I found a super easy way to spread it. See the bolt that fixes the strut to the knuckle? In the pic it's actually threaded in from the "wrong" side, and I put a washer in there so it pushes against the washer and spreads the joint.
The heated windshield has a grid of very small wires across the entire windshield. You can see it if you look closely. It was an option on my XLT. At first the grid bugged me but I got used to it. It clears the windshield in less than 2 minutes. The heater does not stay on very long so the windshield does not get hot. It will not affect suction cups or stickers.
Is that the "four way stretch" carpet? Supposed to do a lot of weird shapes with that if you're careful.
Plan here is to just do some carpet inserts in the big flat sections and paint the rest. Got a six pack of that new DupliColor lumpy paint that's supposed to give you kind of a naugahyde surface depending on how thick you put it on. You can also peel it off for a few months if you decide you don't like it.