As the saying goes, sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug. On one trip I made to Pennsylvania in our Four Seasons Toyota FJ, the bugs definitely lost.
I remember making some snide comment in the log book that its three wipers look like a millipede, which is appropriate because of how many bugs the FJ kills.
I'm quoted in our December issue (on newsstands now) saying a few things about the FJ after that trip - namely that it wouldn't attract more attention if you set it on fire. That could, of course, have something to do with its Smurf Blue color. Or its cartoon looks.
Either way, the FJ gets lots of attention. From people as well as flying objects.
Our FJ's windshield just cracked for the second time in 17,000 miles. That sounds familiar - we went through lots of windshields in our Four Seasons Scion xB, too. A conspiracy by Toyota to make millions in profits on expensive replacement windshields, perhaps? Uh, no.
The reality is that flat, vertical windshields get smacked with lots of stuff. And then they break. I should know, in 62,000 miles, I’ve replaced the windshield four times on my ’87 Volkswagen Scirocco. I replaced no windshields in just as many miles of driving E39 5-series BMWs, Toyota Corollas, and other curved- and raked-windshield vehicles.
At a time when cars almost universally have slanted, aerodynamic windshields, this is one more lovely piece of ammunition I can use to dissuade my friends from buying SUVs. They use too much fuel, they don't brake or turn as well as cars, and they break lots of windshields. :)