Back in the old Model T days they used to be rollin' on 20's... wooden wheels of course lol. I do find it funny seeing 20"+ wheels and thinking, have we just gone back an exact century in time on wheel size
Any wheel over 19" doesn't do it for me. I think it's dependant on the car i.e a 5th Gen Camaro / new Mustang comes with 18 / 19's? It mostly works though because it was part of the design of the car to have a larger wheel. I can't stand big wheels on older cars. I've seen Camaro's / Chevelle's etc with 24" wheels and it's an upsetting experience.
Interesting take on the low profile / quicker wear etc. I had 17's with low profiles (after upgrading from 15 stock) and didn't notice much difference, just that it was easier to hear thunk noises when going over broken up roads / drains etc and hoping each time when i got out the car that the wheel still held a circular shape. I wonder if manufacturers have also popularised the options because what's popular in the customising world tends to sneak into commercial realms. The right tyre / wheel combo can make a car look sleek on the shopfloor and i guess there's also that psychology of 'well the other manufacturer has bigger wheels so therefore i want that car because bigger must be better'.
If it looks right then i'm ok with it
So long as the wheel isn't excessively large (JCB diggers don't count) or the tyres aren't too small for the width... that new extreme camber / no tyre height look that is the latest thing 
