[herr_oberst]

From what I can tell, the sidepod is "supposed' to cover the top and bottom side impact bars and also create the shape of the snorkle at the leading edge. Merc has gotten around this by providing a sort of mini barge board that covers the top impact bar, and there's a blister on the bottom impact bar. The snorkle is now shaped a bit like a trapezoid, and apparently there are diffusers inside to direct airflow to the much narrower radiators.

The result of all of this is to expose a much larger portion of the floor to the airflow, thereby generating downforce, and having greater opportunity to generate vortexes to seal off the edges of the floor to prevent porpoising.

But, I'm not even smart enough to stay at a Holiday Inn Express, so I'm sure my interpretation of what I've been trying to learn is cockeyed.