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| Donut | |
|---|---|
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| YouTube information | |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Genres |
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| Subscribers | 8.64 million |
| Total views | 2.6+ billion |
Last updated: April 2, 2024 | |
Donut Media, also known simply as Donut, is an American automotive 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' 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, a digital media company which also owns The Drive and Car Bibles automotive lifestyle brands. [16]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 8th Streamy Awards | Sports | Nominated | [17] |
| 2019 | 9th Streamy Awards | Sports | Won | [18] [19] |
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 ]
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 1993 Ford Ranger that they will be modifying to be a trophy truck. [ citation needed ]
Formerly, 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 ]
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" [ citation needed ]
Uploaded every Sunday (alongside HiLow) on Donut Media's secondary channel, Donut Podcasts, Past Gas is a podcast that talks about important and significant events in automotive history. This podcast is hosted by Nolan John Sykes, James Pumphrey, and Joe Weber. Past Gas can also be watched on various podcast apps.[ citation needed ]
Donut Racing Show (DRS) is an F1 based podcast hosted by Nolan Sykes, automotive journalist Alanis King and Elizabeth Blackstock, writer 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. [20] The series is primarily sponsored by eBay Motors.[ 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. [21] 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 ]
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 as a street-legal, luxury superlative performance sports car, both in terms of power, speed, and handling. The term 'supercar' is therefore frequently used for low-bodied sportscars with powerful, rear mid-mounted engines. Since the 2000s, the term hypercar has also come into use for the most high-end performance cars.
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 single overhead cams 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.
The Nissan Sentra is a series of automobiles manufactured by the Japanese automaker Nissan since 1982. Since 1999, the Sentra has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. Until 2006, Sentra was a rebadged export version of the Japanese Nissan Sunny, but since the 2013 model year, Sentra is a rebadged export version of the Sylphy. The Sentra nameplate is not used in Japan. Many other countries in Latin America sell their versions of the Sunny as the Sentra. In Mexico, the first three generations of the Sentra were known as the Nissan Tsuru, and the B13 model was sold under that name until 2017, alongside the updated models badged as Sentra.
The Nissan Xterra is a truck-based compact SUV manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1999–2015 across two generations; the first (1999–2004) sharing a platform and many of its major exterior parts from the front doors forward with the Nissan (D22) Frontier pickup – and the second (2005–2015) sharing the Nissan F-Alpha platform with the Frontier and Pathfinder.
The Gloria is a large luxury car made from 1959 by the Prince Motor Company, and later by Nissan Motors since its merger with the former - hence being originally marketed as Prince Gloria and later as Nissan Gloria. Initially based on the smaller Prince Skyline, the Gloria line was merged with Nissan Cedric starting with 1971 models and both continued until 2004, when they were both replaced by Nissan Fuga.
The Nissan X-Trail is a compact crossover SUV produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan since 2000. Since its introduction, the X-Trail is positioned below the truck-based Xterra and Pathfinder.
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.
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 Livina is a compact MPV model produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan. It was introduced in July 2006 by Dongfeng Nissan at the Guangzhou International Motor Show and went on sale in December 2006. Sharing the same platform with the first-generation Note, the first-generation Livina was the first Nissan vehicle to debut in China before being released in other countries.
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 faster 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.
The Nissan Sylphy is a compact car produced by the Japanese car maker Nissan since 2000 as the successor to the Nissan Pulsar. The Sylphy has also been marketed in export markets under several other nameplates, including Pulsar, Almera, Sunny and Sentra. For the third-generation model (B17) introduced in 2012, the Sylphy model was merged with the B17 Sentra, meaning it is no longer a standalone model.
Need for Speed: Nitro is a racing video game and the fourteenth title of the Need for Speed series. It was published by Electronic Arts for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms. It is also one of only two games in the franchise to date to not be made for PC and the only game of the franchise to be released only for Nintendo consoles. It was announced in January as part of a three-game announcement that includes Need for Speed: Shift and Need for Speed: World. The game was developed by EA Montreal who have previous experience with Nintendo titles, although the DS version was developed separately by Firebrand Games' Florida studio. An improved version of the DS edition of the game, Need for Speed: Nitro-X, was released for DSiWare on November 26, 2010.
The Infiniti QX80 is a full-size luxury SUV marketed by Nissan's luxury division Infiniti. The first-generation QX56 was built in the United States and is based on the first-generation Armada. The second-generation model was released in 2010 as a model produced in Japan, which used the sixth-generation Patrol as the base vehicle instead. Since the 2014 model year in 2013, the vehicle was renamed to the QX80 as Infiniti renamed their entire product line under a new nomenclature.
The Lamborghini Aventador is a mid-engine sports car that was produced by the Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini from 2011 until 2022. The Aventador’s namesake is a Spanish fighting bull that fought in Zaragoza, Aragón, in 1993. The Aventador was the successor to the Murciélago and was produced in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy.
Hidden headlamps, also commonly known as pop-up headlamps, pop-up headlights, flip-eye headlamps, or hideaway headlights, are a form of automotive lighting and an automotive styling feature that conceals an automobile's headlamps when they are not in use.
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 Huracán is a sports car manufactured by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini replacing the previous V10 offering, the Gallardo. The Huracán was revealed online in December 2013, making its worldwide debut at the 2014 Geneva Auto Show and was released in the market in the second quarter of 2014.
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.
Christopher James Harris is a British automotive journalist, amateur racing driver and television presenter. Harris has worked as a reviewer, writer and editor for multiple automotive magazines, including Evo, Autocar and Jalopnik. He has presented numerous television and YouTube series through NBCSN and DRIVE.
