What's RUINING The Car Scene | (Donut, BBS, Recaro, Speeed, BigTime)

[@AlexMartini.]

Why this matters a TON to me: I've been a car "enthusiast" since 2011. I started a car group in 2012 when I got bullied at a local weekend car meet. That group turned into 62,000 members and ever since that moment, my professional and personal life has been built around the car community. I've started road rallies with friends, built brands that I thought I would be at forever, and now i'm finally in control of not only my career with MartiniWorks & Metamartini, but also my voice. I've watched corporations, boards, people with more money than they know what to do with take more from this community than they ever should have. But because they could, they did. This "gimme" mentality has gotten worse over the past 10 years when out of industry companies started jumping into this space because the margins were good and nobody had done it before. The result is what you see now. Private equity BS selling, tearing, changing, and dismantling brands and companies that we know and love and the worst part about it all is that the people who connected YOU (the audience) to the product or brand now have to produce content or say things that they don't agree with. Promote products they don't like. Push sales on things they don't want to do, but they have to. It's crummy and I don't like it. Private equity needs to get bent. Greedy corporations need to get checked. People who love to create content should get to create content with their own voice and not be manipulated for a pay check. And for me here as myself and MartiniWorks, I promise to always be authentic as hell with you. We sell car parts, we want you to buy car parts from us, and I will NEVER insinuate otherwise or push garbage product because we have better margins. I refuse to sell my soul for an extra dollar and to any brand that's reading this that's upset you feel a bit called out here? Good. Do better. The car community deserves better. But maybe i'm wrong. Love ya'll. Happy Saturday

[@Lost10mm.]

Thanks for sharing this. It's definitely a bummer, but more will rise because of it. Hopefully more little channels will have a chance to take off.

[@infinitiMC7471]

The car community deserves better. Sadly after everything that’s going on: people leaving, companies going bankrupt, and bad reputation. It is simply concluding to either a new era of the car community or the end of car enthusiasts…

[@donohirst]

Well said.

[@jorisramanauskas780]

@@infinitiMC7471 car enthusiasts won't end but a good part of the big-name companies and channels have a very good chance to go belly up. It'll shake things up with new ideas and projects, which is good.

[@toyotaecw]

Capitalism, buddy. On one hand big brands will get ruined by greed. On the other hand, the little guys like yourself will fill the void by making quality products with reputable services. Embrace it.

[@HONDA-ACCORD99]

greed ruins everything

[@joaquinlopez5851]

That's capitalism for you

[@itsoundzgood]

​@joaquinlopez5851 not capitalism itself. It's not properly regulated capitalism that is the problem. To add to my comment: too much of anything is bad. Why do you think our own federal government is based on a checks and balance system.

[@chancekoehler7578]

Specifically, the investment firms that keep buying anything and everything, trying to do shit that is quite literally impossible like "infinite growth" and they just end up tanking and corrupting all of these major brands that we all love and care about

[@RogueCowTurd]

​@@itsoundzgood if capitalism needs to be regulated by a third party to not be a problem then id say it is pretty much capitalisms to blame.

[@ihatehandles3]

​@@joaquinlopez5851people are greedy in communism too, as a matter of fact hunger makes people even more greedy and shameless...

[@RetroMotiveAdventures]

Private equity is also ruining the housing market for us younger folks and large investment funds. Greed is the killer and always will be.

[@ferdinand12390]

I cannot find a decent place to rent, let alone buy, all because everything is being bought out by foreign investment companies or taken by some sort of mafia

[@Durgenheim]

Health insurance, hospital systems, retirement homes, utilities, education, food production, restaurants, etc… private equity has its tentacles in almost everything. They’re leeches that are sucking people dry at every single point.

[@ireallyreallyreallylikethisimg]

​@@ferdinand12390why are private entities allowed to own more than 5 properties at a time anyways? Laws should be passed to prevent that.

[@ferdinand12390]

@@ireallyreallyreallylikethisimg agreed, there’s should be like an anti-equity law, just as there’s an antimonopoly and antitrust

[@flowgangsemaudamartoz7062]

@@ireallyreallyreallylikethisimg But now you will be labelled as a backwards, controlling-ass socialist.

[@JCRSparrow]

The fact that Big Time in 1 month already has almost 1.5 million subs and Speeed after 2 days is already over 100k subs just shows how ass backwards this PE companies were going with what they acquired, hoping that people making moves to go and start their own companies brings about a fresh breath of life in the car communities, sure we lose the older brands we loved, but hopefully we get new brands we'll love out of it.

[@jasonmurdoch9936]

He also shows that people can buy subscribers on KZbin as well

[@JCRSparrow]

@@jasonmurdoch9936 1.5 mil subs and every vid big time has put out so far has approx 1 mil + views but yea totally buying subs bro

[@-chytrus-4474]

@@jasonmurdoch9936 clearly you didnt watch any video from this channel,its just...fun watching like in the early days of youtube...PrizzaMike Is also a nice example of this just fun

[@dyslexofficial2798]

Quarter of a mil in 3 days lol

[@-chytrus-4474]

@@dyslexofficial2798 The new channel was announced on Donut thats why

[@ryanking6811]

This happened at the company I was working for a year ago. Got sold to some large investor. The people who bought it went and fired lots of corporate workers and made all of our locations across the US start working on minimum staffing. It was a shame because that place used to be amazing to work at. Now it’s choking people out and workers are leaving left and right, myself included.

[@frankraiac]

Private Equity ruins everything.

[@TheHighborn]

i'd argue incompetent bosses do, but there's too much overlap

[@jonnytech7953]

@@TheHighborn yeah. it's basically a synonym.

[@ericsens7961]

Misran PE companies who don’t look at market cap* But yeah

[@connorhoyle2926]

Capitalism. Capitalism ruins everything.

[@notenoughmemes1847]

@@connorhoyle2926this

[@jazzscott4604]

I work at a family owned bowling alley that was bought by a corporation. Our biggest income and returning customers are league bowlers. What are they doing. Taking leagues and high school bowling out. Adding laser tag and escape rooms. It will eventually no longer be a bowling alley. And that hurts because I grew up bowling here

[@help_im_lost]

These equity companies that think you can continue growing profits/printing money infinitely without investment into the processes and logistics of the companies they're "acquiring" And when it doesn't work out? "Fuck it, we made some money still"

[@AlexMartini.]

Happens every day.

[@slfrules1]

they after infinite growth from finite resources and a finite market

[@RogueCowTurd]

it doesnt just relate to equity companies. hate to sound like a boomer but shit from the 80s and prior was just made so much better (even if the tech was a lot more limited), look at stuff like electronics, fridges, washing machines, watches ect. what used to have metal hinges, gears, switches, handles, dials and frames now have cheap plastic ones and its all because the endless need for growth and profit. minimum viable product with infinite growth

[@doctajuice]

Always failing upwards

[@justcommenting4981]

Even with investment, there is not unlimited growth. Certainly not unlimited acceleration of growth.

[@debaelwyn]

The only thing Private Equity is good at is sucking value out of things and leaving behind husks. It's not just the car aftermarket industry, it's everywhere.

[@clintpatty]

They're also probably responsible if your area recently had too many new car washes built.

[@CrispyRounds]

"We are from a private equity and we are here to help" should send people running the other direction.

[@AttilaGobor]

"Taking off a part that works perfectly fine and replacing it with a part that is objectively worse." That is a very accurate description of car guys. :D

[@jonathanwerrell3897]

Especially now.

[@punk_rock_music_teacher]

Same thing is happening to the video game industry. Buying out smaller developers just to drive talent away and churn out unfinished games.

[@Nick_Tank]

That part, I want to comment on this to bump because it’s BEEN going on for so long in Gaming Industry that Indie Games are better than MainStream AAA games that get released with bugs at launch…. It’s disgusting that big corps dgaf about consumers anymore

[@FrozenSolidM5]

You mean how a billion dollar Hacktivision will fix a bug within the store in 5 mins but still run on 60hz servers 7 years after they said they were going to upgrade lol Or they buy out small studios fire everyone to kill competion for their shyt games

[@punk_rock_music_teacher]

@@Nick_Tank the good news is we’ll get better indie developers that leave and start their own thing, just as the boys from Donut are doing

[@z4520ft]

@@Nick_Tank hooo boy. This is the same feeling when I stop subscribing to Game Pass (i still got free game pass btw) and move on to pc gaming. I know GP has plenty of indie or small scale games but the options are plethora on PC side. Every single thing Xbox release their own games, makes me lose hope in gaming much more. Halo? Crap. Forza Motorsport? Crap. Redfall? Crap. Starfield? Crap. Those things that they said they want to deliver to us from that games, are lies. Nowadays I have more enjoyment playing older Forza Horizon 4 and MMO Once Human.

[@s2korpionic]

Not just unfinished games, but games that were designed to lecture you about morals and less about gameplay.

[@Segbird]

Private equity is also ruining the dealership world. The one i work at was bought out 4 years ago. It went from a family owned dealership that was THE dealership to go to for our brand and THE dealership to work at. Customer relations were phenomenal, work flow in the shop and cars being bought through sales were sky high. After the buy out, employees lost bonuses and incentives, employees treated like slums of the earth, lost competitive pay, there was always a new thing that ruined it for the workers. For the customers, the price of labor and parts sky rocketed out of nowhere, the mark up on new and used cars became utterly outrageous. Customers consistently being ripped off, overcharged, lied to, and much more. We're all waiting for the place to sell out again like it did with our sister stores that were bought by the same company. And it wasnt just this one automotive group. Many dealerships in the area have been bought out by some northern private equity company and they have all heavily declined.

[@avenge0818]

As someone who loves cars and video games, I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach by private equity and corporate greed over the last few weeks…

[@Seffyr]

The video game industry has been in the same throes of investors for the past decade, and similar to what Alex is talking about - we’re watching some of our favourite studios either burn to the ground after severe mismanagement, get axed, or become soulless corporate shills. I miss BioWare. I miss Blizzard before the EA merger. Bethesda is still up the same janky shit but it feels cold and sterile as opposed to quirky. I miss other companies whose names don’t start with B.

[@jorisramanauskas780]

@@Seffyr Bethesda has been just dormant in my eyes until Starfield. They released that shitty game and went back to hibernation

[@EvilGav]

@@Seffyr in the video games industry, the buy-outs/PE/VC take-overs all happen in the 12 months before major releases. Then the game releases, money comes in, but the next fix is years away . . . so they "have to cut costs" because of the lower income . . . even though that's the basic cycle of every video game maker.

[@WoolfJ35]

Finance and tech bros have been ruining a lot of cool things lately.

[@Toolace]

@@Seffyr I’d like to add Bungie to the list of video game studios that start with B and just aren’t the same anymore.

[@byronjones4635]

You hit the nail on the head! Private Equity is doing the same thing in healthcare and senior care. It’s awful!

[@mikhilmuhuthan6903]

This is how an era dies. It happened to the fast and furious era where cheap replica parts tookover and killed reputable brands for a while. This Era has been killed by private equity firms and corporate greed. I hope the new era of car culture is even brighter than the last era, and where new players come into the game to leave thier mark while some old players leave.

[@cavalierliberty6838]

I hate to say it, the era of car mods is almost over, as the car market itself is dying.

[@Nikko780]

@@cavalierliberty6838 Nah, just the era of "bolt on a bunch of the cheapest crap" mods is almost over, and good riddance. Look at all the channels teaching fabrication and stuff. You can teach yourself to build nearly anything from watching KZbin. I sincerely believe we're going toward the "I'ma buy a reasonably priced TiG welder and build my own shit because fuck these guys" era.

[@cavalierliberty6838]

@@Nikko780 I think you missed the part where I said the car market itself is dying. Every company makes a damn SUV now. Cars are becoming a thing of a bygone era, and the more that end up wrecked or in junkyards, the less there will be. You can't have as much fun in a soccer-mom mobile or a truck, and that is what sells nowadays. That, combined with crap products and the private investor firms, is killing the mod industry.

[@tropicalpnch4549]

the "stance" movement killed the "fast and furious" era if it ever did die

[@Wopwopwopfuckitup]

@@tropicalpnch4549I mean not really, I would say companies that were the foundation of the culture going out of business because of fakes undercutting them had more of an impact than people lowering their cars lol.

[@camejuanm]

Fanatec too in last few days. Private Equity company just cannot understand a steering wheel to play racing games and truck simulators with. So they end up fucking everything up.

[@AudreyH48]

Your spot on. I work for a well known huge airplane builder and the same crap happened here. Those idiots took a company who's pride and joy was innovation and who respected their workers with good pay and a pension, brought in new leadership and now are facing felony charges because they kept pushing profits over people. There needs to be a law against this. Ceo's taking multi millions of dollars cash outs when the company is tanking isn't acceptable.

[@Burchie_]

lmao the fact you dont even need to say who you work for and everyone immediately knows who you work for says a lot about how bad that company is rn

[@johnnymartinez478]

lol I hope they throw your ceo in prison how was the Indian programmers working for ya

[@plav032]

Its insane that the market for these CEO's is "sooo competitive" that they require millions in performance incentives... in reality the shareholders are hiring these crooks in to get theirs while the getting's good (the r*ping & pillaging)... I think we are at a key point where the entire system is going to fail shortly because this cannot keep happening endlessly, and maybe they know this also.

[@derpinated]

sad to say you're gonna be found dead in a few days time for saying this

[@good-tn9sr]

B O E I N G

[@andrewborden1009]

Dude said the quiet part out loud.. And I’m loving it. Keep the spirit brother. The industry needs to protect itself.

[@koobs4549]

It’s gotten so bad that in 2020, even Callahan Auto had to sell its brake pads division to Zalinsky Automotive Group. Not sure the town of Sandusky will ever recover from the closing of that factory

[@davidturgeon2087]

They don't call it 'the rust belt' for nothing. Just the latest oxidation, I'm afraid.

[@crappy60]

😂 perfect reference

[@LordMcKrakenVonLittleBits]

Private equity is everywhere. It's literally decimating every industry it touches. They take something that's struggling and bilk it , lie to the public and the little guy always gets screwed. You either fall in line or GTFO.

[@ErebosGR]

This is exactly what late-stage capitalism is.

[@hashimrahman51]

Can’t keep doing that Ina rising interest rate environment. Their whole scam depended on ever falling interest rates (which had been the case since 1980).

[@hashimrahman51]

@@ErebosGRgiving a central bank the power to set interest rates and print money out of thin air, at will, is not capitalism. It’s the opposite.

[@michaelpoe7884]

This is the type of shit I like to see. The type of shit I miss on the Internet. A good fucking take. An actually well thought out, personal and absolutely correct message. Just straight truth no sugar coating, no beating the bush. Just telling me what it is and how it is in the most objectively truthful light possible. Thank you.

[@limefarmer]

Car guys are gaining class consciousness and I'm all for it!

[@AlexMartini.]

I’ve never heard it like this before but I like it 😅

[@space_opera]

I know it feels so good, especially when the community has been reactionary for so long

[@post-leftluddite]

​@@space_operagood comment

[@manuelzabdiel4991]

Real

[@notenoughmemes1847]

we’re in desperate need for some class consciousness and less reactionary ideology

[@BatCaveOz]

Non powertrain automotive accessories have become less popular, even among enthusiasts. (racers are different, but they only represent a small percentage of the community). It used to be pretty common to buy a car and immediately get: New Rims New steering wheel New seats New tint (probably) Modern wheels and tyres are way better than they used to be, and OEMs usually have performance options available Aftermarket sports steering wheels don't allow you to answer your phone or adjust the volume of your stereo etc. Aftermarket seats typically don't have heating or cooling or electronic adjustability The Fast and Furious era is over. No one is putting LEDs under their cars anymore.

[@skylarstark802]

Don't know about where you are in the world but over here a lot of that comes down to the law. In australia you aren't allowed aftermarket wheels if your car had an airbag stock. You can't have certain seats or tints too dark. You can have underglow if the car is parked

[@hkonhelgesen]

Recaro and BBS have most of their sales to the car industry (VW, BMW, etc). Not so much "The Fast and Furious" aftermarket.

[@davidturgeon2087]

@@hkonhelgesen So true. Back in the day, my 1988 Alfa-Romeo Milano QV came standard with Recaro seats, and they were wonderful!

[@theundergroundlairofthesqu9261]

@@skylarstark802 OK, here in the United States, a great many things are allowed. Even if they're stupid.

[@crappy60]

Now I see a lot of truck guys who put lights in the wheels wells. Before the it was just underbody and some suspension now there are lights all over. 😂 For actual off roading it could have its use at night but on a mall crawler we all know what’s really going on. You’re right about how car industry now provides better power numbers with OEM packages.

[@gr6395]

Look at what happened to Hoonigan.. they are a prime example of corporate greed. It’s hard to say no to bags of money, because we need it to sustain our families but it does dirty the car industry. You made a lot of good points and while I don’t agree with everything you said, I do agree with one major point.. “. . . Those corporate bastards can get ficking bent!”

[@jessebrook1688]

In 1985, Automobile magazine was started by staff from the recently acquired Car & Driver. I think this is the modern equivalent. Back then it was media conglomerates forming. These days it's private equity firms playing around with other people's money in areas they have no idea about. Like Chrysler, for example. Cerberus Capital Management certainly didn't help them any, and that was my wake-up call moment to what private equity could and would do.

[@PapaWoody440]

Nailed it. Private equity firms don't have the passion for the products made by the companies they acquire. They see every component as a dollar sign. They don't know or care about what motivates a car guy to spend crazy money on parts that often have no practical value. A set of $4000 BBS wheels isn't going to turn your '08 350z into a GT-R, or you into Max Verstappen. And you know that. But you buy them because they're fvcking cool. The investors that bought the company that made those wheels don't get it. All they see is the numbers. The car hobby used to be served by companies like Edelbrock, Mickey Thompson, Hooker Headers, and others, where the name of the company was the name of the guy who founded it, and usually in his garage. And it seems like carTubers are experiencing the same thing.

[@katalysis]

This is just part of the private equity playbook. You buy an asset, you focus on short term tactics to increase asset value without a care in the world for long term (cuz you're not in it for the long term), and then sell off what you acquired piecemeal and make money.

[@mplewp]

Both brands are guilty of selling too expensive stuff . A wheel even with the best metals & design really doesnt cost 1500€ a piece .

[@michaelharrison1093]

A valid point that anyone who knew these companies would understand. What is really crazy is that a private equity company would look at these companies and think that they can extract even more money out of these companies.

[@FVBully]

Been through that corporate buyout and you are exactly right. No question.

[@BryanHoefer]

The same thing happened to the mountain biking industry. Anything enthusiast focused that saw huge increases in sales during COVID attracted outside investment from organizations that didn't understand the core enthusiast base. Because the investors don't understand the buyers, they don't understand how to keep the companies successful in the long run.

[@JFTM_]

Pinkbike with Outside was interesting because Outside is its own brand rather than PEF… but still, I’d rather buy family owned E.G. Atherton or a true brand e.g. Specialized which is majority held by the founder

[@TheChipMcDonald]

Bike industry thought it could survive pretending everyone lived at a downhill bike park and wanted to buy >$5000, insisted an "entry level" bike is $1,000+. Mass corporate delusion.

[@davidturgeon2087]

In many cases, the outside investors don't give a rat's a$s about the company or its customers or its survival, never mind growth. These type of PE "investors" buy the company to make money from sinking the ship, which is their business plan from the get-go. The purchase is highly leveraged through commercial loans. Prices are increased and costs are cut to maximize short term profits while critical assets are sold or encumbered, all to fund massive dividends and executive salaries. Once the original investment plus a hefty return has been achieved, bankruptcy is declared or the company is "re-organized". Rinse and repeat.

[@X_heehaw_x]

Great content. I'm a Ceo that sold in the exact fashion you described and in a golden handcuff deal for 12 months. And..... The new group cake in and fucked it all up. Forced cuts of the team that built this thing with no shits given. It's an eye opener. I personally love the new Csuite team at Donut for what it's worth. Once the shock of new talent subsides they will do fantastic!

[@davidturgeon2087]

Yeah, right. Some people never learn from experience, I guess.

[@zpzp96]

I wonder what aftermarket companies who said no to those offers and still in the business. We should support them just for that.

[@jacobasuncion3132]

Agree 💯

[@zumcrew]

linus tech has been offered 10x the current businesses worth and linus keeps saying no.

[@NothingXemnas]

Worth mentioning that staying private does mean they won't fuck up. We are always brought attention to companies being bought by peivate equity because, like us, they only catch what rose to the top, but it is survivorship bias; LOTS of privately-owned companies are equally terrible and don't even get to the top. That said, FUCK PRIVATE EQUITY. In fact, fuck corporate acquisition in general; Disney buying half the world's media is itself an obvious issue.

[@itsoundzgood]

Motion Raceworks is one. Support companies like them if you can!

[@johnmcshane4463]

​@@zumcrewlinus knows hed be crucified by his own followers for selling out like that after warning people about that for years.

[@shay5565]

First one of your videos that came across my feed, but well said! And as others mentioned this is not just car parts or KZbin channels. PE firms are all over the place the place as soon as you start to scratch the surface. Thank you for putting this out there, as I imagine it’s a lot of people’s first introduction to PE. Also, I grew up down the road from Road America, that shirt is sick!

[@JK-tu1xx]

Yeah, when I see a $2500 seat I just move on... When I see wheels that are along the lines of $1500 a piece I just move on... It's not necessary, it's not going to increase the value of my car. Mortgage payments for car parts is pretty silly.

[@Craiggg12345]

Recaro has better priced seats. The Recaro Japan SR7 seat is $1100-1200 (I have them) and the Sportster. BBS is very pricey but they’re beautiful. Volk and Advan is a better price for forged.

[@TomeiARC]

What part of Egypt do you live where your mortgage is $2,500

[@pr3yanimal]

the problem here is thinking anything needs to "increase the value" of your car. it's not done for monetary reasons, it's done because it's a hobby in some sense. it's out of the enjoyment of it, and a solely money-focused thought process is how these companies got ruined in the first place.

[@Amabar]

@@TomeiARC 2.5k mortgages are normal where I live.

[@jorisramanauskas780]

I would suggest trying to make the car into what you want instead of raising value. I'd definitely buy BBS wheels if they fit the vision I have for a car but not because it would raise value of the car.

[@n7narcosis]

💯 correct. Good news from the bad is, it gives way for competition to step in. If BBS/Recaro/whatever is out, I'm happy to support new and growing companies that haven't been tainted by private equity.

[@BrandoMotion]

I was a project manager in the MRO space, working directly with companies and private equity firms. One such company owns a brand that begins with an “H” and ends with an “N.” I can attest that they are focused solely on the balance sheet and shareholder approval, often to the detriment of the companies they acquire. PE firms are just paper pushers, and we've seen how that turned out for our favorite car companies, many of which have folded or lost their souls creating boring cars.

[@ericsens7961]

“Maximize shareholder value” That’s all that matters to PE. At least with VC the money comes from people who you deal with face to face.

[@BrandoMotion]

@@ericsens7961 Right! With PE’s you get a few emails and phone calls but rarely face time. VC’s a definitely more involved.

[@3RD0K-YT]

Hoonigan

[@VagabondKing100]

Timely video considering Hoonigan just declared bankruptcy as well.

[@ahmadmorrow2749]

It is crazy how bad the community is getting

[@player1GR]

That's sad. Btw Russian car enthusiast community is doing great

[@gotaytaygo1]

Not that I’m an inside genius of the YT car community, but over the past 2-3 years, I’ve begun to wonder if the YT car enthusiasts’ space kind of needs a massive reset, of sorts. It seems like so many have come close to “achieving everything that can be achieved,” when it comes to clout-chasing hyper cars and such. Excited to see what Pumphrey creates on his own with a fresh start. Same with BigTime.

[@JustRens.]

I wouldnt say that the community is getting bad but more the money side of things

[@REXae86]

Greed kills all it seems

[@imperial_crest6809]

I agree with you, cuz in my country a few good car shows are dead or went downward spiral and the community is getting more toxic to the part where passion is not a thing anymore and it's all about validation and competition (hence why I left the community). I know this is sort of off topic to the video but it's a coincidence that things are changing for the better or worse (mostly).

[@MrDaveHandGrenade]

This happens in just about every industry all over the world today. I work in road haulage in the UK, one of my previous haulage employers was bought by a private equity firm, all of the assets the company owned were gradually sold and converted to leases. Then lo and behold, the company folded soon after. Company bought, hollowed out for everything it was worth and then closed up putting ~250 of us out of the job within the space of a couple of years. It is an incredibly destructive practise that needs looking into by legislators because the vacuum left by these domestic companies being shut down very often gets filled by companies from a certain foreign nation...

[@davidturgeon2087]

Unfortunately, finance OWNS the legislators who set the rules. Those bought-and-paid-for legislators would like you to believe that a "certain foreign nation" is to blame, but anyone with a brain in their head realizes they are just picking up the pieces those legislators created.

[@signal_rr]

I saw this in another industry, the name behind the product was started in a small shop, gets known for being above it's competitors' quality, gets bought out by a corporation, then the product starts being questioned as to how to get more for less, product suffers during production, and the final product is worse than what it was before the buy out.

[@GREENPHANTOMGARAGE]

When I was in highschool was when donut was at the top posting weekly up to speed videos ✨🔥 love your work!

[@mavr1ck_garage]

The biggest "surprise we're no longer in business" was when bennagins literally waited for the employees to leave for the night and then came chained up all the doors and never said a word to anyone.

[@glenjamindle]

I had to change the locks and break the news the next morning when everyone showed up to work. 'We're closing 65 offices and you're all let go effective immediately'. Worst day of my life telling my guys that.

[@SS-du7tr]

James was talking about getting up to speeed on Rolex, Levi’s, and some other Shiite I honestly couldn’t give an islamiturd about when what we really need is an up to speeeeeed on bennagins!

[@jeffreyb.1657]

He said so much...yet he was super efficient. Well done Alex. Miss the pre 2019 days......hope we can get back there.

[@DivineBk2]

It’s not even just cars. It’s everything. Kohler the major appliance brand, was also just recently bought by a private equity company

[@bskok82]

Has also happened with various clothing brands. Brooks Brothers was also purchased by PE in October of 2020, and the quality on all of their clothes has gotten consistently worse every single year.

[@bestsat16]

Alex, what a fantastic introduction to you and your channel. I'm not a car guy as it is classically defined, but I'm interested in it enough that I consume a great deal of content from Donut and now Big Time and Speeed.. I hadn't seen you or your channel before, but after watching the James Pumphrey departure announcement, your video was suggested. You took what could have been a really dry topic fast moving, interesting and informative. You've made me a subscriber after watching one video. Thanks for your knowledge and enthusiasm. I hope you continue to grow and succeed.

[@Bruno-xb2mt]

Recaro needed to sort their pricing out. Their classic seat costs £2000 for one seat whereas cobra make a very similar seat thats around £1000 for a pair. For a few hundred more they’ll custom upholster them with the finest materials. Similar thing with bbs and the wheel industry is so much more competitive.

[@Drift4Drifters]

The brand Recaro is too famous to break and move out of the market. Probably another bigger group will eat it, and keep the brand making seats with more scheduled obsolecence to force people to buy more times.

[@carsbykris]

This video hit extremely close to home for me and I appreciate you putting this info out there in a way that is understandable for those who might not be familiar with PE firms and how they're ravaging our industry. I went to work for an automotive aftermarket/restoration company that had recently been aquired by a PE firm, but was still run as a fairly small company. Though over the next few years, additional brands were added via acquisition and it started to lose its charm. Higher-ups were brought in because of how they looked to the Board instead of how well they knew the industry, etc. In late 2020, one of the industry juggernauts bought the company (along with a fistful of others) and we became part of them. I won't say who, because I think it'd be unprofessional, but people in the business can narrow it down pretty quick. Operations here were shut down here and moved to headquarters in a different state. Shortly after that, the folks in charge realized they had taken a bit of a misstep in acquiring some of these companies and essentially started gutting/sundowning many of the brands it owned. So ultimately it resulted in many people losing their jobs (some people had been at the company over 30 years) and it was virtually for nothing in the end because the brand I originally worked for was pushed into obscurity because it wasn't making the money they thought it would. Brutal, upsetting, and fairly disrespectful to those who put years of effort into building the brands. At the end of the day, the realistic part of me knows it's just business and we shouldn't take it personally, but as enthusiasts, we do take it personally. We do what we do because we love it, so having someone with deep pockets buy the company and then gut it hurts. Just like you said in the video, we shouldn't root for these companies to fail because them being around is still good for the consumer/enthusiast, but it is unfortunate that a lot of the soul and passion is being crushed out of the industry.

[@angeloah]

Here here, well said. As a victim of one of these companies buying in when a trend was hot, not when it needed help. Then the trend falls off due to them stepping in and ruining the vibe, bailing out and leaving burned husks of people in their wake. Thanks for bringing a knowledgeable voice to this issue.

[@ricardocuevas7815]

I'm in my 50's and have been a car enthusiast since I had my drivers license at 15yrs old. They say "money is the root of all evil". THIS is living proof! The hobby we all love has been turned into "how much profit can we make" and "what can you do for me" thing. Basically ALL THE FUN has been taken out of being a car "enthusiast". GREED.

[@andrewshead8285]

What is even crazier is these firms come in buy up a company then proceed to tell the company itself how to run its own business? Dude it's successful because of what we've been doing. Don't change that?

[@Neipalm]

They act like that by design. The private equity firms don't care about the company in the long term, only the money they can squeeze out in the short term. Lets say they buy a company for 10mil. They have the company cut costs, cut corners, and cut people. Then 3-5 years later they've made their 10mil back and additionally 5mil profit but the business is failing. They don't care because they made more money than they invested, let the company die or file for bankruptcy, and are on to the next one.

[@kristoffer3000]

Yes but there's more short term profits to be made, the company doesn't matter as long as shareholders get their bag.

[@gokartsrock1354]

The fact that this video is no longer uncommon in the automotive space proves we are healing and fighting back. Going to the root. I enjoy all of the car creators on KZbin. You guys are teaching the next generation how to build cars, and be good people while doing it.

[@zumcrew]

“Get Fcukn bent” 👏🏼 you hit the nail on the head. The soul gets lost when these clueless PEF buy cool shit. I think the other thing that hurt a lot of companies is the FTC made non compete employee clause unenforceable and void. That and the new California law 1075 is why the donut guys could start a channel in the same segment and donut had no choice but to act happy about it

[@rayson0101]

Holy moly, things are getting more and more crazy right now. Thanks for the truthful sharing. I really hope things will get better in time for everyone, peace and love!

[@DISCOSHOEBOX]

This just pushes me further in to what I am calling Modern Hot Rodding, make my own parts for my own cars because I can't afford the expensive parts and I never could. I'll buy the absolute necessary to get the job done but everything else I would rather spend 100's of hours making what I want. I don't buy new wheels - I buy secondhand and then refurb myself, I make my own headers, exhausts pipes and sometimes my own mufflers.

[@lukeoxley7548]

Thanks for making this video!! This is a very great explanation of what is happening behind the scenes for us casual viewers. It's nice to have an understanding of why personalities are leaving, why brands are declaring bankruptcy, why the automotive industry is "becoming worse" in the eyes of the standard consumer. It defenitily helped me understand.

[@luisdetomaso867]

The elephant in the room is that 80% of vehicle sales is now pickup trucks and SUVs

[@Treaxvour]

Because that's all anyone makes anymore.

[@ghettomist1575]

@@TreaxvourThat’s what everyone makes because that’s all everyone buys. People who live alone are buying 7 seaters for all their imaginary friends. It’s rough man.

[@ramadhanisme7]

By beings devil's advocate, suv and trucks are needed because the road in my country is literally sh1t ass, my sedan won't survive on those roads that's why I'm also planning to trade my maxima into murano just because i need the ground clearence despite my die hard love for sedan or saloon

[@pbourdon231]

The reason SUVs and Trucks are being pushed, bought and sold is because of CAFE standards and corporate profits. SUVs and Trucks don’t have to be as fuel efficient as coupes/sedans/wagons due to their heavier curb weights. It’s an old law that dates back to the 70s and CAFE standards. Long story short, car companies are incentivized to make these bigger vehicles because they can be less efficient using older tech thereby having larger profit margins. You can look this up. There are lots of videos about this, but at the end of the day it’s all about profits. The only reason people buy them is because they’re marketed so heavily to the stupid American public who buys whatever the TV tells ‘em to. It’s ridiculous but critical thinking isn’t really a common skill here. So trucks and SUVs it is.

[@Viper-yv8tw]

Also putting too much entertainment features in cars. I feel like they want to remove the car from the car and replace it with yet another entertainment device to appeal to tech guys. What I envision as a solution would be: bring back oldschool buttons upgraded with a small touchscreen with only the stuff you need while driving. Make it affordable, more or less reliable and/ or easy for maintenance and don't make it look like dogshit or another soulless crossover.

[@iankuah8606]

You hit the nail on the head! Pure greed is so destructive.

[@Matty_mccfly]

Dude, alex your video is just exactly as to what happened to my company a grocery company here in Cali we got sold to a private investment group then two years later to the Jim Patterson group. Similar to what my company went from family owned to another group.

[@stormy313]

yeah man unfortunatly this isn't just cars, it's everything :( I'm sorry to hear

[@joshfowler197]

I'm a mechanic that works for dodge,ram,jeep. I am literally watching this same thing happen with Stellantis as well. Its not just aftermarket.

[@name-k7t]

Ummm bro, do you realize what you’re highlighting in the middle middle to later part of the video??? I’m at 8:35… bro. You’re aware of what the M2 is right? I wish I could talk with you on zoom about this. All this free money? And you’re certain about the 5 year mark? … just look at the median personal income. It’s flat. They zoomed in liquidity, these funds bought up companies… inflated a bunch of stuff… and the wheels are coming off because it’s not sustainable. There’s so much to talk about.

[@radhammond2708]

Spot on. Private equity firms (black rock, vanguard etc.) are destroying capitalism and the economy. That’s why houses selling for 200,000k in 2020 are selling for 400k today.

[@dudemynameisdebo]

The BBS corporate office right next to Road Atlanta has looked closed for 20 years lol

[@mpf1947]

That's the BBS America office, which hasn't declared any sort of bankruptcy.

[@dudemynameisdebo]

@@mpf1947 Well it looks like they did 20 years ago and one dude in a 3 series just sits there alone lol

[@SoundBoy808]

As a car community enthusiast and professional, i agree. Aftermarket Car business is run by passionate people who love what they do and the cars they do it for. Money making is a part of it, but certainly not all of it. No passion for cars and just focus on money = guaranteed fail. Just look at Boeing for the ultimate example of this, multiple levels higher than aftermarket cars....

[@CR3W072]

Hopefully big time and everyone else learns from this and it dosent happen again

[@zumcrew]

When a crazy person offers you x8 the dream number in your head was You take the money and laugh like a crazy person to the bank

[@AlexMartini.]

@@zumcrewyou’re right. It’s easy to think people are crazy for selling, but I’ve seen some pretty hefty buy out checks that set you up for generational wealth and I haven’t met anyone who’s sad no.

[@RogueCowTurd]

@@zumcrew exactly. this has been happening in the gaming industry for well over a decade now and hasnt stopped. also in the housing industry when corpos like BlackRock and estate firms offer to buy your house. its been happening for forever and it will never be stopped

[@Treaxvour]

A lot of companies were heading towards bankruptcy anyway if they didn't get bought out. So, hang on to a dying business, or cash a check and let some fool try to see if he can do better in the next few years? It's a get out of jail free, pass go collect $200 deal.

[@MJ-uk6lu]

@@zumcrew And then regret your choices

[@zacknagel827]

THANK YOU ! This NEEDS to be said! The bike industry is going through the same bs too!

[@gascan_productions]

I sniffed this out when Scotty Kilmer mentioned how other car channels got bought out just merely rambling on one of his videos. He named a few channels and it explained so much as to why they didn’t feel organic anymore and felt like a manufactured Discovery Channel show.

[@TheChipMcDonald]

...but Scotty Kilmer is dying! And quitting KZbin, while driving a Tesla that IS GOING TO EXPLODE because you didn't add a drop of something to your crankcase to give you 100 mpg...

[@kristoffer3000]

Scotty Kilmer is pretty much the worst person to listen to, he's a drunk crackpot.

[@SpaceBananas]

The same thing happened with WTF1, and Matt and Tommy ended up leaving and starting P1. As production values started going up and the projects at Donut started getting bigger, I had a sneaking feeling that the same thing was going to happen. Didn't take long, but glad to see the community from Donut is spreading it's wings to their guys.

[@JBLman2000]

alex is the reallest in the car community 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@AlexMartini.]

Thanks friend 🖤

[@bigbirddriver94]

Nah

[@razorbullet-9127]

Most straight forward, honest video and absolutely love the no-bullshit attitude, mad respect

[@DingoZed]

Just randomly googled.... Z1 Motorsports also was bought out in 2020 by EAH. Wow... talk about a real mindf*ck.

[@50LOT1]

Really !!

[@welfare_baybee]

I worked at an amazing salon chain in the Seattle area with a beloved owner and well respected heritage in the area, they were known for giving away Miatas and amazing vacations to top earners at the annual company wide parties. 2 years after I got in it was acquired by an investment firm made of bald headed old men, they immediately gutted the soul of the company, and even went as far as banning the creator (Gene Juarez) from visiting the salons anymore because after making several random visits, he was overwhelmed with complaints and concerns from 20+ year employees about the future of the company. They lowered the quality of service, raised prices, and took away all the perks that made these salons an amazing place to work. I left a year later because after 2 years of training, the company was a shell of what I had initially signed up for. I've hated investment firms ever since. They are literally vultures.

[@gmarinelarena8675]

Money always follows pasion. Not the other way around.

[@davidturgeon2087]

Sorry: today money IS the passion, so money pursues yet more money.

[@gmarinelarena8675]

@@davidturgeon2087 you are right. But it is like a paradox if you think about it.

[@MetalGamer666]

As someone who follows the gaming industry closely, this sounds eerily familiar. Beginning in 2023 and continuing into 2024, the video game industry has experienced mass layoffs. Over 10,000 jobs were lost in 2023, and an additional 11,200 jobs were lost in 2024 from January to July. The layoffs caused several video games to be canceled, video game studios to be shut down or divested from their parent company, and thousands of employees to lose their jobs. Over 30 video game development studios laid off their entire staff and shut down. One of the primary reasons for layoffs in the video game industry is mergers and acquisitions. Video game companies believed that the significant growth witnessed during the pandemic would continue afterward, leading many firms to explore mergers and acquisitions. Between 2020 and 2024, 16 out of the 22 most expensive video game acquisitions in video game history occurred, with major players such as Microsoft, Sony, Embracer Group, Tencent, Take-Two Interactive, and Electronic Arts each making at least one acquisition.

[@desertninja._.galactic]

Donut did not have to or need to sacrifice their series' for boring generic content with the intent of just getting views when their normal content was getting enough. The HiLow Turbo video has like 15M views rn. The most in their history

[@anastasisparastatidis5479]

I really wanna see how this goes and i really hope new small companies are born by people who love cars

[@eeooKKK]

Social Media is ruining the car scene!

[@arrgorndenethor]

Take overs ruin the Car Scene

[@dantegill9380]

Only thing I see is clout chasing for views. If you have anything else please do tell as my perspective is if not for it we would not have nearly all the great events aftermarket stuff and a ton of other things because it used its views to guage it after the fact to show the world their feats, see what is desired, and what works. Again just my perspective.

[@promx96]

@@arrgorndenethortakeovers are the car scene

[@chadhumphries3970]

To be honest social media has ruined everything in one way or another. People are way stupider now soaking up all the dumb shit on social media all day than they were in the 90s

[@rutylzz7179]

​@@promx96Never say that again

[@user-qx1gj4uk2o]

this was a surprisingly good explanation. Very impressed.

[@Squeals0nWheels]

Private Equity has had their hands in a lot of these companies planning for their demise. The company Gamestop will be the ONLY company to break the mold come september. 4 Billion in cash, no debt, & a CEO who works for free

[@jakeharms1386]

Private equity is ruining a ton of things right now, not just in the car space. We need to find a way out of this asap

[@jackkunasaki5044]

Any recommendation on good quality red seats?

[@AlexMartini.]

Status Racing ! Tell em I sent ya

[@savots3812]

While this is car channel and this is about this industry, the thing is that you can see it nearly everywhere, which is even more sad in my opinion. Great video, just it starts feeling like it's just one of the common situations now...

[@Nikko780]

This is what people defend when they argue against any critique of capitalism. This is capitalism in it's most efficient form. It is and never was about providing a product, it was and is only about generating profit for those with the capital to pull shit off like this.

[@keithskoglund10]

Nah bro that's so wrong. Capitalism provides an even playing field where anyone can start their own company from scratch, and with some luck, become very successful. If someone wants to cash in on their hard work and sell what they built, they deserve to do it. And that's what happened here. Someone offered enough money to buy these companies and the owner's cashed out and moved on. It's a part of life.

[@davidturgeon2087]

@@keithskoglund10 You can keep believing that capitalist bullshit all you want, but it won't slow down the de-industrialization of the economy. Capitalism is not and never has been about an "even playing field". Clearly, you haven't been paying attention to what has happened to the economy over the last 40 years or so. What is happening here and elsewhere is the financialiazation of the economy, turning it from a productive economy of consumer goods and services to a rentier economy of money seeking money. We are entering into an era of late-stage capitalist feudalism. It marks the death, not life, of a productive economy functioning in the public interest.

[@ZillaFullBoost]

Private equity firm killed my local track “Palm Beach International Raceway”. They had the chance to sell to enthusiasts, but decided to sell to an Amazon or Walmart.

[@JerryC25]

Capitalism at its finest

[@davidturgeon2087]

De-regulated capitalism at its finest.

[@isaace8090]

The first wave destruction was car forums in the 2010s. Look at how many car forums died after they were bought out by certain companies. Now they are husks that nobody visits anymore. There are only a few forums I still frequent that have enough people posting to make it worth it.

[@mhoovair89]

Just another astoundingly ridiculous point to prove why capitalism is not the way.

[@hkonhelgesen]

Capitalism created all these products. None of these quality products would exist without capitalism. But still. The important thing, is that capitalism lifted billions of people out of poverty.

[@The_Notorious_CRG]

Private Equity has ruined many a perfectly fine small and growing business by buying it and "improving efficiencies and maximizing margins".

[@hamsterbrigade]

Finally someone who is saying it like it is. As someone who has been in a leadership position in a company that was private equity owned, this is exactly how these things work. Its all about time horizons and ROI. They don't view what the company does as anything other than numbers on a spreadsheet. They're very formulaic in how they operate.

[@ryantheguitarguy2359]

This is 100% spot on. I've been in the business world a long time and I see it happening in my industry as well. Hopefully consumers drift toward supporting small/private businesses as opposed to massive corporate PE firms. Same thing is happening with single family homes just to make a correlation.

[@caywo_]

Now Hoonigan declared bankruptcy too

[@RandySalazar-c5k]

I agree. The problem started with family-owned legacy brands hitting retirement age, looking to sell and the only way to obtain perceived value for brand equity and business model (EBITDA) was to sell to PE. And PEs model is to scale and flip. The problems started when interest rates started climbing and inflation slowed demand. Meaning loans for said mergers and acquisitions became unaffordable so the options are to refinance debt, sell assets (divisions, inventory), or reduce overhead (layoffs, etc).

[@davidturgeon2087]

I respectfully disagree. The problem is with the business model, period. A slowdown in the business cycle merely amplifies the inherent problems and hastens the foregone conclusion. There are other, better business models for a family-owned company's long term continuation, including instalment sales to new family owners, to an executive group, or to an employee co-operative.

[@RandySalazar-c5k]

@@davidturgeon2087 I agree with there being better options. I was more so commenting on the current state of the industry and the inherit affects from the PE model that is impacting several industries in the current macroeconomic climate.

[@tigre932]

I work at a brand that specializes in niche automotive accessories. It was acquired by a private equity firm in 2020 and is one of several brands they own. Some of the smaller brands are struggling and will likely be merged with larger ones. I also manage some major e-commerce accounts, but the market is currently down, and many businesses are facing closure and being sold to larger companies 🐋 We are considering outsourcing to our neighboring country, Mexico.🇲🇽

[@davidturgeon2087]

And the beat goes on.

[@StancedMK]

Sad to see such a brand as Donut media fall apart, but it is amazing to see the ex members creating privately owned channels giving us more content we love from the people we like.

[@CompComp]

I am so thankful to the channels like LTT that had the integrity to say no to those offers. According to Linus of LTT, they were offered "9 figures".

[@arnedolouisart1490]

Thank you for explaining what private equity firm does 😂, your explanation is so easy to understand compared to my prof’s explanation

[@NevermoreRacing]

Dude, I fucking love you. This video just made a follower for life. Straight and to the point honesty. This is exactly what the world in general needs.

[@codenamedesertviper1825]

Excited to see the R34 build that you’ve been trying to keep secret lol. Ya know, since it’s sitting in the background of some of the videos and Dakota mentioned how difficult it’s been to work on an RB in one of the last podcasts

[@beautifulcatastrophe]

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain

[@IndependenceCityMotoring]

Or maybe it's because Recaro and BBS ask premiums prices for their products like its still the 80s or 90s, whereas now there are tons of seat and wheel competitors selling equivalent quality seats at a fraction of the price. Smart consumers aren't willing to pay more just for branding.

[@davidturgeon2087]

It's all part of their plan.