The CarDomain staff have been working all week to bring you the most noteworthy cars at SEMA–not just the best, but the worst. I thought I’d already reached the bottom of the barrel with this ugly Prius, but this Chevy hi-riser comes very close to topping that monstrosity. See more…

Continue reading "Magenta 1972 Chevy Coupe High-Rider" »

I’ve been desk-bound—or um, not—since getting back from SEMA way back in November, which kind of sucks. Last year at this time? I was flying all around the country and seeing all kinds of wicked stuff! Oh well. I went to a bunch of DUB shows last year, and while I never stuck around for the music, I’d make an exception for the Charlotte stop. Lethal Injection was in my CD changer for years, and I’ve never gotten to see Ice Cube live. If you’re in the area he’s worth the admission alone.

Yes yes, I know you all hate donks and think they’re silly. But admit it: if you had something sitting on 26″ rims, you’d probably want to take a lot of sexy low-angle pics of it, too. See more nice shots of mrsaudi’s ‘76 Caprice on his ride page!

My buddy Danny of King of the Street is putting on the first annual Big Car Showoff on January 25 at the Miami-Dade Fair County Expo Center. The show will feature a low rider hop and dance competition and a freestyle motocross show. We’ll have more on some of the cars that will be at the show in the coming weeks. And of course we’ll have full coverage of the event on CarDomain.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

I just talked to Larry our photographer and I think we can officially say that there are no hi-risers at SEMA this year. What gives? Is it over for hi-risers? This Riviera was a pretty big hit last year.

Update: ok, looks like there are at least two hi-risers here. I saw the big limo that was here last year parked across the street. And Mike said he saw another one in the DUB area. Pics of the limo after the jump.

Continue reading "SEMA 2008: No Hi-Risers???" »

Hey, what’s not to like about money? I guess if you’re really all about the Benjamins, building a Bank of America tribute car makes a certain amount of sense. Check out the two gas caps, one for fuel and one for "night deposit only" (see it stuffed with bills on page 2). And the headlights full of coins and the BOA credit-card grille emblem are inspired touches. While CarDomain policy doesn’t say anything specific about the gratuitous display of possibly illegal firearms on member pages, we figure that if anyone deserves some slack on this front, it’s this guy—since he’s basically done up his Crown Vic as a rolling ATM, he’s clearly running a pretty burly security risk, especially with that cloth sunroof. Check out his ride page!

Continue reading "A Bank You Can Trust: Moneyed-Out Crown Vic" »

Since everyone’s always saying that the whole donk thing is over, you can bet people will probably be looking for something besides Caprices to slap giant wheels on. Who knows, FWD subcompacts like this Fiat 127 in Greece might be the next likely market for 26-and-up rims. The builder here might’ve been going more for pro-touring than hi-riser, since they kept the ride height almost as low as stock. But either way, a project like this means major surgery: think five-lug conversions, elimination of front-strut suspensions, and bodywork—lots of it. More trouble than it’s worth? Definitely.

Source: Jalopnik.

This ‘72 Olds Cutlass convertible has been pretty meticulously restored, with a rebuilt 455, 12-bolt posi rear end, killer audio system, and custom paint. Oh yeah, and the guy also slapped some 24’s on it and made it a donk. But with an opening bid of $25,000, this auction ended with no takers. So what does this mean? Is the economy really that bad? Was it because the seller’s asking price was too high for any Cutlass convertible, or has the whole donk thing totally crested?

I’m not exactly sure why this tranquil scene cracks me up so bad. Maybe it’s because, if you pretend the road isn’t there, it’s kind of like this Cutlass (and okay fine, it’s technically a "box," you sticklers) is sitting on 24’s out in the woods. And that’d be pretty hilarous. Check out Damien’s new ride page—I hope he gets the image-size problem sorted out so we can see more!

Like a lot companies, CarDomain runs its servers on Linux. And while that OS is still a little above my head—I’m just happy I can use my iPod—I thought it was interesting to see it’s the system of choice for F1 teams. How long will it be before it’s practical for regular users? Anyway, here’s the news:

• Stop the presses! It looks like RENNtech has made a brake rotor big enough to handle a hi-riser! At 16.2 inches, it’s more than half the size of a pair of "30s, so being donkalicious no longer means having to coast to a stop. Jalopnik
• Hillary Clinton and John McCain want to give consumers a break from the gas tax this summer, and while it sounds nice, it basically means they both think you’re dumber than you look. Carpetbagger Report
• Honda is probably the most boring company in the world, but guess what? America loves boring! Last month, the Accord was the best selling vehicle in the States, and this April isn’t looking bad for it either. Auto Observer
• If you have a few grand to spare and want to get a feel for what Audi’s burly new 420 horsepower R8 can do, you might want to check out Audi’s "driving camp" in Cali. Hey, burning rubber beats the hell out of weaving baskets. AutoWeek
• Volvo has built its reputation on safety, so it can’t be happy about having to recall 65,000 cars. The problem? A software glitch is delaying the deployment of side-impact airbags. This is one situation where late really isn’t much better than never. CarScoop

Last month, Rob posted about a cherry ‘74 Caprice and he asked the eternal question: "to donk, or not to donk?" Given the amount of hate hi-risers have generated here, it wasn’t too surprising that most responses were in favor of keeping the classic bow-tie stock, or going the opposite direction and lowering it. And while it’s not clear what happened to that sweet machine, yesterday, I stumbled across Ben’s sweet ‘72 model—the Green Lantern—which gives a good idea of how the ‘74 would look if given a dash of donkification. So what do you guys think, still think keeping it stock is the best idea?

Check out one of CarDomain’s newest ride pages, a mildly-donked 2005 Chevy Impala. Of course, it’d be even cooler if those 24’s were solid brown… with creamy peanut butter centers. Mmmmm, Reese’s.

Spring Break Nationals brings out some of the best show cars the mobile electronics industry has to offer. I don’t know as much about donks as John, but I do know a good thing when I see it! Visitors to the show were greeted by a slew of very impressive high risers at the entrance to show grounds. The blown high-riser you see below is my particular favorite, but make sure to click on the jump to see a few other examples, including video of a solidly executed Miami Hurricanes-themed donk. Stay tuned for complete coverage from Spring Break Nationals, including more photos of these rides, shortly on CarDomain.

Continue reading "Spring Break Nationals Preview: Donkalicious!" »

Air travel is really the only decent excuse for waking up early. After all, you get to go somewhere, and at least if you’re supposed to arrive two hours before your flight, the bars open at six. But I don’t even care about the fact that I had to get up at at the crack of dawn, because I’m headed to Detroit—Motor City!—for the kickoff of the 2008 DUB tour. While I missed the 2007 stop, I was on the ground in Detroit in 2006, and at SEMA, I talked to head honcho Myles Kovacs about what was hot wheel-wise. So I’m curious to see what heats up the floor tomorrow. In ‘O6 I liked this two-tone Charger, and as always, the audio gear in the bed of the Meguire’s truck made me dizzy. And while I know it’s two Chargers in a row, I really like how this Mopar from last year looks like a shark. Right now, I don’t know what the coolest ride I’ll see this weekend will be, but as soon as I do, I’ll post it on the blog. Also look out for interviews with David Banner, Nick Cannon and Llyod. Stay tuned—Motor City here I come!

So you want a Donk but are too lazy to build it yourself. Or you want to get a cool convertible in time for summer. Or maybe you just love Gatorade. Well, this might just be the car for you. Go to Denver’s 1975 Chevy Caprice ride page for contact info (there’s no price listed). It’s also supposed to be listed over at DreamRydez.com but I couldn’t find it. Oh, and I dropped in a few more pics after the jump.

Continue reading "Gatorade Donk For Sale" »