There was a time when 14 inches wasn't considered inadequate. Even the new Ford Mondeo practically sold itself on its 17-inch alloy rims. It's simply not that easy to impress any more, and African-American hip-hop stars are certainly accelerating this process. There are entire communities of "twamp, dubs and twinki lovers" otherwise known as "those concerned with all things wheel shaped".
The era of the 23-inch alloy wheel is not yet over. With wheel size exponentially increasing over time, it looked like wheel arches would be designed and built to suit the demands of alloy inch fashion. There is now serious doubt at this stage that 26-inch rims will ever hit the highways.
The origins of this rim-size fetish can be traced to the Cadillac Escolade, a Sports Utilities Vehicle (SUV), which has taken the entertainment and rap world by storm. (SUV in rap world is also known as the "suddenly upside-down vehicle", for reasons best known to them).
Cadillac, somewhat better known for attracting the 64-70 year old white males approaching retirement, has now found itself as the motoring icon of rap music, entertainment and sports heros. Rap/hip-hop videos are close to feature length commercials for the Escolade with stars like Puff Daddy, Pink and Brandy graduating to ownership. Cadillac themselves admit that 17/18-inch alloys just don't cut it with hip-hop buyers anymore.
The Escolade, which sells for about $54,000 sports 345 bhp and is rated as one of the most powerful SUVs you can buy. Standard homie-speak about the Escolade is rampant in online chat rooms where impassioned fans natter about their "rides".
"Yo yo yo SUVs rule man. I'm straight outta da hood and I be rollin' in my V8 Cadillac Escolade on Dubs, chrome baby, They call me bling bling Sardar I be rollin' straight to the taco bell drive thru cuz a homies gotz to get a burrito." Better translated as: "Hello, Sports Entertainment Vehicles are an excellent product with many advanced features. I have just left the house in my V8 Cadillac Escolade with chrome rims. My name is bling bling Sardar and I'm driving to a Mexican Fast food restaurant, as people such as myself occasionally get hungry. I myself prefer the burrito as a tasty snack."
The USA, or in homie language, the United States of Automobiles, has thousands of Wheel dealerships with products ranging from the humble 14-inch to 23-inch rims.
To upgrade from standard alloys to 22-inch wheels for example, the average cost can fall at $1,722 for a set of four. The generally accepted maxim is that if you want your ride to look as hot as Coolio's Dodge Viper or NBA's Shaquille O'Neal, standard 14 to 17-inch wheels with plastic hubs just won't do.
Chrome-crazy fans can choose from more than 170 designs with Dayton, Lexani and KMC among the top range. Wheels can also be purchased with names such as "Wrath of Envy", "Kriminal", and six-spoke "Attacks".
Some advice to Irish buyers who are interested in modifying their 306 or even inherited Fiestas. Fattish cars look better with five spokes, modern saloon cars appreciate more subtle six or seven spokes, and low profile split rims will almost always look well on sporty Mazdas, BMWs and some power saloons.
Dealers will generally tell you how much your car can deal with, and make sure your tyres suit. There is nothing stranger than high profile tyres on a set of TSWs. It's usually advised to buy tyres and wheels in the one package to cut costs.
So if you are determined to brighten up your car - and the M50 - with some new wheels, you can find comfort in the thought that you may also be helping the economy. In the US the custom wheel market is estimated to be worth $3 billion a year, compared with $1.26 billion back in 1991.
Selecting the right wheels for your car should be given time and consideration, as it's not only your bank balance that could suffer, but also your street cred.