I don't understand hoonigan.

"Berang" (berang) 02/18/2020 at 02:24 • Filed to: None

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A few months ago I saw the vid where the hoonigan bros visit the MCM guys, and it really made me wonder why the MCM vids are entertaining to watch, but the hoonigan vids just seem like time wasters (I can’t say I’ve made it all the way through more than maybe a couple of their vids, and I still couldn’t make it through this vid even with the MCM guys on camera ). And then I realized that I get MCM, and I understand what they’re about - but after thinking about it, I still have no idea what the point of hoonigan is. I see the stickers and stuff, so somebody must get it, but it’s beyond me apparently.

I go to google, and I get an old Jalopnik article that says it explains hoonigan. I read it. I still have no answers. Is this just something that’s a product of its own hype machine?

pip bip - choose Corrour > Berang 02/18/2020 at 02:43

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i’ve never bothered with hoonigan videos

NKato > Berang 02/18/2020 at 02:54

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Hoonigan is a victim of its own nonspecific success. I don't really follow them either. 

Berang > pip bip - choose Corrour 02/18/2020 at 02:54

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They sometimes pop up in my recs on youtube. But every time I try to watch one, I never finish it. I don’t ever feel educated or entertained.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Berang 02/18/2020 at 05:16

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I've never really enjoyed them either... especially that video where they jumped the guys modded classic Alfa Romeo and ruined it by not knowing how to jump it correctly and killing the engine...

godblessE39 > Berang 02/18/2020 at 06:21

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I watched one recently, all the way through. One of the Hoonigan guys has one of the first RWB Porsches. He has to justify the purchase of a 964 Turbo (that became the RWB) because they were raging him about how he could just buy an EVO or STI for cheaper and faster. Now he says he has a car that could put his kid through college.

One of the guys giving him a hard time about having a rich mans car is trying to make people care about his ratty-ass AE86 project. Trying to be a man of the people while basically saying “nah, nah, you got the Hoonigan thing all wrong.” I would say to you is fuck off with your try hard bullshit, bro.

I don’t th ink I’ll be watching another episode anytime soon.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Berang 02/18/2020 at 06:35

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I think the problem is 2 fold - they are a product of their own hype machine, famous because they are famous, in other words the Kardashians of car culture.

On top of that there seems to be no clear direction. Like Kardashians they kind of dabble in everything with no real goal except trying things to see what sticks in an attempt to garner more attention.  See godblessE39's post for a wonderful example.  

DasWauto > Berang 02/18/2020 at 08:08

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It’s a somewhat generational pop culture thing that has self-hype machined its way to popularity. I’m kind of on the edge of their [ intended] audience and their videos are hit or miss for me. Sometimes I really appreciate/enjoy the cars they build/feature, events they show/host and/or general shenanigans , other times I just think they’re a bunch of grating douche-bros and I can’t make it through the video. Their focus is mostly on the drift scene and cars but they do branch out and I appreciate their general interest in cars, care-free and fun attitude and I’m glad they exist. If this is the kind of thing that gets younger people into cars, I’m all for it. 

Tripper > Berang 02/18/2020 at 08:23

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Me neither, seems like a nothing company that is enjoying dollars by being in proximity to “motor sports”

speedyboi > Berang 02/18/2020 at 09:01

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It’s because the content isn’t for you. It’s supposed to be flashy and non-informative entertainment . Kinda like the car stuff they put on TV, but more “risky”, also marketed towards young people (16-28). 

However, the BUILD BIOLOGY series is pretty nice and more educational.

Brickfoot Ginger > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 02/18/2020 at 09:05

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Nope. It was the owner that jumped it and did the damage. He sent it , he broke it.

I will reccomend their build and battle series as its a build off show thats actually fun to watch, none of the horrid TV show egos and drama , just some good natured ribbing between compettitors.

Hoonigan has some content that is great, but yeah a chunk does come off as douchy bro content.

kanadanmajava1 > Berang 02/18/2020 at 09:15

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I don’t get them either. I have tried watching couple of their videos but they felt too s tupid to make me finish them .

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Berang 02/18/2020 at 09:51

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I kind of feel exactly the opposite. I haven’t enjoyed any thing MCM has done in a long time. Mostly because I can’t stand Moog. I also the 5 minute “we’re making a sex joke” segment that they feel is a requirement in nearly all of their videos. I generally like Marty his taste in cars tho. But Hindi stopped really enjoying their videos about the same time they moved out of Cheryl’s drive way.

Hoonigan has the advantage of having a wide variety of types of videos. To me daily transmissions git a bit tired a long time ago, that’s the one where some one just comes over to go lots of burnouts.

But there’s Build Biology where they give a close look at a car some one has built usually with Dan because he actually knows his stuff.? Field Trip where they usually go to a Motorsport even or car show, or some ones shop to check it out. Build and Battle which takes the TV idea of a car show and cuts out all the fat. Those are all way more entertaining , and informative.

One you may really enjoy is Larry Chens hoonigan channel. Auto Focus where he interviews an owner about their car in detail, or shows some cool ones at a car show. Basically he goes around the world finding cool car stuff for you to look at.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > DasWauto 02/18/2020 at 09:58

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I really like they they have branched out too. If they had stuck to “here’s a cat and it’s going to do some donuts!!!!!!!!” I would have stopped watching their videos s long time ago. In fact I rarely watch Daily Transmission where that’s what they do. Altho they had one last week where the 12 of the guys who did Drift Week did a random drift comp in the Burn Yard. With teams of 4 cars being judged on how well they did as a team,  instead of the FD way of 1v1 battles. That was pretty cool.

CobraJoe > Berang 02/18/2020 at 10:01

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In the Hoonigan videos, I see a lot of abusing vehicles in questionably safe situations, and very little of just enjoying the build or enjoying the drive .

The MCM guys are taking the time to build the cars they way they want them built, then enjoy their cars on the street safely, and occasionally have some light abuse on the track or skidpad while wearing helmets .

To me, that’s the difference between people playing with cars and car enthusiasts.  

just-a-scratch > Berang 02/18/2020 at 10:08

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You may be thinking about this too hard. Hoonigan vids are about doing silly fun things with cars, often ill advised. 

slipperysallylikespenguins > Berang 02/18/2020 at 12:34

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I’m right in their target demographic but have never watched more than a few minutes of the videos, they are just so disgustingly brotastic. I really don’t watch any Y outube car videos that have clickbait titles, or titles that take up more than a 1/4 of the preview image. Easy way to weed them out.

I’ll stick with Jay Leno, Petrolicious, Hagerty, and Motortrend.

Berang > DasWauto 02/18/2020 at 13:00

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I think there’s something to this. The people who are usually on camera just seem sort of generally unlikable, and unqualified. I wonder why I should be listening to them when they don’t really seem to know what they’re looking at or talking about. Meanwhile, people who do seem to know what they’re doing, and do seem to have some personality just kind of pop in for a moment then disappear. This makes a lot of the vids I’ve tried to watch feel pretty awkward, which makes me stop watching them.  

Berang > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 02/18/2020 at 13:02

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Oh, yeah, that one left a bad taste in my mouth. And the aftermath was extremely awkward, like “I’m 12 years old, spending the night at my friend’s house and it’s 11p m, and I just knocked the pickle jar out of the fridge and it smashed on the floor, is his dad going to kick my ass now!?” awkward. 

Berang > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/18/2020 at 13:07

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I agree that MCM is not as fun as it used to be, and I don’t watch every build they do. But for every series of vids they do that’s a yawn fest, the one after is usually pretty good. I think the thing that seems to set them apart is MCM is largely constructive, positive, and most of all, accessible. Hoonigan’s main cast of people mostly come off as rich kids who don’t know what they’re doing or looking at. They do have some cool people that are tucked in the corners though.

Berang > Snuze: Needs another Swede 02/18/2020 at 13:09

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I think they benefit greatly from whatever loose association they have with Ken Block. Since from what I understand the whole brand was really his idea, even though he appears to have little to nothing to do with the vid series.

DasWauto > Berang 02/18/2020 at 13:26

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Relatability is definitely a challenge for them and that’s where I think their audience might skew a little younger than we are (29 for me, not sure about you) and lose us as a result.

As for their personalities being unqualified as experts on certain things, I’m not sure how accurate that is. They may not be car nerds in the sense that me may appreciate more but definitely have plenty of knowledge about their niche (drift). Beyond that, a lack of expertise might actually be a boon, because any branching out into the unknown they do is a learning experience for them as well as the audience. I see this being very relatable and it exposes them and the audience to new things, which goes back to my earlier point about expanding younger audiences.

Speed > Berang 02/18/2020 at 14:22

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Hoonigan videos are ones I watch and skip around in to get to the good parts. It’s interesting hearing the owners go over the details of their builds, then seeing them get hooned, but I skip through the BS. Some of the coolest builds I’ve seen lately have been featured on there, like the drift Jaguar XJ and this old school, long arm Bronco. Once I find said awesome build, I’ll go look for it elsewhere. I can tolerate the Hoonigan level of bro.

What I can’t tolerate is that obnoxious blonde Donut Media guy. He can have the coolest car or topic and I just can’t watch it. It’s like Tom Green hosting a car show, but without actually being funny.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Berang 02/18/2020 at 18:08

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Yeah...maybe it’s just me, but a lot of it just sets with me like a “bros with a lot of money” vibe.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Berang 02/19/2020 at 09:37

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I agree with everything you said, and feel the same way.  Whenever I hear Hoonigan I think of Ken Block, and vice versa, but I have no idea what the actual tie-in is.