![]() ![]() Ventiports were temporarily banished from the Buick look for 19, then returned in stylized form on the 1960 line. In the 1955 lineup (above) the Special (264 CID V8) featured three mouseholes in each front fender, while the Century, Super, and Roadmaster (322 CID V8) boasted four per side. So began the custom of three holes per side on lesser Buick models and four per side on the top-of-the line offerings, with slight tweaks from year to year. The ’49 Roadmaster (convertible shown just above) carried four “Cruiser-Line Ventiports” (the official Buick term) per side, while the junior Super and Special sported just three per side. Ragsdale ridiculed the gimmick, saying it ruined the car, but general manager Harlow Curtice fell in love with it and ordered it into production on the 1949 models, a scant seven months away-but minus the flashing lamps. No one knew it at the time, but at that moment a Buick styling trademark was born.īuick manufacturing boss Edward T. Reportedly, he was inspired by the flashing exhaust pipes (or gun muzzles, in some versions of the story) on World War II fighter aircraft. As the story goes, Nickles incorporated small electric lamps (probably neon or similar) wired to the ignition system so they would flash in sequence with the engine. In Buick lore, portholes came to be when noted General Motors stylist Ned Nickles designed and installed a set of round fender vents on his personal 1948 Roadmaster. ![]() Here’s some backstory on a novel styling feature that continues to this day. In the 1950s, every car-spotting kid could identify a Buick by the portholes in the front fenders. ![]()
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