The car community is toxic...

[@coltondoescars]

For anyone who may have been confused by the message behind the video, please allow me to clarify a few different points: First: I'm by no means insinuating that anyone is above receiving criticism. For instance, I have made it clear in the past on this channel that I am very against takeovers/takeover culture. I have zero respect for anyone that puts other people's safety or lives at risk for their own ego boost. With that being said, in some cases, we as a community could do better to guide people with legitimately constructive criticism rather than just pushing them away. If anything, that causes more people to turn to stupid things like takeovers rather than prevents them. Second: There's also absolutely nothing wrong with having opinions or likes/dislikes. Trust me, I have them just like you all do, and I'm not trying to argue that we shouldn't. I do think that we should all try to be respectful enough to not shove our opinions down other people's throats, or push them away for having differing opinions, though. Third: There is differing opinions on what exactly the term "gatekeeping" even means. Of course, I put the definition I'm referring to (and the one I think most people are probably familiar with) in the video, but there many other definitions for "gatekeeping" that are quite different. Maybe I should have clarified my points more, but I'm not saying that people disliking things other people like or do in the car community is gatekeeping. I've personally never been into extreme stance, for instance. However, if you can't keep your opinions to yourself, and you feel the need to personally reject other people who's likes/dislikes don't align with yours, that is most certainly gatekeeping by the definition used in the video. Ultimately, I appreciate all of the insight from everyone who has weighed in with their comments so far. If there's one takeaway I was intending for this video, it certainly wasn't that people shouldn't have opinions, or that everyone deserves to be respected when they're being blatantly disrespectful. I also don't personally subscribe to the "respect all builds" ideology, as a lot of you have said. No, I just think that as a community, we need to look out for one another. We could do with being a little more patient and helpful towards newcomers. We may not like all of the same aspects, but guys, we all like cars, and that's a pretty cool thing.

[@KampfgruppeDirleganger]

The car community is about who spends the most money, not about the cars themselves.

[@kevinite10]

And dont even build the car themselves lol

[@slipknotserge]

Like everything else in the social media scape, it’s all become about clout

[@mczaddyboii1856]

Kinda not they just want to drift in circles and vlog and make money the problem is they be shooting at people and think it’s cool to get hit that’s not what fast and the furious was about

[@LordOfOlympus]

Respect all builds and a lack of gatekeeping got us to take overs being the "standard". We absolutely need more gate keeping, and we absolutely need to stop respecting people's builds simply because they spent money.

[@coltondoescars]

@@LordOfOlympus Trust me, I have been very vocal about my distaste for takeovers. I have absolutely no respect for anyone that puts other people's safety or lives at risk. But realistically, there has always been gatekeeping, it has nothing to do takeovers. If anything, people not feeling welcome in the car community could be part of what pushes them to doing stupid crap like that for attention. I'm not preaching that we need to respect all builds either, but we could at the very least be a little more open minded as a community sometimes.

[@LordOfOlympus]

@@coltondoescars I respect your opinion, but I wholeheartedly disagree.

[@mojojoji5493]

@@LordOfOlympus I disagree with your disagreement

[@LordOfOlympus]

@@mojojoji5493I don’t care.

[@drankthetranquil]

keep gatekeeping then dont complain when the hobby dies and more regulation comes😂

[@bkphil89]

We are where we are because we didn't gatekeep enough tbh... Those that came before us weeded out the people who werent in the community for the right reasons and thats what pushed such a high level of creativity with builds over the years. Not saying we should be exclusionary, but being overly inclusive gets you the bullshit we have to deal with today and reminiscing about how good things USED to be

[@coltondoescars]

@@bkphil89 There's definitely issues in the car scene that I'm not fond of, so I hear you there. I genuinely don't believe that gatekeeping is or ever has been a solution, though. So many people shun the takeover kids from meets and stuff, and they're still out doing donuts in intersections. Gatekeeping might keep some of the bad apples from limited parts of the car community, but it doesn't stop anyone from doing the things that are actually the problem.

[@defaultgenerico7749]

cars don’t kill the community, people do.

[@coltondoescars]

@@defaultgenerico7749 No denying that.

[@rickitysplitz7035]

The car community is full of ego and clout chasing. Even subgroups are rather toxic. I love Mustangs and those people are as bad. lol

[@coltondoescars]

@@rickitysplitz7035 As a Mustang owner, I apologize for many other Mustang owners. 😬😂

[@rickitysplitz7035]

@@coltondoescars Yep, I have a 2013 GT Mustang myself. A good example of what happened was when I said I didn't like the bumper on this one Mustang. 3 people were pissy and tried criticizing my stock looking Stang. It was really easy to combat their antics. One artard tried calling my Mustang slow even though he has the same model, just with a single turbo. I told him that my car is the same model and I can pour money into my car to make mine as fast or faster. He then scrambled to say " i bet your first car was a Honda." I then said "No, but all it takes is a Honda to beat your Mustang." Stuff like that. Plenty more from Dodge guys, Supra guys, LS try hards, etc. It is just getting annoying. lol

[@twins4life274]

You thought Mustang groups were bad, Camaro takes the cake for king of toxicity. My twin has a 7th Gen Mustang and I have a late 6th Gen Camaro ('23) I made a terrible decision to join a Camaro FB group, worst decision of my 24 years of life.

[@hawkeyestiguy]

No idea why there are so many dislikes--the message is on point. There were always toxic people in the community, you just got to find the real ones who are decent.

[@coltondoescars]

@@hawkeyestiguy Yeah, I gotta be honest, I was pretty shocked how many people were upset by a video that basically boils down to, "Let's try and be nice to each other." 😂

[@rickitysplitz7035]

@@coltondoescars You are doing just fine. I don't mean to get political. But our division in beliefs is what is leading us to where we are now. Most of us are morons.

[@stealthfur1375]

​@@rickitysplitz7035 and bingo, that why i depise humans.rarely no empathy ,open mindness and critical thinking, not even little patience.just what we only we want to hear. 😂

[@weedshoes5089]

We aren't a community.

[@coltondoescars]

@@weedshoes5089 Title of video, case in point.

[@oddrooms]

I like cars bc of how they look, I could care less about performance. But, that’s just me, I respect anyone’s opinion.

[@mojojoji5493]

That makes you a car guy ❤

[@oddrooms]

@@mojojoji5493car girl* but yea ig ty

[@twins4life274]

​@@oddroomsI like cars for style. I'm a girl but I don't consider myself a car enthusiast. I have a '23 Camaro and my twin has a 7th Gen Mustang. My dream car is a V12 Aston Martin Vantage. I value looks over performance, because at the end of the day someone will always have a higher performance car than you.

[@d0va316]

Almost all community are toxic at some point. Cars, fitness, beauty and a lot of others.

[@ileikvr]

bro the FGC, fighting game community is just as bad lmao

[@stealthfur1375]

This. Even the furry fandom. 😂

[@emsrcs]

​@stealthfur1375 As someone who is also interested in the fandom / new to the fandom, I came here to type this exact thing! Lol

[@ximmolation]

Yeah but the car one is super toxic all the time, has been like this for ages now.

[@max_coast]

"Gatekeeping is one of the most overused terms." ... proceeds to overuse "gatekeeping". Literally non of what you described is gatekeeping, it's stupid preferences. None of the hot takes you mentioned prevents someone from enjoying their car, modifying it, etc. It may prevent you and that person from being friends, but not getting to be bro's ISN'T GATEKEEPING.

[@coltondoescars]

@@max_coast I didn't say anything about everyone needing to be friends, but the takes people mentioned can certainly prevent people from being welcomed in the car scene if acted upon. If your preferences cause you to push people away or even out of the car community, that is most certainly gatekeeping by definition. Besides, nobody is attacking anyone in this video, I'm merely suggesting that a lot of us could stand to be a lot more open minded.

[@evanbailey8294]

I don’t think you know what gatekeeping means.

[@coltondoescars]

@@evanbailey8294 Are you referring to me or OP? 😂

[@evanbailey8294]

@@coltondoescars OP lol

[@coltondoescars]

@@evanbailey8294 Makes sense, I appreciate the clarification. 😂

[@kuya_akie]

As it should be. "Respect all builds" mentality has destroyed the car scene's standards. Everyone does half-assed work and put in as little effort as possible then demand respect. Why is it that cheap and replica parts are accepted and forgiven in the car community, but looked down on in any other hobby like with clothing? I like a lot of different styles when it comes to cars, Japanese drifting, VIP style, Texas slabs, lowriders, shakotan and bosozoku, time attack track cars, etc., but seeing most people who just got into cars in the past few years for the sake of Tiktok likes sticking Alibaba "parts" on their car with 3M double sided tape until it looks tacky as hell is just not it. People aren't creative anymore and don't bother working hard. Seeing an actual build with wrench time on it and looks unique is pretty rare to come by nowadays. It's just a bunch of kids running the same heart tsurikawas, illegible death metal font banners, rep wheels, bandanas on side mirrors, chrome window tints, carbon "aero" add-ons, tinted lights, etc. Then one minor setback happens to them and they immediately drop everything car related. Seen it too many times and it got really stale, really fast. Takeovers are trash and have been trash.

[@coltondoescars]

@@kuya_akie Brother, I didn't say a single thing about respecting all builds. I don't subscribe to that logic either. I assure you, though, that replica parts/gear in general is an issue in a lot of industries/communities outside of the car world, too. And trust me, man, I hate takeovers just as much as everyone, but gatekeeping doesn't solve anything. Takeover kids are already shunned by most of the car community, and it doesn't stop them from doing donuts in intersections, or behaving like idiots in general.

[@kuya_akie]

@@coltondoescars I didn’t say you did, I brought it up as an example to why gatekeeping is necessary whether people take it as a toxic part or not.

[@Nimbus.]

Do what you like regardless if you are criticized by the culture, even if they are right, even if they mislabel you or even accurately label you as something unsavory etc. Artistic freedom is dank and it helped me and I hope that it helps others & Gatekeepin kinda discourages this but I am never gonna stop people from gatekeeping nor will I even try, just gonna do my best to understand them and live however I'm gonna live either way, even if I get labeled a poser or someone doesn't like my build, Ill wear that I dont really care and I am encouraging others to not worry about being validated or invalidated, listen to what the opinions of others are, take the feedback and keep doing what you wanna do either way.

[@carfriendsimulator9981]

Shut up you drive an S12

[@jimcurt99]

I have a shitty 2002 Civic- and I LOVE IT- its bone stock, it's fun, it gets me to work. Don't tell me I'm not a car guy... I know how it works, I can fix it

[@coltondoescars]

@@jimcurt99 Happy to hear that sentiment! 👍

[@killercan10]

Actual gatekeeping in the car community? The boomers/winga dinga crowd. Always gotta get to a cruise night or car show first, always try and hold spots or park too wide apart, park like 10 lawn chairs around the front of their car in the middle of the aisles. Gatekeeping that should happen? The bondo 3 colored Infiniti G35 with no cats or mufflers and a pop tune and mismatched wheels. Car shows and cruise ins should have a bit of crowd control for letting absolute trash in.

[@coltondoescars]

@@killercan10 It's a tough and very fine line to try and follow. I don't know about gatekeeping, but some people could definitely use some constructive criticism. Unless they are blatantly disrespectful, in which case, they need to change their attitude before they earn a spot in the community.

[@DriverError27]

To be a Car Enthusiast, you just have to have some love for cars, and attend or be involved in the community in some way. Collecting, Drifting, Drag, Track, stance, Show car, or just a simple daily.. and even just liking the cars but not having one, you can still be an enthusiast. but, i do feel a little bit of a line should be drawn. Take overs, and Cutting up are not something that our community really stands for. or at least shouldn't. my only issue with this community are the bad apples. Car Meets cant go with out people hitting the redline for minutes at a time. it makes the scene look like an existing stereotype of car guys even worse. People need to realize that criticism is to help learn, and see another perspective. People are just disrespectful, or refuse to learn and listen.

[@coltondoescars]

@@DriverError27 I'm not saying that no one is beyond criticism, because that certainly isn't true. I also couldn't agree more about takeovers. I cannot stand them. The point I'm making is mainly that a lot of us need to chill out and be a little more patient with people that are new to the car scene, and allow them to grow. We all have to start somewhere, so as long as they aren't being public menaces or endangering people, we should cut them some slack.

[@twins4life274]

@@DriverError27 based on my experiences, I realized it's a gamble to engage with the car community, because the toxicity will find its way in. I've given that community several attempts but I have given up because I can't continue to surround myself with miserable individuals. You simply cannot have an opinion in the car community. I'm in the process of collecting late 6th Gen Camaros. My goal is to have 3. But my '23 will always be my favorite. If I see a nice car (regardless of engine, body style, transmission, etc) I'm going to give it praise and that's for cars that I don't even like too. It takes nothing to have some positivity but unfortunately the car community is incapable of spreading that.

[@twins4life274]

So I made a very terrible mistake in joining Camaro Club of America on FB. The toxicity was out of this world! I deleted FB and IG. I'm building a Camaro fleet and I'm going to just enjoy my Camaro collection, but for me, my first Camaro will always be my favorite Camaro, despite all the hate it gets.

[@danijelgasparic3658]

I think one of the most stupid things in the car community is how you will get people hating on the visual mods because they add no performance when most "performance" mods don't add any performance.

[@BankaiFever]

Gatekeeping would be like “you don’t love mustangs as much as I do because you started with 6th gen and I started with a 3rd gen”

[@coltondoescars]

@@BankaiFever I feel like there's definitely similar feelings/motivations between that and "you're not a car guy if your favorite cars are supercars," which was in the video.

[@BankaiFever]

@@coltondoescars for sure. Loved the video and subbed. Keep going bro 😎

[@coltondoescars]

@@BankaiFever Much appreciated!

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

This mirrors heavy/death/black metal circles

[@coltondoescars]

@@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245 Bro, no kidding. "If it has core at the end of it, it's not real metal." 😂

[@CalebWilson-q1w]

I remember I was on a car subreddit and someone screamed at me in the comments of my opinion on a car. I blocked them and all hell broke loose on that Subreddit for a month, before I got banned. 😂😂😂

[@coltondoescars]

@@CalebWilson-q1w The average reddit experience. 😂

[@CalebWilson-q1w]

@@coltondoescars Imagine the kind of person that you mentioned that cannot handle a different opinion. It was like that, but an entire sub reddit. For the blocked person, it seems like their whole world crumbled because I didn't agree with them 😂

[@mimief7969]

Some stuff, like teaching someone something new, is good. But you can also criticize people, for being the low point in a lovely vehicles life, for being a dangerous moron, etc.

[@coltondoescars]

Don't get me wrong, I'm most certainly not suggesting that anyone is beyond receiving criticism. For example, I am heavily and vocally against takeovers and takeover culture. I personally won't criticize someone's vehicle to their face, but that's just me. I'm mostly just trying to make the point that some of us need to chill out and give people who are new to the car community a chance to grow.

[@mojojoji5493]

Yes bro ❤

[@dutchhondarebel]

Nothing wrong with some 'gatekeeping', bullying others of course is never justified. But I get if you like muscle cars, you want to be with others who enjoy similar cars and such. Some just like cars as a piece of visual art, some are entirely focused on driving. It's fine, we're all enthusiasts, just in a different way.

[@coltondoescars]

Yeah, not everyone has to be friends, of course. There's always going to be tight knit groups. My issue with people gatekeeping is when it ends up with them pushing people out of the community as a whole, or telling people they aren't "real car enthusiasts" for not liking the same things. That's just such a close minded view.

[@wadethetrucker]

Return of the king 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

[@coltondoescars]

@@wadethetrucker I don't know about king, but I'll take it. 😂

[@vr6gls]

I can appreciate this video, but I disagree. Gatekeeping is not necessarily a bad thing. Sorry, but I’m just not on board with the “Respect all Builds” movement. Say what you want, but I respect someone who builds their car to perform and handle better. Someone who tracks their car and has in-depth knowledge on building and maintaining high horsepower motors. I have a hard time believing that a dude who “stances” their stock car, destroying suspension and engine components. “Building” it only to sit in parking lots and get Instagram likes. Should be respected in the same capacity . No, just no. 😅

[@coltondoescars]

@@vr6gls Here's the thing, though: I never said a thing about respecting all builds. That's not a philosophy I agree with either. Showing respect towards people as long as they aren't being blatantly disrespectful themselves, however, I do feel should be more common in the car community.

[@Greenious]

Your gatekeeping the word gatekeeping

[@coltondoescars]

@@Greenious That's not how that works. 🤦

[@rickitysplitz7035]

@@coltondoescars Agreed

[@julioalcantera9520]

Go touch grass. The internet ruined everything.

[@coltondoescars]

@@julioalcantera9520 I get it. I'm not a lifeless internet type, trust me. The more time I spend online, the more I want to throw my phone in the river. 😂

[@rickitysplitz7035]

And yet he is in shape, young and I am certain has a good work ethic. That touch grass comment has no leverage. It's simply his view on things. You being a smartass doesn't invalidate what he says.