We're just venting.
Listen, I like a front fender vent as much as the next guy--possibly more. I love them on the Range Rover. I loved them on at least two generations of Corvettes. I like them when they are functional (in venting heat from the engine bay) and when their only function is to look cool...
But, I've just come back from the reveal of the 2008 Cadillac CTS, and I'm now officially over-vented. It's not Cadillac's fault. There's nothing wrong with the little chrome-surrounded vents they've added to the new model--although they seem a bit small. It's just that I've seen them on the Chrysler Trailhawk and the Ford Interceptor and (gasp!) the Ford Focus and the Ford Five Hundred and the Jaguar C-XF and the Lincoln MKR and, well, I'm tired now.
Perhaps next year can be the year of the brake-cooling inlet or the year of the hood scoop, or even the year of the big, garish rear wing. Just no more fender vents please. Oh, and the CTS goes on sale this fall as a 2008 model. The CTS-V, rumored to have more than 500 horsepower, will come along in the fall of 2008. It too will have a front-fender vent. -- Daniel Pund
blueguydotcom says:
09:22 AM, 01/ 8/07
Wish everyone would stop copying the e46 M3's fender vents. It was a tad different in 2000. It's old hat now.
readerreader says:
09:26 AM, 01/ 8/07
They surely did not invent them.
blueguydotcom says:
11:09 AM, 01/ 8/07
Never said they did. Before the e46 M3 name a few cars with fender vents. Not talking about the recessed kind like the tiburon but prominent gills.
estreka says:
12:05 PM, 01/ 8/07
I like vents too, but I gotta agree that it's gone too far. I knew it was overdone with they were applied to Buicks.
Nice Caddy, btw.
imacarguy2 says:
12:29 PM, 01/ 8/07
nice car, nice interior, where do I sign up? Note to Lutz: please delete vents. There are plenty of after market items available that it isn't necessary.
readerreader says:
12:47 PM, 01/ 8/07
Do Buick's old portholes count?
carlisimo says:
01:09 PM, 01/ 8/07
That little smile - the bottom grille - is what overdoes it for me. But the rest of the car looks great, inside and out!
estreka says:
01:17 PM, 01/ 8/07
reader - Nah. I appreciate porthole and vents as long as they are warranted. A car should have power to have vents. The potential new Grand National has them and they are very well deserved. If you haven't seen pics, here's one from Google:
http://img18.echo.cx/img18/8993/gnxx2in.jpg
sejo says:
01:56 PM, 01/ 8/07
If all we can talk about a car like this is 'vents', then god help us all.
hondacura4 says:
03:23 PM, 01/ 8/07
Did any of you watch the short clip Edmunds has on the CTS? The exhaust note on the 3.6 is seriously sick! Go Caddy!
drjames says:
02:55 AM, 01/ 9/07
blueguydotcom, how about any Maserrati, BMW M, or Range rover?As for the overall look? I'm liking it. Only, I can see all the caddys starting to look the exact same... just different scales. Maybe a little boring?
jerrywimer says:
05:06 AM, 01/ 9/07
Sounds a bit like BMW, Lexus, er, or just about any other car line. Cadillac's look is starting to become even more distinctive to the brand. So even though they are all starting to look more alike, they only look *like* Cadillacs. And GOOD looking ones at that!
billet says:
08:59 AM, 01/ 9/07
Speaking of side vents, at least it makes it easy to tell the day when hell freezes over - when we see vents on an Audi.
blueguydotcom says:
09:22 AM, 01/ 9/07
drjames, the Range Rover and Maserrati followed the M3 with the side gills. In fact, BMW owned Rover when the design change came about.
readerreader says:
09:50 AM, 01/10/07
There's more to tthat vent than meets the eye.
Cadillac calls it 10% functional and 90% aesthetic.
And aesthetic it is. Look at this picture of it. It is very difficult to do:
http://www.automobilemag.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0701_c+2008_cadillac_cts+2.jpg
And here is a video from MotorTrend explaining how it was done:
http://www.motortrend.com/av/autoshow/detroit/112_0701_2007_detroit_2008_cadillac_cts_unveiling