Top Down, Windows Up

I can tell that cell phones have really taken hold on our society. People always have to be yammering on their phones, even while driving. Now that, in and of itself, is dangerous and stupid, but I'm not here to talk about that. No, I'm here to talk about one of the side effects of the cell phone addiction: looking stupid while being stupid.

I'm a car guy. I'm not a car-fixer guy, but for the aesthetic, stylistic and historic purposes of the automobile, I'm a car guy. The car is one of those canvases that's almost infinitely customizable. One of the greatest car designs, in my opinion, is the convertible. There's nothing quite like rolling around town or cruising down the highway in the evening in a sleek, sexy convertible. Drop-tops have been around longer than the car itself has. There's a stylistic component to driving a convertible. It's almost an attitude thing, too. People driving convertibles blatantly say to others, "I love to drive and I like attention." So, and here's my complaint, why is it that people this last couple of years have been totally ruining the whole idea of driving a convertible by driving with the top down and the windows up? Folks, if you're going to drive a convertible, roll the windows down. The idea of driving with the top down and the windows up almost totally defeats the purpose of having the convertible.

To bring my comments about cell phones into this, I think that's the reason people keep their windows up. They want to enjoy the open-air-ness of the convertible, yet still be able to chit chat on their cell phones while driving. Again, to a car guy, that doesn't make any freaking sense. I drive not only because I have to get somewhere, but because I enjoy it. I am coming up on 1 million miles under my belt, and honestly, in that time, I can't think of too many times I haven't wanted to be behind the wheel. I think that is lost in much of today's motorists. They simply have a car to get from A to B. Regardless of how nice their car is, it's merely a penalty box commuter. In my opinion, if you're just going to use your car as a commuter, why not just get some stupid little econo-box rather than a nice convertible. I think it's such a disgrace to such beautiful cars as the Saturn Sky and the Ford Mustang to leave the windows up while driving with the top down. Next time, people, just get a car with a sun roof on it. Then you can leave that closed as well as the windows.

'Nuff Said.