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Posted on 04/17/2026 9:56:22 AM PDT by libh8er
Screens run new cars now. Whether we like it or not, every dashboard has a giant tablet in the middle and another screen where the gauges used to be. Some of them blend into the dash like they belong. Others stick out like someone glued an iPad to the top. Either way, they run almost everything in the cabin.
It wasn’t always like this. But like most tech trends, the shift happened eventually, and for reasons no one really asked for. Suddenly your radio, your AC, and even simple stuff like the headlight switch lives somewhere inside a maze of menus. One nasty bump on the road and your finger is hitting everything except what you meant to touch.
So how did we end up here? And can the industry backtrack? The story comes down to money, timing, and a long chain of decisions that snowballed.
The First Wave (Late 80s) The whole thing started as an engineering flex, not because of a need. Not a consumer request. Just tech nerds seeing what they could cram into a car.
The first in-car touchscreen showed up in 1986, of all brands, in a Buick. The Riviera’s Graphic Control Interface used a tiny CRT screen that controlled the radio, HVAC, and even showed basic diagnostics. It looked like a mini ATM and was way too early for its time.
Drivers didn’t get it. GM eventually backed off the idea, and touchscreens basically disappeared throughout the 1990s while underlying tech kept evolving.
Screens Become Luxury (2000s) Screens crept back in during the early 2000s. BMW made a splash with the 2001 7 Series and its first-generation iDrive system. It wasn’t a touchscreen (it used a knob) but it changed everything. Even though it was buggy, confusing, and slow, it pushed other automakers to jump in.
Back then, these screens were small and simple. They were more like a Palm Pilot, not an iPhone. And society felt the same way about tech. It mattered, but it wasn’t controlling our lives yet.
Volvo even used pop-up screens that hid inside the dash. It was a cool “only when you need it” kind of thing. A design philosophy you almost never see now.
Two big things pushed screens further:
GPS boom: By the mid-2000s, Garmin and TomTom units were stuck on windshields everywhere. Automakers saw that and decided they needed their own built-in systems.
Backup cameras: They popped up in 2001 and went from “weird luxury thing” to “must-have” as cars got bigger and visibility got worse.
But the biggest push was something simple: screens got dirt cheap. LED manufacturing exploded, prices fell, and suddenly it cost automakers less to install a screen than to design and engineer a whole row of physical buttons.
Then the 2008 recession hit. Everyone needed to cut costs. Buttons were more expensive. Screens were the easy answer.
iPhone, Tesla, and the Big Shift (2010s) Everything changed in the 2010s.
The Tesla Model S landed in 2012 with a giant 17-inch screen and barely any buttons. It looked futuristic and, more importantly for automakers, it was simple to build. Even brands that had no interest in EVs copied the screen-heavy vibe immediately.
At the same time, our phones were taking over our lives. Phones kept getting faster while car software lagged far behind. Most people hold onto a car for years, but swap phones every couple of seasons. Car tech just couldn’t keep up.
Then came Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in 2015, and everything snapped into place. People stopped caring about built-in car software as long as the screen mirrored their iPhone. Automakers took that as a green light to go even harder on touchscreens.
Backup cameras became legally required in 2018, officially locking in “every car must have a screen” as federal law.
The Overload Era (2020–Today) The pandemic years overlapped with massive EV investments, and software became the backbone of everything. Running it all through a touchscreen was simply cheaper.
Then automakers realized screens unlocked something else: subscriptions. If a feature lives inside software, they can charge monthly for it. Heated seats, extra power, fancy lighting…doesn’t matter. A screen makes that possible.
And when people started getting tired of screens? Automakers didn’t back off. They just made the screens bigger. Giant passenger screens. Full-width displays. Touch-controlled air vents. The BMW i7 has a rear-roof-mounted theater screen for some backseat entertainment now!
The Backlash and a Tiny Bit of Hope Drivers are pushing back. Surveys show people want buttons again. Big, simple, physical buttons you can use without looking. Some brands are listening. Hyundai added buttons back to the Ioniq 5. VW promised to backtrack. Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, Genesis, and others are keeping physical controls alive.
But don’t expect dashboards full of knobs and switches to suddenly reappear. Screens are cheaper. They’re not going away completely.
There’s one exception though: gauge clusters.
Some high-end brands are quietly moving back to analog gauges because they look special and give a car more character. Bugatti is one example. A physical speedometer still feels magical in a way a blank digital panel never will.
If change comes, it’ll be slow. Screens rule the modern car, and for now, the industry has no real reason to let go.
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Many, many, many more things to go wrong!
I hate modern cars. I’ll be driving down the freeway and suddenly the panel turns orange and starts flashing and I’ll think I’m about ready to explode, and it will say that I’m low on windshield wiper fluid or some stupid nonsense like that. Cars today just have too many sensors.
Abd like a cell phone if you have gloves on or your finder is wet the clicking on screen may not work.
Then the 2008 recession hit. Everyone needed to cut costs. Buttons were more expensive. Screens were the easy answer.
The flashing lights is your wallet being emptied for the cost of car that has unnecessary crap you don’t need but still pay for.
Some high-end brands are quietly moving back to analog gauges because they look special and give a car more character.
“But don’t expect dashboards full of knobs and switches to suddenly reappear. Screens are cheaper.”
Bullcrap. I doubt this is true. And how much cheaper? The explosion in the price of cars was because of the air conditioner button and a normal radio? Ok, sure.... whatever.
Rule #1) Do not text and drive. Do not use your phone. Do not be a distracted driver.
Rule #2) Everything you need to know while you are driving is on a little screen on your dashboard. Refer to this frequently to stay informed about your trip.
And some of those sensors will kill your engine if they feel like it.
Smart cars will advance to where they will not just monitor where you go but control where and when you can go somewhere.
If you have something low end, hang on to it. It will be replaced by something "high end". Then the high end will be discarded for something truly high end - which is the former low end.
I had to rent a car the other day for a couple days, and it was self driving, and I didn’t know how to get it out of that mode and I didn’t wanna mess it up before I took it back so every now and then I would be in my lane and I would try to go into another lane and then the car would literally fight me and go back in the same lane. It was just the stupidest thing in the world I’ve ever seen
It’s dumbfounding to me that someone hasn’t created an analog car model to counter all the nonsense and expense.
I have to laugh. Local new BMWs are constantly being hauled by flatbed to the dealer.
Word is the total electronic control of the things is constantly glitching and disabling the whole car.
I am sure BMW owners are dazzled by the electronic wizardy when new, not knowing how vulnerable they were.
The only thing I can see changing this is if the screens prove not to hold up over the life of the vehicle, leading to widespread complaints over the cost of replacing them. If physical buttons are more durable this could eventually lead to manufacturers switching back to buttons as a long-term value option. I'm skeptical of this scenario though. They are just too invested in the flexibility the screens give.
“Refer to this frequently to stay informed about your trip.”
Here’s an idea, look out the window and pay attention. Know where you are going before you get in the car, maybe read a map instead of tik-tok.
I HATE those things! I learned to drive in an era when you minimized distractions in the cabin, when you turned the dash lights down very low at night so you would not ruin your night vision. Now it's brighter than daylight in cabins with those damn gigantic displays!
Jony Ive (famous Apple designer) designed the new electric Ferrari cabin and his Rule #1 was "NO SCREENS".
Jony Ive Kills The Screen In The New $535K Electric Ferrari.
Alas, I can't pay a half-mil to rid me of those infernal screens.
When I use a rental car, simple things like changing radio stations require multiple button pushes while I look at the screen. If I click a wrong option (because I am trying to watch the road!) I get lost in a complex menu of options.
There should be a “simple mode” or “safety mode.”
“Many, many, many more things to go wrong!”
Yeah, but it’ll only cost you “$200” for a “diagnostic fee” at the dealer and then $200/hour to fix what the “diagnostic fee” found.
One of the main causes of slow traffic is everyone performing constant lane changes.
If all cars were self-driving, and the cars cooperated, all tied to a singular hive mind, everyone would arrive at their destinations quicker.
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