t like the style, respect the level of passion.
Had a few Lincolns back in the day , loved them all ( Except for that one ) .
Do low riders count as a dumb car fad? Or even a fad?
Probably not big enough to be a fad, per se, but it’s definitely odd.
https://hips.hearstapps.com/roa.h-cdn.co/assets/16/38/1474651362-sep-23-2016-13-22-13.gif?fill=320:161&frame=1&resize=768:*
I want one.
Also, the SWB Ram Vans aren’t dimensionally very far from the modern Odyssey/Sienna
Yeah, apart from height, modern “mini” vans are about the same size as fullsize vans used to be 20 years ago. The dimensions for a 1998 Ram van: 193-211″x 79″x 80″, a 2018 Honda Odessey: 203″x 79″x 70″. To put that in perspective, the original Plymouth Voyager minivan was 175.9″x 72″x 64.4″.
Battlecar/safari builds. I lump these together because they can have a similar aesthetic, and more often than not, they are purely aesthetic. But I like ’em. I’m going to build one.
I’m also not against “track car” builds with no intention of seeing a track. Race cars are cool even if they don’t race. They’re cooler if they do, but if you want to strip out your interior and throw in a roll cage for no particular reason, I think we can be friends.
There was a time in Australia when basic ‘safari builds’ were available as factory options for your family car! My ute is an example of this.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c281362f99bc82f2706e8dd67b24d238a14d98c73cbc9d96f08a781bf85e1530.jpg
https://i1.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/JC-Whitney-Barefoot-Pedal.jpg
Can it still be a fad when they’ve been cool for over half-a-century?
Somehow calling it a fetish doesn’t seem like much of an improvement.
Only slightly longer than lowriders or lifted pickups then?
I had one on my Integra in High school
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/60bfd5ec1416259f8805775b519c1368912f523c756d47e9c52babdd285f2230.jpg
Art Cars. I like the concept of Wasteland Cars too, but I hate the idea of that much dirt and dust.
I either like or abhor art cars. As long as the artist has a vision beyond “I’m gonna glue a bunch of shit to my car”, I like ’em.
Classics on late model 4×4 frames, but only if done cleanly. That’s rarely the case, but I saw a ‘57 Chevy wagon/half ton mashup at World of Wheels that gave me a serious case of want.
Baja everything….
https://dmi3w0goirzgw.cloudfront.net/gallery-images/original/272000/600/272694.jpg
Professionally done donks always strike me as well executed bad ideas, Lowriders are probably equally silly in their own way, but I like lowriders.
Hardtail choppers.
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/7b/84/42/7b8442ed01521d3fd2647f9920df550b–custom-choppers-custom-bikes.jpg
Hardtail choppers.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8478d2945b23798ee668e17fe6ebf6417f95484a6a936293cb394786b7e039f6.jpg
The comeback of tailfins. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5cc4ce281dd1b5bd631a6f567b6b7f8aa90b8c226f2e5d1a49ee1684b7100acb.jpg
Stripes. I won’t put them on my cars, but I love them on others. I’m very specific with my
fetishfad though, they have to be straight, two or three in parallel, and I only care about horizontal surfaces.https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s–HYRbd120–/c_fit,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/18tcf1tbyj4aejpg.jpg
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/521bb31ce4b0f506a31e4deb/t/53be7216e4b06b2ef6612f1b/1404989988167/are+we+there+yet.jpg
https://www.harpendenvans.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/img6877.jpg
Electric cars. It started when my state made a Nissan Leaf lease almost free after tax rebates. It then spread to buying a used Volt. Just something nice about 85+mph for the last 44+k miles. The funny thing is I am doing it for purely economical reasons, I’m far from convinced of any environmental benefits.
Pimped-out ’70s luxury coupes. Wonderful and horrible at the same time. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/07ba31851ab1990bd6f052833be4014fd0d1fb8de8219c0fbbe1451be0fcf934.jpg
SLABs, with a proper set of swangas and Vogues, on a luxury car, rolling slow, tunes thumping. That scared me to read that sentence back to myself.