If someone would build a dependable -solid- car, without an 18 inch touchscreen, with dozens of drop down menus, all kinds of online crap, and put in radios with push buttons and knobs, and without 15 cameras on it... with a commensurate price tag, they would be astonished at how many they sold.
And an in-dash CD player.
Funny, I saw a video of a customized van , (South Korea), it was all about how many screens they had , the drop down menus and the camera system, lol.
Toyota has one we can’t buy in the US.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.motor1.com/news/698055/toyota-13000-dollar-hilux-champ/amp/
I heartily agree. I had to drive my daughter’s 2024 Hyundai Kona the other day. I thought I’d go crazy with all the digital stuff. Everything is electric even though it’s gas powered. Even the parking brake is electric. I’d almost wish for my 73 Maverick.
Kind of like a John Deere gator without the $41,000 sticker shock.
I think all that screen stuff is used as a cost cutting measure.
They don’t have to make controls for each feature on the car.
Mine has a screen but the heat and AC are manual so if the screen goes out you still have climate control.
But yes the screens aren’t necessary.
I have personally owned 7 or 8 VW’s over the years. My son and daughter each have had 2, as did my father.
A few years ago, VW decided to phase out the Golf (except for the very overpriced GTI) for the US market, in favor of behemoth SUV’s and electric boondoggle cars.
So, when I needed to replace my last daily driver Golf with a small, fun-to-drive commuting car that I can park on the street in Manhattan, there was no longer an appropriate VW for me to buy!
So, I now drive a Mini with a 6-speed manual transmission, which is about 18 inches shorter than my last Golf. Oh the parking spaces I can fit that car into!
Full disclosure, our “family car” is a 2015 Golf TDI (turbodiesel) Sportwagen with a 6-speed manual - my wife and I intend to keep it until we die, at which point, the kids will fight over it!