I just had an epiphany about the hottest trend in automotive design.

Anyone who has been paying attention to new cars lately has noticed a weird trend in design: the floating roof. Or, more specifically, a blacked out c or d pillar (the vertical piece closest to the back of the car). Well, yesterday, I was driving along when I saw a new Lexus RX:

Photo courtesy Lexus’ website

See that blacked-out area under the roof at the back of the car? That’s what I’m talking about. Well, right next to it was one of these:

Photo via Wikipedia.

It turns out Toyota’s Matrix wasn’t just “that car that’s the same as a Pontiac for some reason,” it was also the most influential design of the early 2000’s. Or something.