Jody Thornton wrote:

I bought a 2017 Nissan Micra for (partially) this reason.  No screens, no rear camera!  Just a "car"

The rear camera comes in handy, but on my car, the so-called "safety features" - like a noise that happens if you're too close to something like another car or a curb, etc. - I'm finding annoying. They go off even when there's nothing there and it actually scares me worse than if there really was danger. It makes me crazy.

As for the radio, you were smart to get that car. I'm so jealous of people with older cars, I can't tell you. It's not that I don't know how to use the new technology, it's that it's extremely hazardous when it forces you to take your eyes off the road, even for a split second. In my old car, I knew where everything was without looking.

Change the radio station? Hit the third preset. Easy. 

Go to a random station not on a pre-set? Reach for the knob and turn. 

Turn on the heat/AC? Reach for the knob and turn it. No looking required.

I simply cannot understand why they did something that increases the distraction when driving in the name of so-called technological advancements. It's stupid - and dangerous. It's a classic case of improving something and making it worse. 

RadioActive wrote:

If you're lucky enough not to have a new car (there's a sentence I never thought I'd write!) you haven't experienced the annoyance of those touchscreens that are used for just about everything - including tuning your radio. 

Yes, they're high tech and look uber-modern, but they're also not practical in a lot of ways. Whoever thought it was a good idea to have to make drivers scroll through menus while they're driving should be tarred and feathered. It is, without question, the one thing that drives (you should pardon the expression) me craziest about the modern autom
Before I could turn on the heat, change the station, turn up the volume or do a host of other functions simply by feel. That went out with those damn touchscreens, which require way more attention than anything in a moving car should. 

But now there are hints that automakers have heard the complaints and at least two - Volkswagen and Hyundai - are bringing back the older style controls to augment their touchscreens. And according to one researcher, they may not be alone. 

"I think they're hearing a lot of uproar from consumers that they really kind of want the buttons back in their telephone and computer interfaces and their car interfaces. I think a big reason for that, one, is just kind of touchscreen fatigue.

People are feeling a little bit tired of having to look at screens all day, every day. But also studies really do show that it's much safer when you're driving to not be constantly looking down at a screen.

 I think we've seen a lot of negative effects from that. People realize that, hey, it's much easier to turn a dial or a knob or push a physical button when I don't have to take my eyes away from the road."

Amen. And the sooner they fix this, the better. 

The rise of touchscreens pushed buttons out of vogue. But they're making a comeback

You have often commented here about your frustrations in operating your new vehicle's "Entertainment System" For that reason alone, I intend to keep my boring beige 2006 Toyota Camry for as long as possible. It only has 110,000 km on it so a new car is not in my immediate future.

A manual shift car is a great theft prevention device, these days.😁