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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“actually that is exactly how it displays. with a loud “dong” to boot”
Nope.
I have a 24 Corsair that I think is Demonic.
actually, it happened two days ago. I was driving my car 70 miles an hour on the freeway, there’s a loud ding noise, and this flashing orange symbol comes on in the middle of the screen, blocking out my speedometer, which is also digital ,to warn me that I was low on windshield wiper fluid for some stupid reason.
Apparently, your car does not do that. Would you like to trade?
Lol at Volvo putting their screens in cabinets when hiding TVs in elaborate living room cabinetry was all the rage.
It does not benefit auto manufactures to have a product last long term
“I think screens will disappear suddenly when auto insurance companies and the NHTSA have a decade’s worth of research to show how they make cars far more dangerous due to all the distractions for the driver.”
They already have more than a decade’s worth of research. Screens are here to stay.
What kind of car do you have?
Hyundai hybrid. seriously, I thought the North Koreans had a target lock on me. Come to find out, it was just windshield wiper fluid.
Car manufacturers have long positioned themselves as information companies more than car manufacturers, and the SaaS subscription model beckoned.
But now that AI usage fees are replacing SaaS “seats”, perhaps they’ll look to charge by the mile, or whatever.
Vaer and Timex make lovely analog watches (quartz) with nothing on the face but actual Arabic numerals and a small face for the second hand. A bit pricey ($300) but still just right.
People want to be entertained in every moment of their life. Itis why everything has animation. Parrot Brains.
There is value in having a reputation for durability and long term quality. Honda and Toyota have ridden just such a reputation to long term success.
I think the first car company that produces a good car with standard round dials, even if just cheap digital instruments, that costs $25,000 will make a fortune.
Which is one of the reasons we have not replaced a vehicle in 20 years.
Then...I became overly reliant on the damn thing, and found myself just checking for the triangle before changing lanes rather than actually looking at the side view mirror to see if there was a vehicle that was not in my blindspot. One time I was on the interstate do around 75-ish. I put on my turn signal to move into the passing lane, checked for the yellow triangle which wasn't there and started to drift into the passing lane when a car that was right there hit their horn and got my attention. Had I actually looked in my side view mirror and not just checked for the yellow triangle, I would have seen him.
So now, I just drive like I used to before I ever had the blind spot sensor, and turn my head to check my blind spot, just like I always did. That's just one of a myriad of features that we pay for that I'd just as soon not have.
“Hyundai hybrid. “
Year and model so I can see if yours is an exception to Hyusdai and industry norms.
does it have a spare tire. many of the hybrids dont have a spare which seems ridiculous
Well these new cars have me praying for the end of time.
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