Ha. Like the old saying goes............where there is a will, there is a way.



I've been thinking about putting some of these stick-on package-portholes on my own GX, but so far have not gotten around to it.

Some Maserati and Infiniti products, BTW, directly from the factory, have already taken a page out of Buick's old rulebook.

 

Please dont do that with the stick on portholes...so trashy...

 

Are you referring to me, or Maserati/Infiniti, or both? Both those companies seem to be doing it at the factory level......just like Buick themselves did for a over a half-century after they converted their real portholes to imitation ones.

 

You. Those stick on portholes you posted are so crappy looking.

 

Oh, those were just one (possible) example...for posting's sake. There are actually many different ones available.

Anyhow, back to the logo itself....I'd much rather see the vertical three separate color-shields like that, without a ring, than to go back to that (IMO) colorless cheap-looking outline logo. That would be worse than the stick-on portholes LOL.

 

They all look terrible…

 

hey MM. ‘Were the traditional Buick holes actual holes? What was the purpose?

 

In the late 1940s, GM Stylist Ned Nickles, purely for looks, integrated the first ones into his personal 1948 Roadmaster......four on each side, which simulated the engine's eight cylinders (a straight-eight, not a V8). He then added a entertaining gimmick to them....wiring a set of small light bulbs inside each one to the ignition system so that the bulbs would flash with each spark-plug firing. Buick management was split on the issue (some liked the idea.....some thought it simply a gimmick)....but the general concept was ordered into production the next year (1949), minus the light-gimmick. With the relatively primitive cooling systems of the time (which almost guaranteed overheating on steep mountain roads or stuck in traffic), the idea was also incorporated to make them actual cooling holes, although the actual cooling effect-was minimal at best. They remained as actual holes for a number of years, but, by the late 1950s, in response to experience with rain and other problems (insects, small birds, etc....) getting into the engine compartment, the actual portholes switched to imitation ones, or sometimes simply scalloped-indentations in the chrome trim-strips. For decades after that, they remained imitation-holes, later switching from metal to plastic, like the rest of most exterior automotive trim-pieces. After the sedans were dropped from the U.S. market a couple of years ago, Buick gave up on the idea entirely........they dont even use the Buick name on the outside any more, just the color Tri-Shield.

The portholes, for years, whether real or artificial, were not only famous, but made Buicks, at a glance, quickly recognizable from other cars. It also, of course, helped police more-quickly ID suspect-cars used in crimes.

The number of "holes" in each fender also generally had significance. Top-Level Buicks (Roadmasters, Electras, Wildcats, etc...) with standard large-displacement V8 engines got four in each fender. Lesser-grade Buicks, and those with standard 6 cylinders, got three in each fender.....although that of course changed when top-level Buicks, in the 1990s, started getting the standard 3.8L V6.

 

Meanwhile the Triple Pointed Star, Roundel, and Interlocked Rings march on unchanged.........*sigh*

Steve, I may very well join you brand wise for my next one at the rate the other brands are going....at least I can rest assured Mercedes will be consistently the top and won't do something to compromise that.

 

Come on along! lol

 

Thanks MM. never knew this. The spark plug flashing on the port holes is very interesting. The size of the engine and cylinder count is a nice touch.

 

Logo won't make a difference, but it is often a given when the company wants to go a much newer direction.

 

How many more "new directions" can they go? Their two biggest arms (the Chinese and American branches) are already vastly different organizations as it is....the Chinese obviously much larger. And they are getting into EVs, just like other manufacturers.

 

Both old and new are ugly lol. I do like the new KIA logo though.

 

Source