Mons Automotive Internal Coms
regardingMons Atlas "Donk"
From: Richard Allen rallen@custom.mons.ca
Subject: Mons Atlas Donk-ed in the news!
Sent: Monday, June 22, 2020 10:48 AM
To: corp_Mons_distlist corp@auto.mons.ca; exec_Mons_distlist exec@auto.mons.ca; Mons_Customs_distlist exec@custom.mons.ca; Mons_Racing_distlist exec@racing.mons.ca
CC: Joel Raymond jraymond@auto.mons.ca; Ashley Yarrow ayarrow@auto.mons.ca; Philippe Gambit pgambit@auto.mons.ca
Subject: Mons Atlas Donk-ed in the news!
Hi everyone,
I’d like to bring the following item to your attention. A customs shop in California (West Coast MC Automotive) has modded one of our Mons Atlas '20 models and did a photo shoot with it. It is now gaining some traction on social media (see attached pics). Naturally, some people associate the build with Mons Customs, even though we had no part in this project. Nevertheless, Mons Customs is getting media requests to respond to this build. Even though I think the DONK-ified Atlas is hideous, I think this would be good publicity for the aging Atlas model. I propose that we lean into it, get the Atlas-Donk up here and do our own promotional event. I would be mutually beneficial for West Coast MC Automotive as well, and maybe we could even get Mons Racing involved to make this a drag racer or something. Let me know what you think about this proposal.
cheers,
Rick
Richard Allen, M.A.
Customer Relations and Communications
Mons Customs
From: Suzanna Longuepee slounguepee@auto.mons.ca
Subject: Re: Mons Atlas Donk-ed in the news!
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2020 8:23 PM
To: Mons_Customs_distlist exec@custom.mons.ca; Mons_Racing_distlist exec@racing.mons.ca Richard Allen rallen@custom.mons.ca
Subject: Re: Mons Atlas Donk-ed in the news!
Hi Rick,
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. As you have rightly pointed out, the Mons Atlas has not done well in these last few years of its cycle, and could use a little boost in popularity. This free advertisement is coming in quite handy. Please go ahead and organize a photo shoot of our own, and host a media event at the Montreal Auto Show. At this time, we do not want to spend more money on this, and as such Mons Racing involvement will not be desirable. Please keep me updated on developments; no corp dist.
Suzanna
Suzanna Longuepee, M. Eng., M.B.A., P.Eng.
Assistant Chief Executive Officer
Mons Automotive
From: Richard Allen rallen@custom.mons.ca
Subject: Re: Re: Mons Atlas Donk-ed in the news!
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2020 2:13 PM
To: Suzanna Longuepee slounguepee@auto.mons.ca
Hi Suzanna,
West Coast MC was very positive and helpful to us, and agreed to ship up the Atlas-Donk (our costs, of course). The car just arrived in Montreal; attached is the first “in-house” picture in front of the Mons Customs garage (see attached - it is just as hideous up close as on the media shots out of Cali). Next step will be to examine it in our shop under the guidance of a West Coast MC rep, and then prep for the Show!
Cheers
Rick
Richard Allen, M.A.
Customer Relations and Communications
Mons Customs
From: Lawrence MacNiven lmacniven@custom.mons.ca
Subject: Atlas-Donk specs
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2020 12:59 PM
To: Richard Allen rallen@custom.mons.ca; Mons_Customs_distlist exec@custom.mons.ca
CC: Suzanna Longuepee slounguepee@auto.mons.ca
Hey team,
we just had a good look at the Atlas-Donk and were able to take a lot of close-up pictures in our showroom. I’m not going to beat around the bush, it is not the best looking mod I’ve ever seen. But hey, tastes are subjective, and there are plenty of people who would love this thing.
In any case, they did a fantastic job on the engineering, and the paint job - as ugly as it may seem - is top notch too. Here are a couple of highlights of what they did:
- kept all of the original engine and drivetrain
- chopped the entire roof off and made it into a soft-top convertible
- the rigidity is maintained through a custom steel frame
- since the customers are big surfers, there is a custom surfboard mount, but it was not shipped up to us (but you can see it in the Cali promo shots)
- custom slanted windshield and windows
- mirrors replaced and mounted on the front
- custom 34" wheels
- custom purple/blue pearl paint and gold highlights
- light bar in the undercarriage
- totally custom hand-made interior featuring:
- three large touch screens (main dash, center console, top console)
- stitched leather seats
- custom climate and media controls for the rear seats
- individual screens for the rear passengers
- rear hatch door now FLIPS DOWN truck-style
- CD turntable incorporated into the rear hatch door, so when flipped down it can be played by a DJ
- TOO MANY SPEAKERS TO COUNT!! (25 in my estimation, including two giant subs)
- power amp with custom cooling solution incorporated under the subs, pumping out too many Watts (we couldn’t turn it up all the way, it nearly shattered the shop windows
As you can see, it is a pretty bonkers build. And they even did a colour matching motorcycle for the customers (again, see Cali promo shots). They really must like these colours (it does pop, I must admit). The crazy thing is, this build is actually not that bad to drive, and is actually more comfortable than the base Atlas. We have taken notes for our next Mons Customs build!
See the attached pics we took in our shop.
Now we’re getting ready for the big event at the MTL Show 
Best regards - Larry
Lawrence MacNiven, M.Eng., P.Eng.
Chief Engineer and Design Lead
Mons Customs
From: Richard Allen rallen@custom.mons.ca
Subject: MTL Auto Show
Sent: Wednesday, September 9, 2020 5:26 PM
To: Suzanna Longuepee slounguepee@auto.mons.ca
Hi Suzanna,
Just a quick update, the Montreal Auto Show was a huge success! People flocked to the Atlas-Donk and we got a few custom order contracts signed during the day. Nothing as crazy as this Donk though, but enough to keep us occupied for a little while. Let’s hope the publicity also translates into a strong last cycle year for the Atlas proper!
See attached a few snaps from the show. We expect that local media will write a review of the car in the next couple of days.
Cheers
Rick
Richard Allen, M.A.
Customer Relations and Communications
Mons Customs
Let's start off on a low note, shall we? The Skunk *stinks*. There is absolutely nothing to redeem this car, or earn it points. The brief calls for "cars which could conceivably exist, and which could have been made in good faith". This car is the antithesis of that.
Now, this entry is unscored for a rather different reason. It's honestly a pretty good entry, and it's just a shame that it came in late. Had I reviewed it properly, I would have complemented the uniqueness of including a spa, and the realism of the car. It looks like a tastefully modded SUV, albeit an eccentric one. Beyond the spa and the odd rear seats, however, it's honestly not that awful. Oh, and all nine degrees of camber, I suppose. If I was scoring it, I would have also noted the odd conflict of seat configurations - you have selected 3 rear seats, but only modelled two. Maybe the spa counts as a seat? Who knows. It'd also lose engineering points due to the complete lack of overdrive, needlessly staggered tyres, and the fact that the suspension can bottom out without any water in the back.
Let me start with the engineering, because... What? Just...
It's funny... When I initially looked at this car, it looked awful. Then, the more I looked at it, the more I thought it just looked awful because it was donked. So, I swapped out the wheels and suspension for the stock specifications... And it still looks kinda *awful*. The gold and purple colour scheme is horrendous and eyebleeding. The DJ booth, speakers and surfboard feel like something right out of Pimp My Ride. I must congratulate and commend the creative use of fixtures here - using titanium exhaust tips as custom-coloured cupholders, for instance, is genius, and re-building the windscreen is a nice touch.
Yup, that's it, we're done here. Let's wrap it up.
It's a tragedy, really, because this thing is a unique yet horrific model. It's a minivan with a 50s flair, from the wide, bug-eyed headlights to the grafted-on fender flares. This thing looks atrocious and I absolutely love it. The theme is perfectly on-point, and it actually uses some fun and interesting design space in the minivan territory. There are a couple of uh... interesting design choices, like drum brakes in the rear and a cast log on a largish V6, but I can look past those. What I can't look past, however, is using a 2002 engine family. Pain.
It's very pink, isn't it? The giant speakers are a fun mod, and the wheels seem oddly familiar... As does the hood. There's not a lot that screams incredibly modified to me, to be honest. Much like Madrias's other entry, this one suffers from extreme turbo lag, spooling at 5300 RPM - but immediately losing max boost, and redlining earlier. Looking at it some more, one thing really catches my eye. The 1987 engine family. Again, pain.
And so we come to the final entrant, the Mons Futura Phoenix. I'm not sure whether putting this car on a minivan rather than a ute is a positive or a negative, to be honest. The car ends up looking squashed yet stretched, not long enough yet too tall. The massively high wing and exposed engine are absolutely stupid, in the best possible way. Placing eight individual exhaust pipes is a cute idea, but it *is* somewhat undone by the turbo system. Speaking of the turbo system, the car also spools incredibly late, only reaching peak boost at 5500 RPM. The theme here seems quite simple to me - massive exposed engine - but maybe something more distinctive, more eye-grabbing up front would have been nice. 71 Points.
