You have made an important and insightful set of observations. I remember years ago when shopping for a CD player the shop keeper told me, “The best units are these ugly things from Germany. The ones Americans buy are these over there with the flashy LEDs”.
At lot of this tech isn't actually doing anything for us - it's not a “performance enhancing” feature.
It's just tech for the sake of having tech by the consumer, but increases the profitability for those providing the product. A lot of the digital systems are far cheaper to manufacture than their analog counter parts (the true reason for all these digital control systems - they are pennies on the dollar to manufacture compared to an old mechanical system).
However, what these manufacturers are really doing, is replacing a proven and highly reliable technology, a repairable system, one that is better suited for the environment (heat, vibration, moisture and lint), with a cheaper and disposable one where they give the consumer a blinking LED light on the display.
***The consumer has changed.***
Years ago, and this is not a joke, you would see a person look under the hood and car to see if they can get to essentials like a dip stick, oil plug and filter. They would mechanically inspect the vehicle to make sure they can do some basic maintenance themselves. 30 Years ago it was not unusual to see someone on their knees looking under the car in a dealership!
Today, the average car buyer is concerned about how many USB ports a car has, the number of cup holders, how big the LCD display is, but the car they are buying is literally a POS - a disposable, hard to repair, unreliable, packed with proprietary parts that won't be available in 12 years, plastic and glued POS where after ~12 years the headliner will fall on your head like clockwork.
Ask a mechanic that has been around if cars are generally getting more or less reliable over the last years. Instead of using our understanding of engineering, newer materials, more precise tooling and manufacturing, and digital technology to build better (meaning safer, more reliable, longer lasting) machines, we're building plastic toys with a finite useful life i.e. junk.
Do you know why in reality starting about 2010 the number of traffic fatalities started going back up? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in_U.S._by_year#/media/File:1994-_Motor_vehicle_traffic_deaths_in_road_accidents,_by_country.svg
Fuel efficiency! This also corresponds to when smaller and more compact cars became more popular. Progress?
If you want to see the epitome of this look at the new Scout: https://www.scoutmotors.com/
The whole purpose of the original Scout was that it was basically a farm tractor with a cab on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Scout
You can STILL buy a seal beam headlight at a local Walmart for $12.99 and replace it yourself for a vehicle made in 1977. It was a reliable, easy to repair, practical functionally with decent off road capabilities.
Now compare that to the new Scout. Other than the square retro look and name, they have NOTHING in common. The entire concept behind that car is lost. It's just a fashion statement today.
Do you think you're going to do any of the maintenance on the new Scout yourself? What does a headlight cost if you break it on the new Scout? Do you think you can get some of the plastic parts once that car is 12 years old? Do you think the battery pack is going to last 20 years? Did you have to worry about paying $1,000 if you lose or break your last key fob on the old Scout? If the new Scout with its fancy digital displays and electronics is muddy, are you going to wash it out with a garden hose? Progress?
Seriously, you can rinse this car out with a garden hose: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0194/5855/products/IMG_1041_1024x1024.JPG?v=1498488455 (protect the radio)
Can you do that with this car? https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitaltrends.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F10%2FScout-Traveler-electric-SUV-dashboard.jpg%3Fp%3D1&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=95c1b9502284bf38c6869535c3f86d51f7b9d7e5e3c2be7e38f30f2c6e848132
