The Reason Why Are Trucks Getting Bigger

The author makes a correct observation (trucks are getting bigger to circumvent emissions guidelines, not solely out of ego), but fails to address the underlying market demand: as trucks have gotten bigger, they've also gotten "meaner"[1]. Emissions requirements don't require a truck to look like it's going to beat you up.

In other words: consumer ego (wanting to drive a big, mean looking truck) is an underlying pressure in the market, even if the sufficient mover for the current size explosion is emissions dodging.

[1]: https://jalopnik.com/we-need-to-talk-about-truck-design-righ...

Truck design used to be such that you pretended to be a working man. Now, you just show everyone how big a jerk you are. There's an entire brand of truck rims that are just called "Hostile". Anyone who would buy such a thing should just be followed everywhere by the cops. http://www.hostilewheels.com/

I think the article would have done well to also discuss America's general lack of vehicle safety inspections. There's a reason people don't drive around in lifted pickups with ridiculous wheels in Germany.

They're just... wheels.

Of course they're just wheels. The GP is remarking on the aesthetic of aggression that's being used to sell them.

What aesthetic? It seems like it's just the manufacturer's name. Having names that evoke some sort of exclamation like that is pretty common in the automotive aftermarket (Behemouth Drivetrain, Killer Bee Motorsport, etc). If you're predisposed to hate them of course you'll read meaning that isn't there into it but there's nothing "hostile" about those wheels. They're just marketing to the monster energy decal crowd.