Unveiling the Harsh Truth of Donut Media

[@pain.497]

I miss old Donut, when James was explosive doing Bumper to Bumper and Up To Speed.

[@TheGreatGouki]

Peak Donut. I enjoyed Hi Car Lo Car too.

[@willlucas5150]

That's what got me into donut. He calmed down after his health issue which is understandable but those shows stopped being made unfortunately. My favorite part of donut

[@gesshoku92]

Comcast thought those were to expensive and wanted more mechanics react to tiktok vibes.

[@CyanRooper]

I miss Science Garage with Bart.

[@willlucas5150]

@@CyanRooper YES

[@RickySterling]

Donut became Buzzfeed for cars awhile ago

[@ObsidianB8]

truuuuuuueeee, bland white bread of car content, and not that car content needs to be wild and wacky or even over the top, just anything other then blatant corpritism

[@justinwebster7761]

Yup investors saw dollar signs and swept in like a bunch of vultures

[@rickhunter8444]

All of this.

[@apeekintime]

Buzzfeed is exceptionally profitable though so it makes sense. My wife scrolls buzzfeed constantly because it's designed for our monkey brains to keep scrolling. The obnoxious ad reads for all kinds of terrible products is what got to me about the channel. I love the build series but then they started spreading them out and filling the gaps with terrible reactionary and paid "review" content that just sucked.

[@rushmatic]

True!

[@ToyotaGT8614]

its kinda sad watching it fall off, they got me into cars up to speed was my fav series

[@LukesCarTalk]

Yeah up to speed tough me a lot

[@BlackRam17]

It was the best!

[@MrLayton1990]

I miss Up to Speed 😢

[@ressurection98]

yeaaah, same, i learned a whole lot about cars through their videos. I think there is no other chanel about cars with the same amount of entertainment and useful info

[@chuch541]

Young man, everything good comes to an end!

[@justinevans5925]

Your editing is very misleading. Your clip from Jeremiah talking about him not being happy even with the money is NOT a comment about Donut, it was about his previous job in the Biomedical Engineering field. Do better.

[@chinafukr69kack31]

This video is useless

[@pruett89]

Why did you like the comment dragging you for being misleading? Strange tactic.

[@Robert..j]

He's liking every comment​ @pruett89

[@evanhesse8093]

@@pruett89he acknowledged it bruv, that’s all

[@sagerwraps9990]

​@@evanhesse8093 not acknowledging shit when you are liking every single comment.

[@kidmods]

Donut has been really boring since 2022 imo

[@tungabunga4107]

Especially after bumper to bumper and up to speed ended. Then money pit stopped

[@LukesCarTalk]

@@tungabunga4107money pit was my all time favorite

[@robsolf]

It's funny how easy it is to draw that line from the date they were acquired. It's almost as if there's a direct and clear correlation...

[@captainpoptarts]

Agreed I unsubscribed around then.

[@mikeincanada_]

For me it stared to fall off after Bart Bidlingmeyer left.

[@aslamnurfikri7640]

I used to watch Donut for Up To Speed. Once they stopped making it I just stopped watching Donut. For me it's like McDonald's discontinuing Big Mac

[@technom3598]

Same

[@BrancoFXDC]

@@technom3598I would love it if Jeremiah did something similar on the new channel. Obviously cant call it up to speed, but the premise of the series would be cool.

[@giinnoo08]

I actually learned a thing or two. I agree with you

[@amedrano8304]

Same.

[@dylancasebolt7711]

Their podcast past gas is like up to speed but more in depth

[@andrewflynn6853]

it’s a sad time, they’re the reason why i got back into cars

[@LukesCarTalk]

Yeah it is sad. Do you think donut can make a comeback?

[@bass2762]

@@LukesCarTalk Probably not unless the corpo behind them actually lets the creative team do what they want.

[@jannovak5481]

There is no way. Community don't like pretentious actors trying to play *we are just few guys in a garage, definetly not corporate* games on them. They potentionaly have chance in mainstream, but not in community anymore. Donut are the guys, not the corporate. There can't be donut without them anymore. I guess that's its gonna be similar to TG after they lost Hammond, May and Clarkson.

[@justinwebster7761]

​@LukesCarTalk I'm sure they could make a comeback, but let's be real every corporations main goal is profits so I don't we will see them go back to their original style of content

[@Waderader]

For real, I was never into cars, I'm not super into cars now, but I loved this channel for a while. It made me pay more attention to cars than I ever have. I have barely been watching them lately. Big time is gonna be great to watch.

[@bottledwaterprod]

When they all raced their daily drivers, you could really feel the contempt for their corporate manager in the Tesla. It was played as a joke, but it didn't feel that way.

[@andrewmcgill4957]

Seeing Jerry shit talk him and get in his head before the final race was glorious! hahaha

[@Frygisk]

Yeah that video was really sad.

[@benhernandez]

It was pretty cringe, It was sending a message. You could feel the discontent.

[@brytonmassie]

@@andrewmcgill4957 Sauce? I gotta see this.

[@fallenshallrise]

Ummm... that was obviously a guy playing a character. They named him "Dave" (no last name), the "VP of Corporate Business" lol.

[@Rauthaz]

Money Pit was my favourite program on Donut. Educational, entertaining, hosted flawlessly by Zach

[@ahrisho]

Yeah. Money pit was great it felt like wrenching around one on one with that old neighbor who knew a thing or two about cars.

[@nickmhc]

What’s shocking is the money pit format is amazingly monetizable to the core audience of car guys or people who want to get more into modifying their cars (as in spend money)

[@TempoLOOKING]

Never seen it

[@granth4768]

Same, money pit was what got me into donut. I’m excited for big time though, I get the feeling their content will be similar.

[@akgamer8466]

That’s basically what the videos on their new channel are

[@justinschwieger71]

The second part of your clip with Jeremiah has nothing to do with donut. When he talks about not being happy despite how much money he made he was talking about his career before donut. Kinda manipulative to cut it like that especially when the next 2 seconds of the clip show that it wasn’t about donut.

[@SanDukey]

Wow and he just liked your comment and went about his day. That's a little scummy if you ask me

[@DragonKnightX12]

He's not wrong tho. They literally talked about how Donut was feeling like a 9-5 corporate job after it was bought out, and how even bought it wasn't exactly what they thought it would be. They both became like the building experts despite just knowing the basics of modding. How all of their ideas were constantly getting shot down, and it just wasn't fun anymore.

[@SanDukey]

@@DragonKnightX12 you can be right about something and maintain journalistic integrity, it's not hard

[@ganjalfcreamcorn8438]

your 100% wrong. he said he took a pay cut to move to LA and work for donut. i just watched that video before this. he was absolutely talking about donut, you donut. kinda manipulative to lie and slander someone.

[@ganjalfcreamcorn8438]

and even if that 5 seconds wasnt talking about donut, the old hosts put an expose video out on donut. so this guy isnt making any claims that the old host didnt make in their video. you make it seem like hes twisting the words of the old hosts. the old hosts said the exact same shit. so cry some more guys.

[@xinrew]

I didn't even know they got bought out until very recently when Zach and Jeremiah left, now everything is very clear as to why the channel has just been really stale. My absolute favourite series was wheelhouse and I'm honestly really bummed to finally be able to confirm that that series just will never come back now, as I've always had a little bit of hope left that it would return some day.

[@ValkyrieLightwing]

Same here, I had no idea as well. Everything makes so much more sense now, the constant ad plugs, lack of new and cool creative ideas, etc.

[@Aleiza_49]

I didn't know that they got bought out til this video lol. It explains why I haven't been interested in their videos for a while 😂

[@Josh_Quillan]

It always confused me the way they were making specific different 'shows' and releasing them on a defined schedule, many of them excellent, and then all of a sudden, they all disappeared and were replaced by "pretending to enjoy a gameshow format" and "reacting to car-themed junk". Late Stage Capitalism-fuelled Enshittification strikes again. They've already gutted the car industry, the airlines, the publishers, Hollywood, they're in the process of strip-mining the gaming industry and computers, and here are the smaller scale hungry hungry hippos, come to eat KZbin.

[@yourhero33]

It’s crazy how a company with tons of money and tons of people can just systematically ruin anything when they get their hands on it

[@pruett89]

You should start a new channel and do a wheel house style show!! I’m not even kidding, make what you see is missing in the culture.

[@manbok2035]

The older Donut videos were full of fun and joy, you can tell people loved doing it. Investors ruin everything.

[@SpiiiiiceeMAN]

Just like game studios, corporations need to step away from the entertainment industry and just sit where they belong, in the business industry.

[@waynefontaine5533]

MTV is a good example to use. I was a senior in high school when Nirvana dropped "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in 1991. Soon afterward, the channel began morphing into the "New Jersey Shore" diaper fire that it ultimately became...and it sucked having to witness that fall....🤷🏻‍♂️🤘🏻🇺🇸

[@LukesCarTalk]

Thanks for the feedback! Man lucky you I wish I got to see them in their prime!

[@slendergollum]

Yeah, i remember as a kid, before going to school I could watch music videos from wu-tang, sepultura, slayer etc. Few years later, theres only hit music for 2 hours/day, then it changed to people having their 16th birthday and no music. "Music television"

[@boondoc001]

​@@LukesCarTalk Twas a good time. RIP to that era

[@hankhillsnrrwurethra]

'Enshitification' is the word, I believe, what happened to Donut. My kids are young adults. I hope things turn and they get a 90s. Got DAMN the 90s were fun.

[@PsychicOracle]

"Soon afterward," aka 2 decades later

[@saltandsoysauce175]

Luke: HI I'M INCREDIBLY LOUD! HERE'S A CLIP FROM BIGTIME! Clip: **barely audible** Luke: *I'M SUDDENLY BACK AND JARRINGLY LOUDER NOW!* NORMALIZE. YOUR. FUCKING. AUDIO.

[@LukesCarTalk]

Hahaha I will in the next one

[@МУЅТ]

Doubtful it’s usually intentional by the uploaders to avoid detection from YT/other channels having borrowed their content.

[@ganjalfcreamcorn8438]

@@МУЅТ are you mad or somthing bud? reaction content is completely legal, and there are channels that abuse that fact way more than this guy. some people dont react or change the content at all. just have their face on the screen mouthing wooooow craaazy. so i doubt it was to avoid donut from claiming his video.

[@МУЅТ]

@@ganjalfcreamcorn8438 woah you get your feelings hurt? A) never said it was illegal, YT terms and policies are not law lmao B)I realize other channels abuse it more, never made him out to be a reactionary channel or that it was excessive or anything like that C) I didn’t say Donut who would claim the video. It’s a common practice for ppl with borrowed clips in certain contexts to lower the volume, add noise, modulate the audio, etc just as a precautionary for YT automated systems from picking it up. D) shake hands and kiss me on the mouth while making eye contact and I’ll forgive you

[@rob_over_9000]

1000% 😂

[@codydonovan7356]

The first mistake with Donut was ending Science Garage. The second mistake was ending Up to Speed... Literally the series that got Donut to where it is now.

[@warwicklarkins7438]

That's basically the only reason I watched donut

[@desertninja._.galactic]

I'm surprised how he didn't talk about how series' like Wheelhouse got booted out in favor of stuff like "Testing 42 air fresheners"

[@gedam131]

I thought that was pretty fun ngl

[@gapho5198]

I enjoyed some of the oddball content like that air freshener episode...

[@robsolf]

This is what vulture capitalism does to the world. It acquires a reputable and popular brand and milks the goodwill from that brand for as long as they can, constantly cutting budgets, even if revenue increases, to maximize investment dividends and to feed top end management salaries. Eventually, product quality tanks, squandering the relationship made between the brand and its fans. Revenue tanks, but don't you worry your pretty little heads about the capital firms and their investors; they shut the company down and get a big fat tax break for their losses. Then they pick up another brand and rinse/repeat. This is the way of things in an economic system which rewards the people who do nothing with golden life preservers, while leaving those that did everything on the sinking ship. Smart of the donut guys to make their own life preservers, assumably from junk auto accessories they tested from Amazon. I wish them the best of luck and look forward to the content on their new channels.

[@joey_f4ke238]

That's also partly fault of those who actually sell out to those investors, it's hard to turn down a fat chunk of money but it's the price for maintaining freedom

[@sunahamanagai9039]

Some people start companies or brands for the purpose of getting bought out. They make money that way.

[@MikoyanGurevichMiG21]

The classic biblical Faustian bargain.

[@evanfinch4987]

faust is in the bible??

[@qwerty975]

​​@@evanfinch4987yeah in updated version dont you know

[@MysticalMastodon]

One of those quotes from the “goodbye” video was out of context. Jeremiah was talking about his engineering job when he said it didn’t matter how much money he made.

[@aquaxbat]

The editing there is incredibly dishonest.

[@АнгелЦветилов]

They sold out for a big payday. Nothing new.

[@ScreenTalker]

The talent isn’t getting a payday, the firm that owns Donut whored them out to advertisers. Zach and Jeremiah hinted at them not getting paid very well for how many views the channel gets

[@BigWheel.]

​@@ScreenTalkeryeah, they basically became employees at their own company when they could've been owners. The money went to funding the channel, and of course investors, not the people behind it. But would they have gotten as big as they did without those investors? Probobly not, and if they somehow did, then it certainly would've taken longer. Which is why they sold out. Quick growth.

[@Sypher474]

@@BigWheel. They never owned the company to begin with, even before being bought out. They had been hired as employees from the start. Because it was small and independent when they were hired, they had more opportunity to call their own shots, which went away after the company was sold.

[@mervunit]

@@Sypher474 right it was owned by Matt Levin (big surprise a J)

[@ScreenTalker]

@@BigWheel. the talent never owned Donut, it was always owned by a media company

[@blazortheepic0384]

KZbin started for independent creators and we watched it so we didn’t have to watch shitty TV shows. Now youtube has turned into those very shitty corporate Tv shows

[@facundofarias88]

The last video they launched was and is really bad, you can tell by how acted is Nolan, trying to force the audience in buying a Chinese car, pure ccp propaganda from yesterday. This sucks.

[@mattflynnter]

They are setting young squire Jimmy up for a massive failure.

[@andreeept]

​@@mattflynnter Hoping Both Jimmy, Nolan and all the other big names just come to BigTime

[@lobsterbisque7567]

I completely agree! Just an extended ad for a junk car made by the ccp. EV's are bad enough, but the ones built in china are even worse! China Observer, and The china show(hosted by Laowhy86 & SerpentZA have posted numerous videos on chinese evs spontaneously catching fire just sitting in a parking space!

[@Elcastillodepapel]

There will always be some north american dude that blames the CCP 😂😂😂😂 wtf.

[@MichaelJEngelmann]

Social media making 6-7 figs ruined it. Donut I was subbed to when it had maybe 15-25K followers. It felt like friends goofing *off & fixing cars.

[@donnicholson3170]

Also... for those of us that pay for ad free premium youtube, the in video advertising is a slap in the face.

[@Z1_350Z]

Its really not bro, now youre just crying to cry. They mark out how long it is to make it easy to skip

[@CateChapelle]

that's how youtube is now bro

[@donnicholson3170]

@@Z1_350Z I pay so that I don't have to skip... that was the whole point in paying for premium.

[@donnicholson3170]

@@CateChapelle sad but true. Now I just don't watch any channels that have started with the sponsor bs.

[@minekush1138]

Why are you paying Google they do not deserve to be payed

[@Slowcarfastbeans]

People liked all of these shows because of the relatable guys hanging out atmosphere. Top Gear, Donut, Hoonigan.

[@DecentosDecenium-h6s]

Hurt so much watching donut media become coporate slop I remember watching them all the way throughout school without skipping a single video even if it was a topic i wasn’t interested in But now its just 6 guys acting like Mr beast with cars

[@TempoLOOKING]

How there channel is less than 5 yrs old

[@justintaylor9458]

Nah, places like Hoonigan and Donut are most likely done; the only thing that isn't constant is how long they circle the drain first. It's the same story: People start a small channel/company, and with their talent and tight budgets, they cultivate an audience and generate revenue. They then get bought out by a large corporation or investment group. The new owner adds a ton of corporate guys as the new leadership (with often large salaries), all while generating the same revenue (which means they are now in the red due to having 10 new people getting paid from the same amount of revenue while essentially being worthless). The corporate guys start cutting costs and trying to generate more revenue, usually by trying to do cheaper content or expensive content that isn't any better. The corporate heads make all the decisions, despite usually knowing nothing about the subject matter. Ironically, the original guys are considered unknowledgeable or not as savvy as the corporate guys, despite their work being the reason their channel got big enough that the corporate guys wanted to buy them in the first place. Everything stagnates, the good people leave, and the corporate owners wring out every dollar they can before selling or stripping the company for one last buck, then move on to another channel/company. The interests of the original team/creators and the new owners are not aligned.

[@BlueBARv5]

I can't stop watching Donut until I see the long awaited reunion with his Dad....🥺

[@kanpekiautodetailing7028]

I mean, James has been MIA. I'm sure he also quit

[@shift307]

He's dead.

[@Sclimenti82]

​@@shift307 no, really?

[@prosaic.7944]

I got caught on the Money Pit Miata and How They Work series, now it's all corporate and no grease.

[@smft9147]

The worst part about everyone leaving donut is all the small channels that come up by yapping about it

[@LukesCarTalk]

I know right 🙄

[@aquaxbat]

1:35 the second clip “I wasn’t happy, no matter how much money I made” is not about donut. It’s about his career in biochemical engineering. Be honest.

[@titicaca.]

yeah this is just clickbaity trash, as expected

[@alekkatz]

So sad to see Donut fall down, I use to wait for every video, now I just watch old videos or get up to date when im bored

[@benracer]

Things felt really weird when they developed the slogan that was basically "Buy Our Merch. We don't do anything else now"

[@Beavy]

As a tech of almost two decades I want to see experienced car savvy guys and gals making genuine projects and content not some click bait shite, I know what I’ll be watching moving forward

[@johannes_lee9351]

@1:36 Dishonest editing, in this clip Jerry is talking about his previous career before Donut

[@ImDustAtGames]

I miss these guys not doing meta videos and actually having fun with their content

[@LukesCarTalk]

Right smh

[@KevinSanchez-rd7um]

I kinda miss the old Donut videos, like MoneyPit, Bumper2Bumper, WheelHouse, back when it was a lot more engaging and fun for both the host and the audience. Hell, Donut was one of the reasons why i really got into cars and made me want to buy a cheap tool set and work on cars. Kinda hoped that they would go back to how they did it before, where they uploaded a new episode of a show each week, but now i know that'll never happen.

[@Strengthinevidence]

Up to speed was goated

[@KevinSanchez-rd7um]

@@Strengthinevidence that it was. Best Donut show ever, imo.

[@Carnerd101]

I haven't watched Donut in over a year. I didn't even know they were acquired. But, it makes complete sense now.

[@J.PC.Designs]

MTV was better with grunge and nu-metal band unpluggeds and ig shows like Fantasy Factory and Pimp My Ride. But now it's just Rob Dyrdek's Ridiculousness, which was good until it got old. 2000s were a better time in general.

[@quizzergotted]

it really does suck, because you can see everyone on camera does have a genuine passion for cars and making content about them, and this rebrand is either forcing them to risk it like jerry and zach to make their own stuff, or stay complacent under the heel of this company

[@AVV_Beats]

This reminds me of what happened to a former UK favourite car channel, CarThrottle. As a corporate mindset took over the channel, all the presenters abandoned ship.

[@Darkshadoz]

Why save (Donut) when we got Zach and Jeremiah to help us understand more about their freedom of video choice and topics.

[@edd2184]

Hoonigan, CarWow, Car Throttle, and now Donut Media are all going to learn the same lesson. Once a corporation buys them and starts changing the content. While the original host walk away. Is never a winning format. When the host leave the subscribers leave...

[@TheCanadianBubba]

They removed all the very early content that was best loved... and that's sad

[@rickintexas1584]

I stopped watching Donut when everyone was trying to be like Pumphrey. Pumphrey is annoying.

[@TheCreateOutdoors]

The same happened with Alex, Dakota, and Gels with Fitment Industries, and Martiniworks took off after they all left FI to pursue MW.

[@bluephreakr]

I think we need to coin a phrase for content we watch, and _dislike._ I'm thinking, #notworthadime would suffice. Here's why; something can not be worth a _damn_ and make money. But if the content isn't worth a _dime_ then that rings in the ears of shareholders - they listen to money, not reason. *Make them listen.*

[@OFFROADOVERDRIVE]

Also he last video they did about the Chinese car was also kind of wierd , Nolan seemed like he had a gun pointed at him off camera all the time , it seemed like he was reading a script

[@thefirely1439]

I like donut because of their modding videos but losing Zach is a big hit for that.

[@tenshi66]

Nirvana's unplugged session is one of the greatest live performances of all time

[@Larfty]

I remember I used to be able to watch an entire donut video loving it and then slowly I would have to skip almost the entire video. I just became uninterested.

[@billyhighfill]

I used to love them. The last few years they really went downhill. Just like Hoonigan…

[@LukesCarTalk]

What was your favorite series?

[@flapflapflapflap]

​@@LukesCarTalk "This is everything you need to know to get up to speed, on the [insert car name]!!!!"

[@LukesCarTalk]

@@flapflapflapflap Ahhh yes up to speed was the best

[@KurtH-fy7wu]

This dudes a grifter he decides to cover beef already talked about on the big time release vid I hate this using someone else’s logo in the thumbnail to get views

[@big____rich4560]

Almost 10 years of Gymkhana films and other banger content from Hoonigan isn't exactly what I would call "Short lived" but I think you're right on track with everything else here.

[@olov244]

all these shows get worse when they get bigger. for some reason people watch it more though. mighty car mods, cleatus, vice grip - all were better when they were just some guys in a driveway

[@estern001]

This is NOT a case of one or the other. I will be watching Big Time, and I will continue to watch Donut episodes I find interesting (fewer and fewer every month).

[@zendell37]

So... the clip where Jeremiah was talking about not being happy was at his old Bio Engineering job... Thanks for the deceptive editing.

[@pc2400]

I went from never missing an episode to never look for them anymore.

[@pigpen1978]

Wheelhouse and up to speed were what brought me to donut

[@thedooran]

I dont think donut is bad now, but it does make a lot of sense how their content changed after the acquisition. Things like the nissan frontier commercial, or the change from all in video product placement used to have a loading bar to show you where to skip past it.

[@aurorajones8481]

I dont watch big media thats why i like the actual ppl making content on YT and other similar sites. So yea ill pass on Donut.

[@nfinzer22]

Donut died when Bart left

[@FirstnameLastname-ni9uh]

This is so true I only watched cuz Bart was my favorite and he would actually teach you about stuff

[@itsrasalhague]

I miss Science Garage. Bart's who got me into their channel. Knowing how turbos work, how VTEC "kicks in" and stuff like that. Car things that intrigue me. Those were the days.

[@GIZZMOTORSPORTS]

I watched a whole lot of donut but it was very obvious all the guys are very green about cars, they were legit learning tho. Just like people in any field, for some it's just a job, others live and breathe it but never really get it, the small minority are pros at what they do. I think most were solid category B's. I hope everyone does well in whatever they choose to do.

[@2SVR60]

been watching donut since late 2020, i just realized why i kept going back to videos before 2022

[@dubssalamander]

This makes so much sense, no wonder I rarely watch them anymore, I loved Nolan’s wheel house and Jeremiah’s science videos!

[@mjolnir3580]

Ya'll notice how james is not in their videos anymore? 🤔

[@HidinginYourGarden]

Deliberately took them out of context at 1:30 because in the video they were talking about their previous jobs before donut media

[@X-Warrior.1119]

I do hate it when "Bullsh!t" Business People... Always get in the way in 'REAL' Automotive Projects?!... 😡🤬

[@glendocherty4741]

Wasn't that clip of Zack from him complaining about his engineer days?

[@LouSassoleS]

My question is where can i watch sandro?

[@Keryaken133]

The day up to speed ended was the day i forget donut media, it was all about cars and the show was much funner back then.

[@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat]

I think James once said "we are a shirt company posing as a car channel."

[@jtb3797]

Donut was super informative and technical which is why I loved it, then it turned into the cookie cutter "WE SPENT $$$$$ ON OUR $$$ RANGER/CIVIC/SHITBOX" which is just a 20 min multibrand advertisement.

[@imagumby7713]

Looking forward to Jerimiah and Zachs channel. Yeah, the loss of music on MTV was big. Was never too far away from Nirvana and Soungarden though as I grew up in the greater Seattle area. (cannot forget to mention Pearl Jam and Queensryche as well)

[@Bongoslam]

It's the craziest mindset. "Hey this channel is really succesful, let's buy it and change it."

[@Osiris2077]

Reminds me of the situation with The Creatures with James and Alex leaving.

[@lewsmz3238]

The same has happened to Car Throttle in the UK. The presenters/content creators of the show have all left, since a big company run by none car people, came in and bought the channel, and they've started their own channels, and they're much better than what car throttle has now turned in to

[@TempoLOOKING]

They sold it. There fault

[@eleventeen69]

Ken sold hoonigan long before he passed, to wheelpros

[@dcskate1022]

He never owned hoonigan media.

[@Mid-LifeChrisis]

I’m so happy because today I found my friends

[@belltolls1984]

Really good video my friend; I started noticing a change in their content around when COVID started, I just that was the reason but they seemed to never get back to the way they were before. I love all the people on there, Hopefully they can start putting out their own stuff, looking forward to that.

[@LukesCarTalk]

Thanks man

[@DelTalkoh]

I miss wheelhouse, bumper 2 bumper and up to speed. Those were the best videos on Donut, and now they dont make any of those videos anymore.

[@TheBrrp]

Anytime anything gets big its gets worse thats just how it goes

[@bobbybawbager]

You should take a look a what happened at Car Throttle!! The similarities are very interesting!!!

[@LukesCarTalk]

Okay good idea!

[@Spacepilot616]

Idk... they pulled 2mil(8day old video), 1.7mil(4 day old video), 2.2mil(month old video), 4mil(month old video) and at least 1mil for virtually every video in-between and before. Thats not even talking about any show that James has hosted in the past. Those videos have mad numbers. With 8.3mil subs. They are fine. Jer and jobe will be missed, but like the people they replaced. The show will go on. They have already introduced new faces. Sandro for 1 And the dude who helped Nolan with his Chrysler and in the offroad cybertruck video with Justin. He's popped up here and there. He will be a new face. And shop daddy Adam has been in way more videos latey And obviously, Jimmy. Who people have wanted more of since forever.

[@ply61]

I REALLY hope Junkyard Digs keeps independent for a long time

[@osvaldovidela6466]

@@ply61 I agree, Kevin is authentic with his content to be honest, wouldn't want to see him involved with Donut nowadays like full time.

[@sebastianmendoza6991]

You took a Jeremiah quote out of context and while I want to believe you did so unintentionally, but if you actually did watch the video there would be no way that could happen. I agree that Donut has taken a turn maybe for the worse, but it is dishonest to post a video misrepresenting both Donut and Jeremiah. Edit: The Jeremiah quote about making money while being unhappy was a reference to his previous job in Bio Engineering. Not Donut.

[@LukesCarTalk]

Thanks for calling me out I’ll be more careful in the next one

[@alrecks619]

yeah it's a big bummer that they have left out the high effort stuff to basically become yet another "weird products from amazon but for car people" channel.

[@TempoLOOKING]

No they still do You just hate China man like you do Palestine.

[@yeetsus5449]

I miss science garage the most with Bart, he was super charismatic and funny.

[@jsmith1871]

Honestly glad this is happening. James was always a flog and if you know anything about cars yourself you can instantly spot a poser, of which he is a massive one. He sold Bart down the river, he sold the whole company down the river. And now that the people with actual knowledge and personality are starting to leave, the writing is on the wall.

[@LukesCarTalk]

Wow I never looked at it that way

[@Browndogdiesel]

Small independent creator starts channel, channel grows, channel gets huge, channel gets bought by corporate interests, content quality decreases massively, viewers find new independent creator and the cycle repeats again

[@jogalong]

Just dont sell the channel if you dont want to be replaced by idiots.

[@LukesCarTalk]

Yeah that is a good point

[@someperson7]

Yah but the former owners probably don't care. I'd imagine building up and cashing in was their plan the whole time. Which is why it's always critical to negotiate for equity. That way when they sell you reap the rewards. It really sounds like some people got left behind. But J& J's contributions were definitely significant enough to have merited stock. Which isn't to say they haven't benefited, it's just to say if you don't pay your players they go free agent.

[@MITSCG]

Watching Donut Media videos while sitting alone in a crowded college lunch hall in between classes will forever be a cherished memory

[@norevlimitr1602]

This is just how life works, nothing lasts forever, things change.

[@TheHuskyK9]

It's not that simple. Yes, nothing lasts forever and things change, however this was a *forced* change rather than natural change. This is another case of uncreative corporate investors not letting the creatives have freedom and being too involved. Donut originally cared about what fun and creative videos they can make, but investors only care about the income/expenses of their content. Forcing them to prioritize safe cookie-cutter content slop that can make back what they spent, over quality videos that are fun to make.

[@StreetDreamzTT]

I gotta agree with the op. Buy out or not, things just don't last forever. The car scene has peaked a while now. The younger gen just buy fast cars from the firm. Modding seems daunting to most. Donut would dwindle either way. With the need for daily vids and a stagnant genre, might as well sell and move on.

[@TempoLOOKING]

​@@TheHuskyK9how they sold it. Now hand over the souls

[@TempoLOOKING]

​@@StreetDreamzTTno Gen Z hates cars in general. Can you blame them.

[@kerno5503]

don't wanna be a narc but u misused jerry's quote at 1:37, he was talking about his engineering job here. he didn't make much at donut

[@ZackSheehy]

Love the MTV unplugged reference

[@LukesCarTalk]

Some of MTVs best work. I wish I was born in the 90’s

[@01iverQueen]

All good things come to an end one day. Although that's what happens when you sell your soul to the devil.

[@belialofeden]

They been shilling Chinese cars too. Get that shit outta here

[@blackmancer]

It's just how these things evolve.

[@28636]

First, good content bro

[@LukesCarTalk]

Thanks bro, I appreciate it

[@theycallmewoodstock1756]

Thank the youtube gods for this recommendation

[@LukesCarTalk]

Thank you thank you

[@Fall2Caine]

The smoking tire, car throttle, hoonigan, Donut, and the way it looks after Donut, probably Throtl considering wheelpros Made Throtl and Hoonigan part of the same entity a few years back.

[@Frank9532]

Corporate always screws things up. Take a look to how cars were back when Engineers had control, instead of the accountants.

[@OPEK.]

i remember when donut media came around. It was the end of an era clear as day. It was almost the introduction of car media to the tiktok philosophy, short, quick, explosive. informative enough without really having anything of value. then they actually started doing stuff with cars in person. too late and a dollar short