https://killerklowns.fandom.com/wiki/Jojo%27s_Ice_Cream_Truck

Not sure if this was ever mentioned on this site before.

This movie came out in 1988 and I'm old enough to remember it.

Your thoughts?

It's possible, I suppose, I never heard/read anything from Jaffe in regards to the sci-fi/horror classic "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" being something that inspired the creation of Sweet Tooth. I know the Sweet Tooth driver was inspired somewhat by the Poltergeist 1982 film's evil Clown Doll but that's just the character itself. At one Twisted Metal/Sony was sued by Frosty Treats, Inc. with the *false* claim that TM stole their ice cream company's "safety clown" imagery (Frosty Treats, Inc. v. Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc.). However that had less to do with the actual vehicle design, since Frosty Treats ice cream trucks did not have clown heads on the top of their vehicles, just on their logo. The past Good Humor trucks and Mister Softee trucks did not have clown head props that I know of. Some vintage trucks did have a ice cream on a cone props on the top of ice cream trucks though, which is the origin of the concept itself. Since Killer Klowns the movie was heavy on clown imagery it made sense to go with an ice cream truck like that and it worked for the story. The clown head in Twisted Metal might have taken inspiration from that look but unlike Jojo's truck ST's truck has movement to it and isn't a stiff prop. Could just be a coincidence though.

Another films coincidence is how Sweet Tooth is an escaped mental patient who disguises as a clown, which is an idea the movie "Clownhouse" from 1989 had - but ideas like that are just kind of ideas anybody could stumble on.
Like Clown imagery and Ice Cream just mix well for whatever reason, likewise Clown imagery and scary shit, haha.