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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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“Waymo’s Chief Safety Officer, Mauricio Peña, admitted that the cars at times are controlled remotely by workers who are not even Americans licensed to drive in the U.S.”
The cars controls are always manipulated by on-vehicle software. It cannot be over- ridden remotely.
‘...weight is driving many of these changes.”
All vehicles have weight limits, known as the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). For most passenger cars, SUVs, and minivans, this total capacity is frequently around 850 pounds, often maxing out with four or five average adults and luggage.
Cars are at their heaviest today, with the average U.S. vehicle weighing over 4,300 lbs by 2022 due to SUVs and battery-heavy EVs. While modern vehicles are the heaviest in history, cars were also exceptionally heavy in the mid-1970s before safety and efficiency regulations prompted a weight reduction, with a low point in 1987.
wy69
“On a related note, the U.S. Navy ditched touchscreen controls on destroyers after separate fatal collisions involving the USS John S. McCain and the USS Fitzgerald.”
Not all. Just for steering and throttle.
“Get an Ineos Grenadier.
All manual, physical, analog switches.”
Except for the touch screen controls.
Cheap analog quartz watch. The lume doesn't exist but it is great except for that. Seiko makes a variety of quartz and mechanical dive watches but they have become a bit pricey.
just part of the process, within a year driverless self driving cars will be everywhere, mark my words
“What cars really need is complete voice command capability.”
Yeah. Then when the voice on the radio sings “Stop! In the name of love” and your car slams on the brakes...
The 2026 Subaru Outback infotainment screen was rotated 90 degrees and Subaru brought back physical knobs and buttons for the radio and HVAC.
Having had the quality 1970s - 1990s BMWs I feel your pain.
Is your wife way younger than you?
“there’s a loud ding noise, and this flashing orange symbol comes on in the middle of the screen, blocking out my speedometer,”
Year and model so I can see if yours is an exception to Hyusdai and industry norms.
To operate the 1966 back-up camera...
1-Place foot firmly on brake
2-shift to reverse
3-place the palm of right hand behind passenger seat, or passenger seat headrest
4-look in all directions, left, right and in all mirrors for obstacles.
5- using your right arm for leverage, twist your shoulders to the right and pivot your head to look behind you
6-with continued attention to potential obstacles, slowly lift your foot from the brake and slowly proceed in reverse
Which are redundant of the physical switches.
I never have any need to touch the screen.
“It’s dumbfounding to me that someone hasn’t created an analog car model to counter all the nonsense and expense.”
They used to.
Same procedure with my ‘69, however there is a clutch involved.
...only slightly more tedious
My wife just got a Hyundai Sonata hybrid. Two screens on the dash, with still buttons and knobs below. A little clunky to do a couple of things but not too bad.
She had it for 3 weeks and got sideswiped. While it was in the shop her rental was a Mustang Convertible. Also two screens. Terrible implementation. I literally had to google to figure out how to turn the radio on. Had to hit one little tiny practically unmarked screen button (good luck on bumps) which only appeared in certain modes and then chose audio source from a menu. Utterly ridiculous.
LOL...I remember it well from Dad, from Driver’s Ed, and from my DMV Exam!
“good luck on bumps”
No kidding. Even the few remaining conventional buttons are the size of a pinhead, you can’t find them by feel, and your finger is bouncing all over the place, even on a mostly smooth road.
I love the map when looking for cemeteries. The screen is OK with me.
“I literally had to google to figure out how to turn the radio on.”
You press the volume control knob.
No, a year older. She’ll be happy enough once we get everything set and leave it that way. As it is, every drive is proving to be an adventure of pop-ups and suggestions.
Just now, I as a passenger, set my arm down on the center arm rest and my fingers touched the center console (which has several touch switches), the driver’s dashboard went black except for the speedometer. No idea what I might have touched. Fortunately we were close to home; hopefully it will go back to her pre-set setup when we start it again.
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