WTH is up with these fake air vents?

Decoding the outbreak of the so-called “hasang” gang

There's a new fad in town, one that has taken over the mantle from those pesky blinking taillight bulbs. Well, it's a fad for some, but for others it's a total eyesore. 

I'm talking about those air vents popping up on the doors, rear panels, and even bumpers of many vehicles on the road. And yes, they're fake. 

It's become so popular that there's a term for it on social media: hasang. That's Tagalog for fish gills.

To be fair, air vents with chrome accents have been around from as far as the 1950s. We've seen it in the likes of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing; an iconic sports car that speaks class.

Moving towards the 21st century, the Gullwing's descendant, the Mercedes-Benz SL 55 AMG still sported the same design feature. And if we look closer, the SL 55's air vents are probably the closest-looking to the ones we see being installed on many vehicles today.

But the fake ones, on the other hand, are not exactly from Germany. These fake air vents are just one of many car accessories that came from the PRC. If you visit your favorite e-commerce site, you'll even find that it's very affordable. For a little over PHP 100, you can get a pair of these fake air vents. And since the Christmas season is here, delivery can be free of charge.

It's also easy to install, as all it takes is to peel a few pieces of double-sided tape then slap it onto your favorite area and you're done. However, that's not the case when you eventually try to remove it. Well to be fair, the fake air vents don't exactly come with a set of instructions upon delivery, but double-sided tape usually leaves a residue that's hard to remove and can even damage your car's paint.

With that being the case, we believe car owners have their own reasons for putting these fake air vents in their vehicles. They might think it's a budget meal mod that would make their car look great, or feature something unique from the rest. 

On the other hand, they should also face the wrath of people who look at fake air vents as a useless abubot. In social media, the bunch of cars having these fake air vents is being called the "hasang" gang.

Honestly, I think everyone has free reign to do anything to their cars. And by all means, if it's the way they want their cars to look as classy as the Gullwing or the SL 55 AMG, then so be it. However, car owners should know that vehicle design is far from being a one size fits all narrative. Just because it looks good on one car, doesn't always mean it will look great on another.

Another thing is the case of functionality. The Gullwing and SL 55 AMG have those air vents to extract hot air from the engine bay. Now in the case of fake air vents... well, zero.