Auto Cool [not]

What a cool idea! What a lousy product!

The Auto Cool is a solar-powered fan that’s supposed to keep your car cooler inside when parked in the sunshine. It mounts atop the side window.

Here’s what’s wrong with this cool idea: It needs bright sun to power the fan. Most modern auto windows are tinted, reducing how much sun reaches the solar cells which are INSIDE the car. At the hottest part of the day, the sun is directly overhead. The Auto Cool solar cells are facing sideways, not up towards the sun. Many cars have power windows. When my power window encounters an obstruction, say something like the Auto Cool, they automatically reverse, dumping the Auto Cool and it’s tediously installed weather seal lying on the floor.

I have yet to find situation where I can get the fan to come on attached to the car window, even on the brightest of days in over 100 degree heat. I did get it to come on sitting on the dashboard but what good is that? The Auto Cool is a total waste of money. The tinkerer might find a way to remove the solar cells and mount them horizontally outside the car. How much actual cooling one would get is hard to say. My advice: crack the windows a little.