I love this particular topic, and it’s been something I’ve been following for a while now. It became mainstream to talk about it around 2014 or so, but I first

I love this particular topic, and it’s been something I’ve been following for a while now. It became mainstream to talk about it around 2014 or so, but I first noticed it emerge as a cultural trend in 2002. My personal pet theory is that the vicious, aggressive car style emerged out of the post-911 era after the buildup to the War in Afghanistan and the eventual Iraq War. In other words, I’m convinced that this car style arose in the 2000s out of the cultural militarization in response to 9/11, which led to beefed up and weaponized hardware for military and civilian vehicles in these conflicts. When these conflicts first began, I remember seeing firsthand how this war aesthetic began to bleed into popular culture. One of the first films I recall seeing minor, but aggressive car mods prominently used on screen reflecting this aesthetic was "Equilibrium" (2002). I think from there, it proceeded to spill out into the commercial car market.