Okay, I'm guessing not many people ponder this one, but somebody has to do it. Next time you're driving someplace, take note of which vehicles around you have rear windshield wipers. You may become as puzzled as me afterward. For example, many cars on the road today have very steeply-sloped front and rear windshields - it's more aerodynamic, I reckon.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRophFF4RK_DcHTAIfdxEQu-0pPLky7C3Kwtl0BxpQioiVJc7rsAWBANYM2Z9wZVngYahIYt37jqUSNtfEX17Rm_WgR59Qnu-F5WmwjS27Nn3euj3ZZ3jDgLZ8fQFXRHL5HAXKgQ/s200/0704_z+2008_ford_flex+rear_corner.jpg)
My car's rear windshield is sloped at about 45 degrees. Now, the majority of those vehicles do not have rear wipers. Most SUV's seem to have them. Today, I spotted a brand new Ford Flex in front of me. Boxy little bugger. The rear windshield was maybe a foot or so in height, and - no exaggeration here - almost completely vertical. Darned if there wasn't a cute little mini-wiper back there. Rain and snow would have to be rather determined - and fall horizontally - to stick to that window. Meanwhile, how many times did you have to remove snow, slush, or other unwanted material from your rear windshield by hand because your car doesn't have a rear wiper? The bigger question may be, "Why don't
ALL vehicles come with them?"
Which kind of ties into another area of vehicular ponderment of mine: Why do you suppose that many car makers feel the need to place reflectors and lights on car bumpers?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF-DXmaCh7RgXDEsuCu1M2I8n6qvi8AtB4HGSWQ6yDcIhkEXTzIgnoKDqD0MzGMH3SDBqqsHyfzKxcNAG_wCsWu6pjTuEW6NndmaCoNxiotIbiLi6ZoUdwA8ThhtHWf17IaIECWw/s200/P-MILLER-CHRYSLER300C.jpg)
Hmmm, because it's an efficient place to put them? Um, because people like them there? Er, government mandate? Nope (loud buzzing sound) - the answer we were looking for is "Because it makes repairing your car's bumper way more expensive when it gets bumped by something from which it's supposed to protect your car and it's lights and reflectors." We should all start boycotting vehicles that blatantly do things to jack up maintenance and repair costs, and let the auto makers know why, too. Now that they're scrambling to get us to start buying their products again, maybe they'll actually listen.
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