- NEW!
by Dracool on April 13th, 2009
Yes, we called them 'wind wings' and they were great .. along with windows that rolled up and down and always worked, unlike the ones today.
by vinc3nt on April 13th, 2009
Yes, and I was employed by an auto importer when they were disappearing. We all thought it a bad decision but the design rational was sound.
1. The vent window was expensive to make.
2. The frequency of air and water leaks around the seal was high.
3. This was the thief's favorite means of entry. Very often the vent was not fully locked. No one liked to push that little button to unlock the lever.
4. Flow through ventilation with A/C had become so common that vent windows were seldom used.
by debodun on April 13th, 2009
Oh yes - they had a little crank on the inside of the door. That was retro air conditioning.
by alwayscurious on April 13th, 2009
Yes....didn't remember about that until you mentioned it.
by denidowi on July 14th, 2009
Yes; and there are certainly times and places for them still - though they rarely exist now ... like so many other 'lost' articles of the past that still have potential and worthwhile use today.
In our country, in the early 1970's, the [so-called] "cultural revolution" tossed out ALL our previous school text books they could find - that is, the "education dept's" of that revolution did. They just simply turfed them out of their archives, etc., and said they were starting anew to make a new world ...
Well, THIS is it!!
Improved ... ???
Fortunately, as I tutor maths and English and my father was a teacher [though his orientation was this same revolutionary thing], when he died, I found the odd language text from the 1950's.
Elsewhere, I miraculously chanced upon 2 old 'Arithmetic" [mathematics - they even changed its name!] texts from the 1940's ... well, I use them in teaching my students - very useful.
by Jack wears love COAT on April 13th, 2009
Yes I do remember those classic beauties.
by katie7576 on April 13th, 2009
Yes, I am and now I am depressed!!!
by AisForAlex on April 13th, 2009
Yes, I do. They're called vent windows. One of the last, if not THE last car to have them was the 1989 Lincoln Town Car. On that car, they are power-operated.
by Scifisuz on April 13th, 2009
We called them wind wings. My first car had them. Very handy to let in wind without messing up your "do". Also handy for break-ins too.
by anddeb on April 13th, 2009
Yes and they let in just the right amount of air.
by LarryH54 on July 27th, 2009
Yep. We called them wing windows, and as a gas station attendant, I was able to help a cusomer who had locked herself out of her VW bus using my Swiss Knife's fish scaler to open the wing. She was grateful, but worried that I could do it so easily. lol
by DA BEN DAN yanggui zi on April 13th, 2009
yup.. we even had an austin with little flippers that lit up and flipped out to the side to indicate we were turning.....
by Capt. Jack Sparrow GALCIY on August 30th, 2009
Ah yes, the wing-window.
Been in many a vehicle with those.
My dear, sweet ol' granny from my mother's side had a Barracuda with 'em.
It wasn't the model style that most people remember best, but it was a fun classic style none the less.
I'm pretty sure it predated any true "hatchback" model of any car, but it had a very unique hatchback style rear window, and with the rear seat folded down it was pretty fun to "ride in the trunk".
You sure as HELL couldn't get away with letting kids ride that way in THIS day and age, but then again there were far fewer RETARDS on the roads in those days, and NOT a damn one of 'em had a cellphone or knew what the hell "texting" was.
It looked like THIS...
by Anonymous on August 26th, 2009
Many older cars had the triangular windbreak. window to keep the wind from hitting the front passengers
by Ed the Jetpacking Headbanger on August 26th, 2009
20 years ago, my brother still owned a classic with those windows.
by The Anonymous Witch on August 26th, 2009
yep , and they were a bitch to close too .
by Anonomous on August 26th, 2009
My husband has a 1996 ford truck for work that has the wing windows.
by BigDaddyBS on April 22nd, 2009
Window vents... Yep. I remember them well. Sometimes I miss them.
by LoggyBren on April 22nd, 2009
Yes, and those windows had some benefits. Someone told me not long ago that some Jeeps still have those kind of windows.
by Grandma Roses - my avatar is my real dog on April 13th, 2009
I remember when seatbelt were not only not mandatory but hadn't been invented yet. And my first nephew (Born 1971) didn't have a car seat but was carried in a little car bed.
by Wynper on April 13th, 2009
Yeppers...we called them wing windows.
I loved them and I too wish they'd bring them back.
by walter3ca on April 13th, 2009
Yes.
by Friendo on April 13th, 2009
My 1988 Bronco has them. They are great for diverting fresh air into the car. Taking them out the design was not an improvement. They are great for quick de-fogging as well.
by Factotum on April 13th, 2009
What lovely nostalgia! I miss them too.
by 232499 on April 13th, 2009
very handy - yes i do
by j ninja... on April 13th, 2009
Damn I'm getting old,, sure do. Great little mini AC's.
by anonymous on April 13th, 2009
Yes, I am. *whimper*
by CaptainHarley adores his life penguin on April 13th, 2009
Oh yes. I've owned a number of cars which had those little windows. I use to love to turn them all the way back in the Summer and get one hell of a breeze goin! : D
by MyGiveaDamnsBusted on April 13th, 2009
Yes. They shouldn't have stoped making vehicles with those.
by little dog on April 13th, 2009
Yes I love them.Today all you get is alot of noise and wind.
by redcatt63 is around here somewhere...... on April 13th, 2009
Ahh, yes. I do remember my parents/grandparents having cars with those little windows.
by Over and Out on April 13th, 2009
Oh yes ... didn't we call them "wings". I'm plenty old enough to remember!! lol
by hurricane on November 10th, 2009
I've always known them as "draft windows" not many cars had a/c then [ although it was an option on many models] and smolking was rampant, these windows let air in/out without having to roll the big window down
by lily is confused on September 29th, 2009
sadly enough i am!!
by Joe the Fashion Chef on September 29th, 2009
Yes! I loved my old Fairmont! Wish I could find another one.
by President Norris 2016 on September 29th, 2009
my 63 volks has them and I use it everytime I get in the car, even in the winter to increase the hot air flow from the heaters, would like to get the quarter windows in the back that open with a chrome lever ivory knob; cars these days all look identical, rolling jellybean, with the same options as the next brand, and cheaply made
by Anonymous on September 12th, 2009
sure do. I still own one (62 M-B 190d). I also remember my father had an Oldsmobile station wagon with the extra windshield on top, think they called it the Vista Cruiser.
by Spacys back on September 3rd, 2009
i remember them and im only in my 30s
by Shes Country on August 30th, 2009
I really hate to admit it but yes, I am that old. LOL. I actually liked those little windows, they were good for getting a bit of fresh air, with out having to freeze your total ass off, or blow your hair all over your face.
by Perryman on August 30th, 2009
Sure.
I had those in my clunker van that I just traded in.
by FreshApples on August 27th, 2009
Yes, those were cool!
by Brian on August 27th, 2009
Yes I am.
I had them on my 1980 Ford Fiesta.
Nice feature, horrible car.
by jcmil2 on August 26th, 2009
Yep.
by Taciturnu on August 24th, 2009
YES! Not sure why they did away with them... They worked quite nicely!
by Andrew on August 24th, 2009
yes.and when a seatbelt was my dad's arm too.
by Derf on August 24th, 2009
Yes, they a called Vents, I still have a car with them in it and its nice to drive a car with them and be able to have the window down and not get so much wind in you ear. Those great old days. back then is when cars were fun.
by what on August 19th, 2009
I had a mustang
by Candi on August 17th, 2009
yes and I always got yelled at by my father for playing with it,, Husband still has one on his el camino
by Normal guy on August 2nd, 2009
Yeah, you could crank them most of the way around and force the wind to blow in on you while going down the road.
by Ditto on August 2nd, 2009
Yep! My first car had that.
How would you feel if you saw a VW Beetle with an Autobot symbol, then when you looked inside a dude dressed as Duke was banging a chick
by Have A Nice Day on September 15th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
Looking for gas tank size for 1981 El Camino SS VIN# 1GCCW80J7BD472923
by linda325 on September 3rd, 2010
| 1 person likes this
Some Chargers 1968 seem not to have lights? why is that , or where do they have them?
by Tom D on August 20th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
How rare is a 1972 Cadillac Coupe de Ville with El Deora package?
by Vickie_R on October 30th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
I'm looking for a die cast model of a 1939 Ford Coupe (my dad's first car) Seem to find every year but that one. Any ideas?
by mhansen1665 on November 1st, 2010
| 1 person likes this
You're reading Are you old enough to remember cars with the little triangular window at the front end of the front-seat windows that actually opened?
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Comments
They were the worst possible things for them to take off of the cars. You could crack them open a little bit, and they pulled out cigarette smoke and your buddy's gaseous emissions. You could crank them all the way open and they scooped in fresh air. (we called them 260 air conditioning... two wing windows - 60 mph).
by Nitroduck on April 13th, 2009
260 air conditioning ~ love it! There were so many things that were great about old cars, not least of which was leg room!
by Dracool on April 13th, 2009
Yes... And vinyl (better yet - naugahyde) front bench seats. Every car seems to have a console blocking you from your date these days.
by Nitroduck on April 13th, 2009
If you can remember wind wings and you're still dating .. kudos!!!!
by Dracool on April 13th, 2009
DRAC - You have mail.
by Friendo on April 13th, 2009
Gracias mi amigo ~ received.
by Dracool on April 13th, 2009