A few ideas...

For 2007-2009 owners who don't like the center console with the tiny/useless mp3 player compartment, the one out of the 2010 will fit with some slight modifications (trimming, heat bending, knuckle scraping, swearing).

It will cover the 12v power outlet, but an extension can be made, or a universal installed somewhere else.




The little pockets are different and positions make more sense. They should also have little rubber pieces on the bottom of those two pockets that can be removed and cleaned. It has the 110 power jack like the original and cup holder lighting, too




Bloody knuckles versus cool factor - you decide.

No junkyard pics today - place was too crowded.

But... More photos of what it looks like with the roof rails removed, and that location painted:







On this view, you can definitely tell something is missing, but from a distance, to me looks normal:

Junkyard day!

On the underside of the plastic roof rails, are things like this:




Which attach to these little guys:




Obviously, they slide on - most in one direction, the front one slides up to detach.

If you are just removing and not replacing the rails, grab the rail on its roof-side and pull away from the roof with force. You'll pop the grooves off of the plastic clips.

These little clips:


snap into holes in the roof:



They have two small snaps(?) on each side that you can usually press them in using two flat screwdrivers (or similar tools) then pop them out.

Once you remove one, you'll see what sides have the snaps, and can do the same to the rest. There will be 18 of these plastic clips per side.




If you decide to just chop them off, the part that drops into the roof area will never come out, and will rattle inside forever, and ever, and ever...

The windshield rails:



Are attached with four rusting metal clips per side. These clips cannot be removed.

After you pull the rails straight out, I suggest spraying some type of rust-stop before doing anything else (painting, bondo).

Keep in mind the possibility of having to replace the windshield in the future - if you bondo this area, it may be harder for a tech to remove the glass without damage.

And that's it. Basically just pull the rails straight off, then deal with what's left of the clips, etc..

You will be left with 36 holes that need to be sealed, as moisture/ water/ snow/ dirt can get directly into the car. I used Gorilla tape temporary until I found the little plastic plugs - which were a HUGE pain to get them to snap in.

Keep in mind; directly under that entire area, on driver and passenger sides, you have the curtain-side airbags bolted inside on the roof. FYI

I actually wanted to mount the rails off a Subaru Outback. They're taller and bulkier:



These things are cool. In the picture, you can see a bar across the top of the driver side rail - one end on each side of this cross-bar can unlatch and swing 90° to snap onto the main body on the opposite rail. I could lay 2×4s on it, 75" TVs, the mother-in-law... Or move the cross-bars to their original locations for more aerodynamics when not in use.

Unfortunately, these are too long for the Caliber, don't follow the curvature of the roofline, have built-in bolts that are supposed to go through the roof — which, if properly spaced, holes have to be drilled right through the body reinforcement welds of the roof, which I haven't been able to drill all the way through.

I have cut the back of each one to shorten them. I have cut off the bolts to get the rails to sit on the roof.




I thought I could use a heat gun to soften them to match the curvature of the roof, but they seem to be made out of fiberglass. So to do this will take a lot more modification than I was planning.

Well, now I'm thinking of [somehow] making a mold of these and/or making copies from scratch. Way too much thinking for my lazy arse.

But... maybe this year a brain cell will light up.


*I also want to mount low-profile type off-road lights on top; maybe these:




Similar to my alley-light I have mounted to the underside of the car.