It's a pretty serious charge to level at what is, admittedly, a trend. But John Manoogian, Cadillac's lead exterior designer, believes that fake side vents will wipe out the current trend of stylized-yet-functional side vents. Manoogian says "I've seen Chrysler 300s where guys are buying these stick-on portholes, and I'm thinking, 'What are these people thinking?' They are literally stick-on parts." Yet imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and if every other carmaker (including Saturn) and aftermarket shop has hopped on your coat tails... we'd think you'd pat yourself on the back. Sure, it might be aesthetically disappointing to see your lovingly crafted design turned into a chrome flake applique, but that's what happens to trends. Besides, there are far more egregious styling fakeries, as in companies copying significant chunks of another maker's entire design language, that haven't managed to kill original automotive expression. We doubt the lowly side vent spells the end. It's intriguing, though, when Manoogian says, "When it gets to be that ubiquitous, then we are going to have to say, 'We need to do something different here.' " Exactly. Isn't that what car designers are for?
