I mostly agree. However the news article shows only mildly modified cars. But some of the more extreme "donks" do not look very safe at all. I can't imagine a lift like this doing very well in the handling department. Add to that some of them are done on limited budgets by people trying to emulate big buck show cars, and you can have issues. And yes, I feel the same way about radically lifted trucks. Trucks only have the advantage of starting out with heavier duty suspension components and a mature market of parts for doing these modificaitons. I suppose it is the sort of thing that sorts itself out. The idiots get themselves killed or break their cars, the rest learn and make them safer/stronger.

Apart from the racial profiling, what bothers me most about the article is the police determining what modifications are "safe". Image that thought process trickling down to officers saying your 572 big block is unsafe in a 70 Chevelle because it is too much engine for that car.:sad:

 

Those two cars pictured do not strike me as a cheap lift with big wheels. I hate Donks as much as the next guy, But then I don't like low riders either.

Big Dave

 

I agree, I dislike when people do that to those cars. It wrecks them. For the kind of money they dump into all the hydraulics, paint and sound systems, you can dump that money into some serious cubes and powertrain, and maybe a decent paint job if you have any left over. Sure it's unique in its own way, but its just not my cup of tea.

 

I may not like Donk'd rides very much, but I wouldn't call all of them unsafe. Sure seems like a niche law instead of a true focus on safety for all cars.

If you got a good look under most of them, your opinion would be different. I work in a garage in north Columbus where there is a high population of these "old schools" or "donks". I get to see what's under them, and 99% of them are butchered hack jobs that really shouldn't be on the road. Some of them are downright scary and I sure don't feel safe when one is in the lane next to me when I've got the wife and kids in the car.

 

I also should point out that the ones that are lifted crazy high actually tend to be the better built ones. They have more custom made pieces that do a better job of holding the car together. The lower ones usually involve stuff like 1-ton pickup coils, coil spacers, extra long bolts w/stacks of washers, heavily worn ball joints and tie rods, etc.

 

Every time I see a car like that I die a little on the inside...

That said, this is America and you should have the freedom to do what you want so long as it doesn't put other people at risk. Maybe they should have inspections for cars like this with a specific set of safety criteria instead of making a blanket law that infringes on our freedom to personalize our cars as we desire.

Laws against engines over a certain hp rating probably aren't that far out. There are laws against nitrous oxide and some states have laws against basically any sort of modifcation on newer vehicles (emissions). I only learned a few months ago that even something as simple as K&N intake can be 'illegal' in some states.

I would suggest maybe joining SEMA SAN (SEMA Action Network) to keep up to speed on laws that affect our older cars. A recent one discussed was E85 rules and the effects it has on older engines.