New-Fangled Contraption

James Lileks picked up his daughter in a loaner car.....

(G)Nat liked it because she could roll the windows down with a crank. COOL! Much more interesting than the boring old push-button style. When I put the car in the garage and turned the engine off she said NO WAIT, she hadn’t rolled up the window. I said you could do them with the power off. COOL!

Wonders never cease.

My wife's 2003 Dodge Neon has crank windows. She specifically looked for them and chose the car over another otherwise identical vehicle (except for color, but it wasn't a factor). They are tough to find. I recall reading somewhere that engineers have gotten the electric window systems down to the point that they weigh less than the hand crank mechanisms.

My car has electric windows which after 11 years are starting to act up; some of the door switches don't work, although the switch on the driver's door for that same window rolls it down. Once in a while it would be nice to roll them down with the power off, but it hasn't been a big deal. Of course,when they finally give out I'll probably trade the car in.