That was a new thing from the past winter when I found it all the stich weld were broken and not providing any additional structure to the body so they were removed. Doesn't hurt that it helps with weight reduction on the front end as well.
The past 3 years of summer driving I haven't had any...
I have a 3" thick core set between the grill and radiator on my 73 Duster and my electric fan has no problem pulling a strong air flow through the assembly when parked. Coolant temps peak at 170 and my intake air temps in the hat are 160.