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| Donut | |
|---|---|
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| YouTube information | |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Genres |
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| Subscribers | 8.86 million |
| Total views | 2.7+ billion |
Last updated: Oct 27, 2024 | |
Donut Media, also known simply as Donut, is an American automotive digital content brand, known primarily for its eponymous YouTube channel and online merchandise store.
Donut Media was founded in 2015 by Matt Levin, a former product head at AwesomenessTV, Ben Conrad and Nick Moceri. [1] The channel's first video was about the 24 Hours of Lemons. [2] It achieved early viral success with its 2016 video Two Grannies, One Lamborghini, which for many years was the channel's most-viewed video. [3] [4] [5] [6]
In February 2016, Up to Speed "debuted" with a video describing nine must-know facts about the Nissan 240SX. [7] The official Up to Speed show debuted in July 2017 with a video talking about the Nissan Skyline.[ citation needed ]
In February 2018, Donut Media tried to recreate the Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster stunt by sending a Hot Wheels Tesla Roadster car into space. [8]
In May 2018, Donut Media received $800,000 in seed funding in a round led by Techstars Ventures. [3] In November of that year, it partnered with NASCAR to offer lighthearted racing-related content. [9]
Between 2018 and 2020, the channel saw breakout success due to its "Up To Speed" series. In the series, host James Pumphrey explains the origins of automotive models, brands, and other car related items with cult followings such as the Nissan GT-R, Plymouth Barracuda, and Suzuki Samurai. [10] [11] According to Levin, "Up To Speed" marked the moment Donut Media moved from dependence on viral one-offs to having a sustainable content model. [3]
In November 2020, Donut Media contributed with Codemasters for its new Dirt 5 game, with hosts James Pumphrey and Nolan Sykes discussing all things in the Dirt Off-Road Series world with the Dirt Podcast.[ citation needed ]
In January 2021, Donut Media released a song called "Pop-Up Up and Down Headlights." [12] A shirt based on this song was also released on Donut's online merchandise store. A mint version of this shirt was released [13] and a white version of it was also released. [14] This song was the full version of a song of the same name that was featured in various Up to Speed episodes talking about cars with pop-up headlights.[ citation needed ]
In June 2021, Donut Media released a Kickstarter project called Stocky which is a series of collectable toy cars based on real cars, but the Stocky toys have cartoonish proportions, similar to Hot Wheels's Tooned line of toy cars. Stocky first debuted on Donut's channel on their Up to Speed video about Type R. The first Stocky ever made was an Acura Integra Type R. [15]
On November 9, 2021, Donut Media was acquired by Recurrent Ventures, a digital media company which also owns The Drive and Car Bibles automotive content brands. [16]
On June 21, 2024, long time hosts Jeremiah Burton and Zach Jobe announced they would leave Donut Media to start their own channel BigTime. [17]
On August 2, 2024, James Pumphrey also announced that he would be leaving Donut Media and that he would start an independent YouTube channel called Speeed with his friend Jesse Wood. [18]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 8th Streamy Awards | Sports | Nominated | [19] |
| 2019 | 9th Streamy Awards | Sports | Won | [20] [21] |
Uploaded every other Wednesday, Money Pit is a show where Zach Jobe (host) adds upgrades and modifications to his Mazda Miata or more recently, a BMW 3 Series, and also has DIY tutorials for working on project cars. The Mazda Miata's modification focuses mainly on trackable daily use, and the BMW 3 Series's modification focuses on rallying. In February 2024, Donut introduced a new project, a 1996 Ford Ranger that they will be modifying to be a trophy truck. [ citation needed ]
Formerly uploaded every Sunday, James Pumphrey and Nolan Sykes (the main hosts of the show) purchased nearly identical vehicles and modified them to be fun daily drivers that you could take to the track, with either cheap or expensive parts. For the first seasons, "Hi" team, which is James' team, they modified their Nissan 350Z with expensive parts. For the first seasons, "Low" team, which is Nolan's team, they modified their Nissan 350Z with cheap parts. For the Second Season the show featured a pair of Toyota Tacomas where James and his team used the most expensive parts and Nolan's team used the cheapest parts to modify their trucks into "A truck that can Literally Go Anywhere". For the third season, starting in November of 2022, a pair of Subaru WRX s are modified to be Time attack cars. During season 3, both cars suffered from reliability issues, leading to several blown engines. James also totaled Hi car while attempting to set a lap time. In late August of 2024, a fourth season started, which as of yet is still ongoing. In this season, a pair of Ford Mustang GTs is modified for drag racing. [ citation needed ]
Uploaded every Sunday on Donut Media's secondary channel, Donut Podcasts, Past Gas is a podcast that talks about important and significant events in automotive history. The podcast's main hosts include Nolan John Sykes, James Pumphrey (formerly), and Joe Weber. Past Gas can also be heard on various podcast apps.[ citation needed ]
Formerly uploaded every Monday, Wheelhouse is a show which covers various topics that are related to automobiles, and sometimes talks about recent automotive news. This show is hosted by Nolan Sykes.[ citation needed ]
Formerly uploaded every Tuesday, Bumper 2 Bumper (also known as "B2B") is a show that goes into detail about the engineering and technology of various cars and other technical automotive topics. The current B2B is similar to Science Garage, which is another Donut Media show. This show is hosted by Jeremiah Burton. Previously hosted by multiple hosts (most notably James Pumphrey), Bumper 2 Bumper was a show that covered the details of famous and well-known cars. The show was later transferred to Jeremiah, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the format was changed to technical automotive topics.[ citation needed ]
Formerly uploaded every Thursday, Up to Speed is a show that goes into detail about the history of various cars, brands, and other car-related items, with humor in most episodes. It goes into detail about why they were created, how they were used, and how they came to be. This show is hosted by James Pumphrey. His extreme passion about cars and the automotive world shines through in this segment. Up to Speed "debuted" in 2016 when Donut uploaded a video on 9 facts about the Nissan 240SX. The real Up to Speed show debuted in 2017 with a video talking about the Nissan Skyline.[ citation needed ]
Formerly uploaded every Friday, D-List is a show that covers certain types of cars and other car-related topics in a list-style format. This show is hosted by James Pumphrey. Sometimes, other Donut hosts or non-Donut guests host the show with James.[ citation needed ]
Science Garage was hosted by Bart Bidlingmeyer from February 2017 to January 2019, Bart left Donut in April 2019 to work for Kelley Blue Book and Motor Trend. [22] Each episode of the show covered a specific automobile part or mechanism in great detail and included the science behind it. The show contributed to Donut Media's early popularity. The current iteration of Bumper 2 Bumper is an unofficial "sequel" to Science Garage.[ citation needed ]
Miracle Whips was hosted by Byron Bowers from June 2018 to October 2018. The purpose of the show was to find Byron his "Miracle Whip", which he defines as a car that someone would be comfortable owning and driving every day for the rest of their life. The show ends when Byron chooses his Miracle Whip in the last episode, a Nissan GTR R35. At the end of the last episode, he hints at a second season coming soon, however there have been no updates since.[ citation needed ]
Donut Racing Show (DRS) was an F1 based podcast hosted by Nolan Sykes and automotive journalists Alanis King and Elizabeth Blackstock, authors of the book Racing with Rich Energy.[ citation needed ]
Formerly uploaded every Wednesday, Tool Party is a series where tools of different price ranges (or occasionally As Seen On TV tools) are tested to their absolute limits. Tool Party debuted in 2022 when Donut uploaded a video where they test different impact wrenches of different price ranges. [23] The series is primarily sponsored by eBay Motors.[ citation needed ]
Bought originally for US$500 in December 2022, featured on the series named "Money Pit", and fitted with over $50,000 worth of aftermarket performance parts (Spoon Sports Brakes, Honda "K20" Engine, Individual Throttle Bodies, Recaro Seats, etc.), the main focus of this car was to make enough horsepower and torque to beat the newest generation Honda Civic Type R (FL5).
A supercar, also known as an exotic car, is a type of automobile generally described at its most basic as a street-legal sports car with race track-like power, speed, and handling, plus a certain subjective cachet linked to pedigree, exclusivity, or both. The term 'supercar' is frequently used for the extreme fringe of powerful, low-bodied mid-engineed luxury sportscars. A low car has both a low, handling-favorable center of gravity, and less frontal area than a front engined car, reducing its aerodynamic drag and enabling a higher top speed. Since the 2000s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performance supercars.
The Nissan 240SX is a sports compact car that was introduced to the North American market by Nissan in 1989 for the 1990 model year. It replaced the outgoing 200SX (S12) model. Most of the 240SXs were equipped with the 2.4-liter inline 4 engine. The KA24E had a single overhead cam and the KA24DE had dual overhead cams. Two distinct generations of the 240SX, the S13 (1989–1994) the S14 (1994-1998) were produced, based on the Nissan S platform.
In car tuning culture, an engine swap is the process of removing a car's original engine and replacing it with another. This may be a like-for-like replacement, or to install a non-factory specification engine. Typically, an engine swap is performed for performance, swapping-in a more powerful engine; however, an engine swap may also be performed for maintenance, where older engines may have a shortage of spare parts, and so a modern replacement may be more easily and cheaply maintained.
Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers, with loss of traction, while maintaining control and driving the car through the entirety of a corner or a turn. The technique causes the rear slip angle to exceed the front slip angle to such an extent that often the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn. Drifting is traditionally performed using three methods: clutch kicking, weight transfer, and employing a handbrake turn. This sense of drift is not to be confused with the four wheel drift, a classic cornering technique established in Grand Prix and sports car racing.
HICAS is Nissan's rear wheel steering system which was fitted to cars from approximately 1985 to 2010, including models ranging from the Skyline and Fairlady Z (Z32) to smaller vehicles like the Nissan Cefiro (A31), Silvia /240SX/180SX and Nissan Serena/Nissan Largo. It is also found on models from the Infiniti division, such as the Q45, J30, M45/M35 and G35/G37.
Benson Hsu is an ex-professional drifter from the United States who competed in various auto-racing competitions. Originally known for his black Nissan "Sileighty", he is one of the early Americans to be involved in the sport of drifting, starting in 1999.
The Nissan 180SX is a fastback automobile that Nissan Motors produced between 1988 and 1998. It is based on the S13 chassis from the Nissan S platform with the variants receiving an R designation. It was sold exclusively in Japan paired with the CA18 motor in the early models; later models paired with the SR20 motor. Outside of Japan, it was re-badged as the 200SX and in the US market as the Nissan 240SX, paired with the single overhead cam KA24E motor and later with the dual-overhead model KA24DE.
The Nissan GT-R is a car built by Japanese marque Nissan since 2007. It has a 2+2 seating layout and is considered both a sports car and a grand tourer. The engine is front-mid mounted and drives all four wheels. It succeeds the Nissan Skyline GT-R, a high-performance variant of the Nissan Skyline. Although this model was the sixth-generation to bear the GT-R name, it is no longer part of the Skyline line-up. The car is built on the PM platform, derived from the FM platform used in the Skyline and Nissan Z models. Production is conducted in a shared production line at Nissan's Tochigi plant in Japan.
Rhett James McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln "Link" Neal III are an American comedy duo. Self-styled as "Internetainers", they are known for creating and hosting the YouTube series Good Mythical Morning. Their other notable projects include comedic songs and sketches, their IFC series Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings, their YouTube Premium series Rhett & Link's Buddy System, their podcast Ear Biscuits, their YouTube series Wonderhole, and their novel The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek.
The Tokyo Auto Salon is an annual auto show held in January at the Makuhari Messe, Chiba City, Japan for Performance and custom aftermarket parts and technology displays. Hosted by the Nippon Auto Parts Aftermarket Committee (NAPAC), the Tokyo Auto Salon is one of the top motor shows globally for modified and tuned cars. The 2019 Tokyo Auto Salon featured 906 vehicles, 426 exhibitors, and 4,175 booths that offered aftermarket accessories for purchase. There are also after-market parts manufacturers, custom shops, care manufacturers, automotive businesses, and automotive vocational schools. There are not only custom cars and after-market manufacturers, there is also live entertainment. Top musicians from around the world and talk shows hosting famous drivers and celebrities can be seen at the Tokyo Auto Salon.
Kevin Wu is a retired American YouTuber best known under his former username KevJumba. The San Francisco Chronicle's Jeff Yang has noted that Wu is not a comedian in the conventional sense but that by "just talking [he] is, well, pretty hilarious" due to his deadpan vocal delivery, animated facial expressions and tendency toward unexpected digressions.
Need for Speed: Nitro is a racing video game and the fourteenth title in the Need for Speed series. It was published by Electronic Arts for the Nintendo Wii and DS platforms. The Wii version was developed by EA Montreal, who have previous experience with Nintendo consoles, while the DS version was developed separately by Firebrand Games' Florida studio.
The Nissan Silvia is the series of small sports cars produced by Nissan. Versions of the Silvia have been marketed as the 200SX or 240SX for export, with some export versions being sold under the Datsun brand.
The Lamborghini Urus is a high performance luxury SUV manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini. It was introduced in December 2017 as a 2018 model year production vehicle. The Urus is the first Lamborghini SUV and five-door vehicle in the modern era, and the second SUV in the brand's history after the LM002, which was produced between 1986 and 1993.
Vsauce is a YouTube brand created by educator Michael Stevens. The channels feature videos on scientific, psychological, mathematical, and philosophical topics, as well as gaming, technology, popular culture, and other general interest subjects.
Mighty Car Mods is a YouTube channel that focuses on DIY car modifications and car culture. Created by Blair Joscelyne and Martin Mulholland the show is centred around the journey through buying, modifying and then testing or battling cars of various levels of modification and budget.
Marques Keith Brownlee, also known professionally as MKBHD, is an American YouTuber and professional ultimate frisbee player, best known for his videos reviewing tech-devices. As of July 2024, he has more than 22 million subscribers across all channels and 4.69 billion total video views. In 2013, Vic Gundotra, a former senior vice president of Google, called Brownlee "the best technology reviewer on the planet right now". At the 10th Shorty Awards in 2019, he was named "Creator of the Decade" The former name of his YouTube channel is a concatenation of MKB and HD. With New York PoNY, he is the 2022 WFDF World Champion in the Open Category for ultimate Frisbee.
Lego Speed Champions is an auto racing-inspired theme of Lego building sets first released in 2015. It features classic and modern styles from well-known car brands.
Katherine Beth Nolan is an American sports television personality and host. She has been a commentator for Apple TV+'s Friday Night Baseball and created short-form content at NBC Sports. She formerly hosted a weekly ESPN podcast called Sports? With Katie Nolan, Always Late with Katie Nolan on ESPN2, and Garbage Time with Katie Nolan on Fox Sports. She won a Sports Emmy Award in 2016 for Garbage Time and was nominated for another in 2019 and 2020 for Always Late.
Ethan and Grayson Dolan, collectively known as the Dolan Twins, are an American comedy duo who rose to prominence in May 2013 on the video sharing application Vine.
