Donks, Boxes, Bubbles, and rattling window panes.

You know what the best indication is that spring and sunshiny weather are underway?  It’s not the sound of birds chirping or kids playing.  In my neighborhood, it’s the sound of my window panes rattling in their frames as somebody with amped up subwoofers is stopped at the traffic light outside of my house trying to shake every last nut and bolt off their car using sonic force.  Sometimes the vehicles that are the source of all the noise are just boring old everyday cars, but other times, they are pretty remarkable machines.  I don’t care for the disruptive sounds they make, but outwardly, they do make a statement. 

For today’s post, we’re going to talk about that staple of the Northside roadway (for you local folks, but these cars are pretty much everywhere that isn’t rural), the Donk.  Of course, one can have a Donk without having an obnoxious sound system, but more often than not, the two go hand in hand.

Donk is a term that can be generically applied to any car with huge rims mounted on it.  If you want to get more exact though, a Donk is usually a large car that predates the 1980’s, a Box would be an angular, geometric 80’s era car, and a Bubble would be a 90’s era car with rounded out lines -all mounted on large rims, and often times, Chevrolets.

When a donk has to have a lift kit added in order to accommodate the outsized rims, it’s called a hi-riser. -I don’t have a photo of that for you.  Here’s what I do have, though:



This is not a Donk because it doesn’t have huge rims, but it is the right era body style Chevy for being a Donk

 This is a Box style Donk

 This is the stolen 90’s model Impala that somebody ditched in the alley next to my garage a while back.  If it ever had huge rims, they’ve long since been stolen -along with much of the interior and the hood.. But this would be a Bubble style Donk if it had big rims.

Donks, Boxes and Bubbles are typically inexpensive, mid to full sized American made cars. It's easy to find parts and accessories for them, and cheap to get ahold of them, leaving plenty of options for custom configurations, and plenty of money left in the budget to spend on rims (that are often times worth more than the car itself).  Whether you like or dislike the look of the Donk, they are undeniably attention grabbing, and a fun medium for self expression through automotive means.  They're definitely not practical, but I get a kick out of seeing them around my neighborhood.