[zhyder]

Most car manufacturers made this mistake because they started mimicking the then leader for innovation (and customer satisfaction), Tesla, too much.

General cautionary tale: just coz a company is successful, doesn't mean it's doing _everything_ right. Plenty of folks who love their Teslas would prefer a few more buttons (and door handles on the inside, etc) if given the choice. Could say similar things about some choices Apple made.

[plqbfbv]

I own a Tesla, and I agree.

1. What Tesla did right was put a big screen in the center of the car, and then actually think about the UX, and how to improve the software to avoid having to fiddle every other minute with controls on the screen (e.g. climate control is usually amazing, I rarely touch the temperature). What other companies did was just put the screen and slap on sub-par software without much regard for UX, so of course it sucks, even if you have the big screen.

2. Yes, I'd have loved a couple extra buttons, perhaps programmable. My main gripe for instance is/was the air re-circulation (used to live in a country with lots of tunnels), but I'm sure others would have liked some other button. I'd have been very happy to have 3-4 software-programmable buttons for the most used functions.

[ErroneousBosh]

> What Tesla did right was put a big screen in the center of the car

I would disagree with that. You do not need a big flashing distract-o-tron in the middle of the dashboard.

Cars should have exactly zero screens.

[plqbfbv]

> I would disagree with that. You do not need a big flashing distract-o-tron in the middle of the dashboard.

Except my car's screen is not distracting: I set it up for my destination, I give it a glance when needed for navigation, and I basically don't touch it until I'm done driving, because (second part of the previous comment) the UX is so well done that I don't have to. Worst case, voice control works well enough for e.g. changing playlists and songs or changing destination mid-trip.

> Cars should have exactly zero screens.

People have been attaching tomtoms and mobiles to the windscreen for the past 30 years anyway to solve exactly the same problem (navigation), and they were always inferior solutions to a well done integrated screen: detaching on a bump, leaving forever-smudges, having to update all maps offline, removable meaning easier to steal, limited functionality, ..... So I disagree. I'd rather have governing bodies evolve to take screen UX into account at regulation: most cars with screens couldn't have been sold.

[ErroneousBosh]

You shouldn't have things like tomtoms and mobiles attached to the screen.

Turn all that off. Don't drive distracted.

[yibg]

> Cars should have exactly zero screens.

Backup / 360 view cameras and navigation? I'd argue those are a lot safer than no camera looking backwards and fiddling with maps / phones.

[tonymet]

The display dims adequately , and is far less distracting than competitors , who usually have multiple displays and flashing lights. Especially luxury brands who do the above and have "bejeweled" decorative LEDs all over the cockpit.

Tesla has the most subdued interior of every brand on the market.

[ErroneousBosh]

But why do you want a massive glaring floodlight shining in your face when you're driving at all?

The screen is not useful.

[tonymet]

sure, I would prefer 90s interfaces if I had the choice, but given the products on the Market , Tesla's attentiveness to the driver experience ( low LCD brightness, moderate contrast UI, reducing demand on the driver) exceeds all competitors by a large margin : better than luxuries, better than German cars.

[ErroneousBosh]

Even leaving the big distracting floodlight in the the middle of the dash out of it, I don't like Teslas because I don't think an 80 grand car should feel like a 30 grand car.

If they want to sell cars at that price they need to not feel like a base-spec Skoda.

[tyre]

CarPlay is wonderful and Google Maps on a display is a hell of a lot safer than paper maps.

[Sprotch]

I don’t think they were following Tesla. It’s a trend that affects everything, including washing machines. Tesla is a mere symptom

[advisedwang]

It's not (just) imitation/fashion/aesthetics. Shoving everything into a display allows manufacturers to:

* compress and de-risk production timelines because changes can be made in software instead of requiring retooling/replacing parts.

* reduce cost; the cost of a display is basically required by legislation requiring back-up cameras. Add in a few settings or map view and it has to be a touch screen. Consolidating everything else into a part you are already mandated to included reduces cost.

* meet customer reqirements; Except at the very bottom end of the market, customers expect cars to have space to display a map and be able to use music streaming services. Carplay/android auto also is a requirement for some users.