This video traces the cyclical history of automotive technological "innovation," starting with the failed 1986 Buick Riviera touchscreen, to critique the modern trend toward digital, minimalist car designs popularized by Tesla. The core argument is that these high-tech features—including confusing touchscreens, hidden door handles, and non-standard gear selectors—often prioritize novelty and reduced manufacturing cost over user-friendliness and safety, leading to dangerous driver distraction. Furthermore, the video exposes how modern vehicles function as "data hoovers," citing the Mozilla Foundation's findings that most manufacturers collect excessive personal and biometric data, reserving the right to sell or share it with little transparency. Despite these critical issues, recent changes, such as new European safety standards and manufacturer announcements (e.g., Volkswagen bringing back physical buttons), suggest a potential reversal of these design trends in favor of safer, more intuitive physical controls.
Key Takeaways on Modern Car Features and Safety
0:04 The Touchscreen's False Start: The 1986 Buick Riviera was the first car with a touchscreen ("Graphic Control Center"). It was widely rejected by critics and consumers as "fiddly, distracting, and way slower" than physical controls, leading to its removal just three years later.
3:04 The Tesla Catalyst: The 2012 Tesla Model S, with its large 17-inch screen, reignited the trend for minimalist, digital-oriented car interiors. Manufacturers embraced this shift because touchscreens are cheaper and more efficient to produce than physical controls.
4:31 Confusing Controls: Modern cars feature complex designs, including high-tech, retractable door handles (Range Rover Velar) that are difficult to use, especially in cold weather, and non-standard gear shifters (dial shifters, monostable stocks, pull buttons), which increase user confusion.
6:41 Gimmick Controls Require Tutorials: The Genesis Crystal Sphere, a shifter that rotates into place, was highlighted as a needlessly complex feature, requiring a nearly four-minute instruction video to explain its operation.
8:38 Loss of Physical Controls: Many essential vehicle functions, such as opening the glove compartment (in a Tesla), have been moved entirely to the touchscreen, requiring drivers to navigate multi-step menus.
10:48 Privacy Crisis: Cars as Data Hovers: A 2023 Mozilla Foundation study of 25 car brands found that nearly all collect excessive personal data—including biometrics, health status, SSN, and potentially data about a customer's sex life—and reserve the right to share or sell this sensitive information.
13:11 Internal Data Misuse at Tesla: Former Tesla employees reported that images and videos collected from customer cars (including private moments and crash footage) were improperly shared and turned into "intra office memes" between 2019 and 2022.
16:01 Safety Hazard: Screen Distraction: An owner of a Tesla Model Y recounted the frightening experience of being blinded by automatic high beams in a snowstorm, emphasizing the extreme danger of attempting to find and disable complex settings within multiple, low-contrast screen menus while driving.
18:31 Fatal Design Flaw: The death of actor Anton Yelchin in 2016 was associated with a recalled Fiat Chrysler monostable shifter (used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee) that made it difficult for drivers to determine if the vehicle was in Park, leading to hundreds of complaints and injuries.
19:45 Distraction Statistics: Research shows that using in-car touchscreens (e.g., adjusting music via Spotify) results in reaction times that are worse than those recorded for texting while driving, and slower than driving at the legal limit for alcohol or cannabis.
20:38 Physical Controls Are Superior for Safety: A 2022 test found that performing simple tasks (like adjusting climate control) in the worst-performing touchscreen car took 44.6 seconds (traveling 1,372 meters at speed), whereas the same tasks took only 10 seconds (306 meters) using old-school physical controls.
22:02 Industry Reversal Under Pressure: Beginning in 2026, the European safety rating program (ENCAP) will only grant a five-star rating to cars that retain physical switches for critical functions (horn, turn signals, wipers).
24:31 Automaker Acknowledgment: Volkswagen’s head of design announced in 2024 that the company is bringing back physical buttons in all future models, stating: "Honestly, it’s a car. It’s not a phone."