Some 27 ago, Salomon took the world ski market by storm when it introduced the first “cap” ski. Fundamentally, the change was purely cosmetic, but marketed masterfully; in fact, it was nothing much than a ski with a seamless one-piece plastic top to replace the traditional “square” sidewalls and top.
At the same time, as if it were in cue with the new French ski manufacturer, Elan launched its own cap ski called the MBX “Monobloc” (Salomon's skis were called “Monocoque”, like the race car chassis...)
Among the rest of the manufacturers, more fortunes were lost than made as they rushed to concoct a “cap” version of their skis, so they wouldn't lose the market share they held to the new craze...