Atlanta's car scene has always had style – sleek builds, roaring engines, and a community that lives for the open road, but in recent years, that reputation has taken a hit.

What started as a tight-knit community of enthusiasts showing off their rides has been overshadowed by dangerous street takeovers and other reckless behavior. One local car group says they're trying to steer things back in the right direction.

UNKN was started in 2023. Parker, the group's founder, says those early days were some of the best for Atlanta's car culture, until reckless stunts started taking over.

"Takeovers are essentially where either a car group or a whole bunch of people online will get together, they'll block all four sides of an intersection and start doing donuts in the middle," he said. "It's just a whole lot of chaos."

That chaos has become a growing problem in Atlanta and across the country. Big events, like Slammedenuff in Tennessee, have been shut down, and now police presence is a regular part of the scene.

"That really started to shake it up for the whole car scene. It caused a lot of issues with police coming to meets and shutting those down," Parker said.

During his interview with CBS News Atlanta, officers with the Georgia Tech Police Department showed up and informed us about stunts that happened at that same spot previously. Parker says that's exactly the issue.

"They aren't even into cars, a lot of them are coming in just to cause chaos, try to get their attention on social media, try to get that post to blow up. That's where you get it mixed up from car culture and all these TikTok influencers," he said. "The big difference is with us, where we're coming out there to really be able to hang out, look at all the cars and everything."

Now, groups like UNKN are stepping up – trying to weed out the bad actors and rebuild trust with the police.

"It really comes down to recognizing who those drivers are, and if we see this person come at like the last three events, they've caused chaos, 'Hey, we don't want you to come back,'" he said. "It's keeping the presence of my team as well as working with law enforcement."

For Parker, these events are more than just car shows – they're a lifeline for people searching for community.

"We got a lot of people who come out and they're like, 'Hey, I really love that you're doing this. This gets me out the house, this gets me to meet new people,'" he said. I've even had people come forward and say that 'Your events is what keeps me going.'"

He hopes that by promoting responsibility and respect, Atlanta's car culture can once again be seen for the right reasons.

"I do feel a sense of responsibility," Parker said. "I really do want to pull it and bring better light to the scene and get it going in the right direction and start getting those police to be like 'Hey, these guys are good, they're doing a good thing.'"

For many, it's not just about cars—it's about connection.