Another thread on hatchbacks got me thinking. It seems that hat the only way to get a rear wiper on a car in the US is to get a wagon, suv, CUV. Maybe it is just because we buy so few hatchbacks here, but European cars often include a rear wiper on sedan and coupe models! I have seen the same car that comes with a standard rear wiper in the UK not even offer it as an option in the US. What gives? Since I know this board, I bet we can post a list of US cars with rear wipers in no time!
i could have used a rear window wiper this morning.... Rear defroster doesnt work, cant see out the back...
Toyota Soarer? Rear Wiper.
Lexus SC400? Nope.
In one version of the US Mitsu Evo you could get a rear wiper on the sedan. That is the only that I know.
DA Integra
MX3
Various Celicas.
Those are all i know off the top of my head. I THINK the Probe had a rear wiper.
2005-2008 Mazda 6 Hatchback - (it's the way to tell them apart form the sedan)
^^ hatchbacks
Mercur Scorpio.
My Mini has a rear wiper. It may have the shape of a hatchback, but it is not one. No pic of it here at work.
Here's a Mini with a rear wiper.
I was a little scared to do a google image searcfh for "rear wiper", but it turned up mostly car related pictures.
Lancia had them on the flamina sedan. On both the outside and the inside... (I think it was the Flamina)
I don't think I've ever felt the need for a rear glass wiper in any sedan I've ever driven. I do use the one in my Cougar occasionally, but it's a hatchback, and I use the wiper very rarely. I wonder if the need for one in a wagon or SUV is because of the aerodynamics of the vehicle putting the window in an area that the rain just sits on the window, while with most sedans the rain gets blown off.
Bob
My vibe has a rear wiper..
It seems really good at 1 thing on more vertical SUV/VAN type glass, and that's getting coated in road dust/grime/small rocks and then putting permanent archs into the back of my window... I love my rear wipper. Oh and then 90% of the time the spray nozzle is just a non-patterned mess of water that comes out on the middle of the glass so if you need the spray nozzle for about 2-3 swipes your dry on half of the blade further scratching the glass..
In the rain it can almost clear the part of the rear window that I really don't need to see out of but does nothing for the corners of the window where on a gray overcast day dark gray cars like to sit in the lanes next to me with their headlights off and my vision is obscured..
Not a fan..
I drove home from work in heavy rain the other day thinking all cars should have them.
My Swift does, and it makes a huge difference in visibility.
IIRC didnt some Integras include a rear wiper?
EDIT...
DOH, shoulda Ctrl+f before I posted...93celica beat me to it
The SAAB C900 had a rear wiper option everywhere else in the world. I've only seen one or two in the US.
While in Bermuda in the mid '80s I saw many Ford Laser SEDANS (aka Mazda 323) that had rear window wipers. I always wondered why, if Ford Australia saw fit to include this feature, why Ford U.S. never saw any benefit. But, then, this is the same car company that made it difficult to find a Mustang south of the Mason-Dixon line that had a rear window defroster.
Most American drivers have no use for windows, particularly the rear window. Only occasionally will an American driver look up from texting to glance out the front windshield. This tendency has been recognized by the auto manufacturers, and they are now producing cars such as the Camaro which minimize useless outward visibility.
350 Z. Here and else where all have the rear wipers.
350z = hatchback
Powar wrote: The SAAB C900 had a rear wiper option everywhere else in the world. I've only seen one or two in the US.
I wish my c900 had a rear wiper.. that is a lot of glass
mad_machine wrote:Powar wrote: The SAAB C900 had a rear wiper option everywhere else in the world. I've only seen one or two in the US.I wish my c900 had a rear wiper.. that is a lot of glass
Meeeee too.
All SVX's have the rear wiper. The XT6 had it elsewhere but not in the US.
Japanese Impreza and WRX/STI sedans have rear wipers everywhere but the US. 
That's another reason why I like my 5-door (and the older wagons too)
I've never needed one on a sedan.
On my Golf, on the other hand, I had to scrape an inch of hard-packed slush from the rear window after one of my 70mph blizzard runs. 
I fixed the dodgy rear wiper switch the next day.
Fixed = removed the rear wiper relay, drilled a hole in one of the many unused DIN switch blanks, installed a $4 toggle switch, and ran wires spade-terminaled into the 30 and 87 circuits on the relay board.
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