When you driving the open roads of Houston [or your town/area] You blast the Air Conditioning. . . or Roll the windows down [top down] most often? Rocket River
Open windows 7-8 months out of the year. Usually they're only closed if its above 90, below 50, raining, or if somebody is in the car with me.
if it's not very humid and temps below 90... i might consider windows down, but... thats once in a blue moon in houston
When driving alone, I like the window open if the temps are bearable. When driving with the family, it's always AC. Incidentally, I have high frequency hearing loss in my left ear... presumably from driving at high speeds with the window down.
(can't really roll up the windows on my bike) Seriously though, because I'm "in the wind" so much on my bike, I tend to keep the windows down in the car unless I'm stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Oh, and if the wife is in the car...she loves her AC.
2 of my first 3 cars had no A/C. Still trying to figure out how I managed that, but obviously it can be done.
Is it bad to roll with your windows down because of the air pollution? I always wondered about that, especially when there's a truck in front of you that releases a black cloud of smoke. So I would like to roll with the windows down a lot of the time, but get it back up when stuck in traffic.
Under 55-mph, if it's nice out (even if it's hot), I roll the windows down. If it's hot, I leave the A/C on as well, because it's necessary under 40-mph. If I go over 55-mph, or the weather sucks, I roll the widows up. As an aside, my first two cars were Ford trucks (F-150 and Ranger, both late 80's) with the little pop-out triangle mirror. To me, that was the perfect tool for getting just the right amount of outside air into the cab. I miss that on trucks.
When I was younger, I would drive everywhere with the windows rolled down. Mostly because my dad and I used to drive around in a big green '74 Impala with no AC. lol. Nowadays in Dallas and when I visiit Houston, I pretty much always use AC unless the temps are in the 70's - 80's. Then I'll open the sunroof and the rear windows if I'm driving long distances or out on the open roads. But in stop and go traffic? AC. I don't want to be snorting fumes and sweating like a pig.