Any idea why the antenna is so long, it hits the top of my garage door every time I enter or leave my garage.

 

I take them off all my trucks. I never listen to broadcast (FM) radio, so I don't need it. I listed to SiriusXM. You can buy an aftermarket "shortie" antenna if you want to clean up the look.

 

The length (32") is tuned for the best possible reception.
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1. Pull the ball off the top of the antennae with some vice grips sliding under the ball. It's not threaded. It appears to be a tight fit with epoxy.
2. Hacksaw 3-6" off (as much as you need). Clip the outside wire cleanly so the hacksaw doesn't mess it up.
3. Clean the tip off with sandpaper so the ball can push on.
4. Mix up some epoxy and slide the ball on with a little.
5. Spray paint with black satin paint.

This worked for me. The shortys don't look as nice IMO, and you won't notice any loss of signal strength. Also, the wire wrapped around the outside stops it from whistling. A lot of the ones without the wire wrap will whistle.

 

How come they haven't just cleaned up the look and gotten rid of the antenna? Any reasons for keeping it vs doing something different like an antenna on the roof?

 

No antenna = No|bad reception.

If you thought that the fender mount whacked the garage door|entrance ... putting it on the roof is REALLY going to be a whack-eriffic experience.
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You need some kind of antenna, that's like saying get rid of the dish for my satellite tv to make it the house look better.

 

FM radio eats dicks. Cut it down like PowerGator suggested or throw on a Craven Speed Stubby. Down side is now all the constant, moronic, annoying commercials and idiotic inane banter from your local ***-clown FM DJ's will be a little fuzzy. I assume I get terrible reception with my Stubby but I wouldn't know, I'd rather be waterboarded than listen to FM radio.

 

Plus 2 on the Craven Antenna. Amazon has them. Link in my signature.

 

Opie n Jim all the way. I miss that damn cumia