You can crack the windows, but it won't help much. Dr. Ernie Ward demonstrates--and personally experiences--that on a hot day, the interior temperature of a car can reach 117° F. It's a miserable experience. But for a pet, it's even worse. Dr. Ward says:
What I really wanted to set out to do was to see how it felt to be left in a parked car if I were a dog. And I know what's going on. I'm in control of the situation. What I can't imagine is how helpless and frightening it would be for a dog to be left in a car, not knowing when you're going to come and slowly but surely having the energy and the life just burnt out of them by this heat.
-via Daily of the Day
When my family travels during the summer or other warm times, one of us will stay in the car with our dog while the others go into restaurants.
I suppose caution is needed unless you really know your car and have sat in it yourself in worst situations, because there are cases where even temperatures in the 70s have produced dangerous 115+ temperatures in the car.