When it's raining, and you're stuck behind a driver who insists on crawling at 5 mph as if this were the Storm of the Century instead of just a light drizzle, you find yourself pondering life's mysteries in a desperate effort to pass the time. Why do water bottles have a "best if used by" date? Why is "Dancing with the Stars" such a big hit? And why do some cars -- like our Ford Focus -- have those utterly non-functional vents, located by the A-pillars?
They don't blow air like the HVAC vents. Why are they there? What does it all mean? Has it stopped raining yet?
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor @ 14,942 miles
m_thrizzle says:
03:40 PM, 12/15/08
I think they serve to de-fog the side windows so you can clearly see the mirrors.
cts24 says:
03:44 PM, 12/15/08
I thought those were to defrost the side windows a bit near where the mirrors are. Try using the defroster and see if air comes out of them. In this focus, however, they look like they are too far away from the glass to do anything meaningful.
Warren Clarke replied to comment from cts24
04:09 PM, 12/15/08
Yep, that's it -- just checked, and they blow air once the defroster's on. Thanks! Mystery solved.
-Warren
allthingshonda says:
04:33 PM, 12/15/08
These vents have been on cars for as long as I can remember. How can "automotive journalists" not know they are side window defogger vents?
lazyhater says:
04:37 PM, 12/15/08
Some "automotive journalists" still call the 09' Nissan GTR a "Skyline", when Nissan offically announced they are dropping the "Skyline" name from it in 07'.
So it is very possible they don't know what that vent does.
stovt001 says:
04:53 PM, 12/15/08
Wow...
louiswei says:
05:26 PM, 12/15/08
"Wow..."
I know...
LOL.
cwc1 says:
05:35 PM, 12/15/08
"Why do water bottles have a "best if used by" date? Why is "Dancing with the Stars" such a big hit? "
LOL....now these are some good questions.
altimadude00 says:
05:36 PM, 12/15/08
What is this metal thing with what looks like teeth? Oh, yeah. It's a key. Haven't had to deal with one of these in a while.
altimadude00 says:
06:02 PM, 12/15/08
They're parts to Darth Vader's mask. Can't you hear it wheeze when you turn the defroster on?
tmanz says:
06:57 PM, 12/15/08
"Why do water bottles have a "best if used by" date?"
Some states require it. So the companies had to come up with some sort of a date range to use to be able to sell the water in those locations. Our governments at work.
dougtheeng says:
06:26 AM, 12/16/08
""Why do water bottles have a "best if used by" date? "
I thought it was to do with long term degradation of the plastic in the bottle, leading to eventual contamination of the water. Plastic bottles break down with exposure to UV.
stingray454 says:
07:27 AM, 12/16/08
Yes - plastic bottles can also pass through airborne contaminants. Some molecules are small enough to pass through the plastic into the water from the air. My mother stored a case of water in her summer home for a year, and spread mothballs all over the house to repell moths and rodents. Well, a year later, the water tasted like mothballs! Yuk!
The stuff actually leached through the plastic from the air. It's odd - I often think water tight = air tight. Not necessarily.
1487 says:
07:34 AM, 12/16/08
this was probably a joke.
brn says:
09:20 AM, 12/16/08
My 1992 had side window defroster vents in top of the door itself. They worked amazingly well.
limeman says:
10:17 AM, 12/16/08
And you call yourselves automotive journalists? Yikes....
canadaphant says:
11:29 AM, 12/16/08
Hey, they live in SoCal, they don't have to use window defoggers/defrosters much.
uncanny_man says:
07:22 PM, 12/16/08
It's times like this (and the talk about the lancer's awd helping out in the rain) that I really wish more vehicle reviews were done outside of sunny california. You know, in the US that most of us live in.
stovt001 says:
10:43 PM, 12/16/08
I live in Southern California and I have to use my defrosters/defoggers all the time. This is just...wow...
b_boy_007 says:
08:34 PM, 07/29/09
Hey, are the vents at the base of the windscreen still a mystery to you too? Try finding a modern car (post 1980ish) that doesn't have these vents! I guess this is to be expected when auto journalists concentrate too much on the softness of the dashboard plastics and not enough on the more obvious things.