Buick's 1938 Y-Job concept car pioneered modern automotive styling. Its influence fully emerged post-WWII with the 1949 Roadmaster, the first Buick to feature hood-side Ventiports.
These portholes originated from a designer's custom 1948 Roadmaster with flickering amber lights, inspired by fighter plane exhaust. GM approved a non-lit version for production, which also helped vent engine heat. Crucially, the number of ports indicated the engine: four for the larger 320-cubic-inch inline-eight, three for the smaller 248-cubic-inch version.
Buick soon made Ventiports decorative, but kept using the count to denote model hierarchy—premium models got four, others three. After a revival in 1960, this pattern continued for decades on models like the Electra and Wildcat.
A modern interpretation appeared on the 2008 LaCrosse, where portholes corresponded to cylinder count (four for V8, three for V6). While discontinued today, these vents remain a unique Buick signature. The design also famously influenced Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina, leading to similar vents on some Maseratis.