Second the trend of using these wheels and tire combinations is partially because consumers want that look but primarily for stability of these obnoxiously sized chassis to body ratio that people want in vehicles. Partially due to emissions standards and partially due to ride comfort manufacturers are using car chassis and bolting on effectively high profile truck bodies to them (that's your typical crossover). You put on a 14-in rim with a 75% sidewall tire you have a handling nightmare that will result in rollovers. Sticking a large rim with a small profile tire greatly reduces that.
Lastly, yes larger rims are heavier and result in more unsprung weight but the trade-off is (for a factory setup) always worth it for increased handling and stability. This can reduce ride comfort but since you're on a car chassis anyway the suspension is making up the difference for what the tires used to do back in the '80s and '70s and '60s.
This author seriously needs to go find a bone stock car from the mid-70s or even the late 60s and compare it to what he has today. I give this your range because bias tires are just garbage and by the late 60s most manufacturers had started installing radials at that point. Still cars were given high profile tires. A sports car would not be uncommon to have a 225 65 R15 tire. Total mush with atrocious handling. Still if you're going to smack curbs enough to put dime-size holes in it the only thing it might save is scratching up your steel rim which was also god awful heavy compared to modern alloy rims that are bigger.
If you want smaller wheels and tires you need to go with smaller overall vehicles. Manufacturers don't do this for looks as their primary reason. They do it because it's what's required to keep the car safe and stable and meet the safety standards that are mandated. Nobody wants smaller cars because the safety rating goes through the floor because smaller cars you can only make them so safe due to the weight constraints of having a smaller car.