Car windows & styling

[MantaRay]

The window apertures on many cars are actually quite large yet the glass itself can have huge blacked off areas which means you can't see through it. Is there more to this than "just" styling? I have to question this because I can't help but notice that when sitting in cars of previous decades the all round visibility is generally so much better with their thinner pillars and unobstructed glass.

[NazNomad]

From here ... http://www.betterlivi...windshield-glass.aspx

Have you noticed that all the vehicles now come with wind shields that has fancy black outlines around the border of the windshield? This isn't just for show, although some manufacturers take advantage of the blacked out effect to enhance the vehicle's looks. The black border is actually there to protect the urethane adhesive. Ultraviolet light (sunlight) will damage the adhesive over time, so the solution was to simply block out the sunlight with black.

[carlton23]

I nearly went into a refuge lorry this morning due to the windscreen pillar in my old 1986 Ford Scorpio because the sun was in my eyes and I couldn`t see it coming out of a side road. The lorry driver stopped just in time, thank gawd, otherwise it`s the best car I`ve ever had.