Donk, Box & Bubble

[Douglas G. Wilson]

To use "Donkey" instead of "Impala" as a joke ('non-sexy' vs. 'sexy'
animal) seems (somewhat) plausible offhand (but is there evidence?).

OTOH it isn't obvious to me why 1970's Chevrolets or any other cars
would naturally be named after butts or backsides or rear ends,
whether beautiful ones or ugly ones. A car HAS a rear end, it doesn't
resemble or consist of a rear end ... right? Maybe I'm missing
something again. "Box" and "bubble" more-or-less summarize the
shapes/configurations of the cars; maybe "donk" does too, somehow.
The cars in question seem (to me) long, low, wide: I'd think
"flatfish" before "donkey".

If it is insisted that "donk" is derived from a word for the
backside, one might (also) consider "donkey" (= "ass") meaning "rear
end [of a truck, seemingly]" as it was routinely used on the CB in
the late 1970's (as I recall).

-- Doug Wilson


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