 In a reference work on alternative-energy vehicles, electrical-engineering academics used the term as a generic for saloon cars with three-box design; also a 2007 German work on car design and technology mentions a "Rover-Ponton" (ponton-style Rover); and a French book on art and design also used the term in an automotive context in 1996.Pontoon fenders are a type of automobile fender, or "wings" as they are more usually called in the United Kingdom.Originally the term referred to a design prevalent in the United States in the 1930s where front fenders encased a wheel and terminated in a teardrop point, remaining distinct from the running boards or the body of the car.