nothin beats warm feet but still the cold wind in your face

Phunk, you are so right. I had to have the window down in the XB (1974) because the demister didnt work and thats the only way you could stop fogging up, let a bit of water in tho.
Come to think of it, I was driving home from work tonight (6pm) about minus 5 degrees with windchill but I still had the window down and the heater just going in the new ute. Why do car enthusiasts do that? Most normal(?) people dont, but we do?

I know what your saying about the various different methods that have been used over the years to change the look of cars and each really comes down to personal tastes. Older style cars tend to look like bubbles from little touches like removing the gutters and this then leads to the square door and window frames looking out of place, this just leads to more work of radiusing the corners of these etc. But its all done for the individuals tastes and to be a bit different.
Datsun door frames are tucked under the roof abit so this still gives definition of the body lines except a bit smoother without the gutter. ( To me personally )

New cars still have various forms of gutters except more aerodynamic. Like ang said the door seals have the gutter or on various makes of cars you will notice the widscreen is recessed down abit lower than the A pillars and this continues up into the gutters in the roofline. They do this to make a leading edge for wind as you drive or rain to follow along to prevent it or atleast minimise it coming in an open window.

As for driving with the window down in the rain? I always do for what ever weird reason I just always have it down, even driving home on a cold night I still have it down with the heater going. But in a datsun its a necessity to prevent the windows fogging up.

Me personally, I wouldn't do it. I have spent a little bit of time in old cars with no gutters and it sux. Have a closer look on some of the hot rods and mid 50's type customs and some of these guys have used a 3rd option. They cut the gutters off and weld a small diameter solid round stock in and mold it into place. The result is the smooth look and the roof goes far enough past the door frame etc not to cause a problem. I think it helps brake the line of the car up enough so it doesn't start to look like a bubble. It's a little hard to explain but when you see it first hand it makes sence.Gutters on old cars looks right.

The rain gutters on my XB are responsible for hacking a nice slash in my little finger. Washing the ute one day and bam, blood gushing everywhere! Nicked my finger on the gutter and should have had stitches. But you know what us blokes are like, bandaid and a beer and she'll be right. Finger went numb for a day or two, ahwell its all good

You guys say that you would get wet on a rainy day? Do you have the window down while its raining? Even in my '01 AU Falc you get water inside when you put the window down after/during rain.

well, it almost never rains here so I might give it a whirl.

Looking closer, I think it is the chrome and not the entire drip rail. Standard cars must look weird ...

Angelo, yes the reason modern cars don't use drip rails is because it's an aerodynamic drag. This suggest it is also a source of noise.

I'm convinced that the rain gutter on the A pillar is responsible for quite a bit of wind noise (with windows rolled up) but I haven't cut mine off so I don't know for sure. I would imagin that the main, if not only, reason for the absence of rain gutters on modern cars is wind noise. There is a 'gutter' built into the door seal of most modern cars to keep water from pouring in when you open the door.
What drives me crazy, is when I drive my wife's car in the rain with the window cracked open and all the water from the windshield pours in.

apparenlty you can get them as a rust repair strip from rare spares, I like the whole gutterless look though but if I do decide to keep them it's an easier option that cutting the other one off, i think I'd make a hell mess.

yeah but dd are you just talking about the chrome moulding or the complete gutter.