Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena California is the primary route of the venerable New Years event known as the Rose Parade. That route, and the blocks even farther east along the boulevard were once peppered with used car lots. I have a friend who grew up in the area in the ’60s and ’70s and he used to reminisce about these lots. A huge fan of British steel he said that they were at that time full of Jag XKs – 120s, 140s and 150s – sleek cats that at the time he said were just quirky old cars that were expensive to keep up, and one of the issues that drove that was their large for the time wheel and tire size.
Those sixteen inch tires were a lot more expensive than the 14″ jobs most American cars of the time used, and as such, so said my bud, the Jags ended up cluttering up Colorado Blvd’s numerous used car lots. I wonder about that today because while standard wheel sizes have grown significantly – the average is now 16 or 17-inches – there are a number of cars and trucks that offer as optional equipment substantially bigger wheels and meats.
Considering those wheel sizes, both small and large, what factory rims do you think are the most ridiculous? I mean, which are the ones that are either far too large, or are so small they get lost in the wheel wells? What car or truck do you think has the most ridiculous OEM wheel size?
Image source: Motor Trend