Lol I put those on years ago because I thought they look cool and they ended up being highly practical. I've considered taking them off but I actually still like how they look and in Colorado I drive it year-round, they keep gravel, dirt, snow etc from building up in the rear quarters and rusting them out. If you look closely in the pic the rear quarter on the passenger side already has some rust and a couple holes and was hit at some point before I got the car. I need to put mud flaps on the front for the same reasons but haven't gotten around to it.
It's kinda funny too actually I used to take it off-road occasionally when I first got it as the town I was living in at the time was right at the foot of the mountains. That was before I lowered it and started modifying the suspension and was still running 14" wheels with fat-sidewall tires. Made sense why older American cars sat higher off the ground than newer cars, less paved roads back then.
