Whatever happened to cowls over the gauge cluster? Do modern screens avoid the glare?

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xNOOPSx@reddit

Why have a dedicated button when you can bury the function 5 pages deep into the abyss of the screen you can't see because of the polarized sunglasses you're wearing?

Stupidity has taken over functional design and practicality for a while now.

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TDK_IRQ@reddit

What does that have to do with the brightness on screen?

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PGnautz@reddit

Nothing. But an OLED doesn‘t use polarization filters, so they work properly with polarized sunglasses.

And the main benefit pf OLEDs is not brightness, but contrast

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dida2010@reddit

When the oled dies, you won’t be able to activate many functions

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TDK_IRQ@reddit

Sorry I thought you were replying to my comment. My bad.

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bomber991@reddit

It’s ok, with lane keeping assist, and automatic rear end collision braking, it’s like you don’t really have to pay much attention while driving anymore.

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Speaking about that. I used to drive only manuals up until like 3 cars ago. I just got a new mustang with the manual and I’ve noticed how much more I pay attention. With all of these assists and even with the automatic. It was so easy to check your Reddit posts over actually paying attention to driving.

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L44KSO@reddit

The assists are there because so few people seem to care about driving.

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PurpEL@reddit

We have made life far too safe for morons.

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bubbleddusty@reddit

I’ve actually personally seen it cause some people to become more careless, with my two brothers and a friend of mine, we all had pretty cool enthusiast cars and things had had little or no driving assists, all of them except for me have now got modern boring SUVs and shit, their driving skill decreased massively since their change especially their attentiveness. Funnily enough aswell, despite me having the old, crusty, apparently unreliable modified sports car, I spend less a month on my car than they do

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Equivalent_Thievery@reddit

Even without, people don't.

Having been passenger a good bit recently, it's shocking how many people are on phones. Seems easily half.

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ThatAudiGuy92@reddit

It's more than half where I live. I'm in a work van driving all day, and the amount of people on their phones while driving is simply insane.

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Equivalent_Thievery@reddit

Oh, I'd agree. It seems like it's almost everyone, then you see a few who aren't. I was being generous.

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awesomeperson882@reddit

Oh 100%. I’m a bus mechanic, and I spend a fair bit of time on the road driving buses, wether for road tests or a breakdown swap out, and I can look right down and see what people are doing.

The most impressive one so far was a guy eating a container of spaghetti with both hands and driving with his knee during rushour on the 401 (equivalent to a busy city multi lane interstate). I watched a lady drive right into the back of a semi right beside me once looking for something in her purse.

It’s almost a garuntee the person next to me is looking at their phone on a red. And it’s hilarious how pissy they get when they see me looking at them and I make a “put it down” motion lol.

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Lapis_Wolf@reddit

That last one sounds hilarious. 😂 The second to last, not so much. :o

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The_iQue@reddit

It's not stupidity. It's greed. Touchscreens are far cheaper to implement and produce than dedicated buttons and gauges. Screens require far fewer connections, and software is cheaper to develop than engineering physical components.

Don't get it twisted: capitalism is the true cause of enshittification

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Steelhorse91@reddit

Make the dashboard covered in bright screens eyes don’t adapt to darkness on dark road Makes headlights brighter to compensate.* Blinds people even more.

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techieman33@reddit

It’s all about the money. A display that costs them maybe $50 and requires one connection to the computer is far cheaper to put in the car than all of the switches, gauges, and wiring they replace on parts costs. It also takes less labor to put it in. Then to make it even better they’ll be able to charge you a fortune to replace it when it inevitably fails after 5-10 years. And the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae is that the screens will be unobtainable after 10-12 years and the car will essentially be totaled when the screen dies.

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TDK_IRQ@reddit

I rented a 2024 Peugeot once and had to travel at night, it took me and the passenger a good 5 minutes of until I found the interior brightness adjuster in the settings

Compare that to a 2012 Lexus that has a big button that says "Display" that shows you the brightness/contrast setting no matter where you are on the screen

even better, most 2010/2000s just had a lever to adjust the brightness, and it would take 1 second. You don't even need to take your eyes off the road.

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potat0man69@reddit

My 2025 car has a big, clicky, physical dial near my left knee that does all the dimming. I love my car.

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xNOOPSx@reddit

Oh man, I never thought about the brightness. Both my vehicles are old school with a dial by the lights. The screen you can adjust further solo, but it's really not necessary. With all the screens, especially being so bright, I can't imagine night driving being fun. Red is best, but these new screens all, again, seem to favour aesthetics over function and so colours that fuck up your night vision get priority. I just wanna see. So stupid.

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BlackCatFurry@reddit

My Seat also has the brightness buried in quite deep into the menus, luckily the screen is small and the gauge cluster is more of a traditional one with a simple two tone low resolution display so it's not an issur

My moms bmw, it took fucking forever to find the menus, it didn't seem to adjust with day/night and was bright enough to probably work as headlights. Well you needed a codriver to adjust the menus in that car anyways because they were buried far too deep and you needed to adjust the stuff mid ride unlike my Seat where i never have to touch the mid console during a ride unless i need to call someone.

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Linkruleshyrule@reddit

My '23 MINI has a physical dial thing for the interior brightness thankfully.

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Oktoberfestchuggen@reddit

Gross.

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xcygnusx@reddit

It's because modern day design trends for cars prioritize the "tablets tacked onto the dash" look. I really think this era of automotive design we're in is going to date cars so badly, that we'll all know what decade they're from at a glance years from now.

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macaddictr@reddit

Feels like a repeat of the 70’s.

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rubbarz@reddit

I wouldnt even say decade. Every 5 years.

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jaxspider@reddit

There should really be a dedicated word for 5 years. Like we have a dozen for 12. Even a baker's dozen for 13. But NOTHING for 5? Literally the number of fingers on 1 hand? Maybe call it a hand of years?

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WCProductions12@reddit

A... handful of years?

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jaxspider@reddit

Sure, I'll take it. Make it official then. Handful = 5 on the dot. No guessing needed.

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odc100@reddit

“Chuck me a handful of that flour please love”

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Admiral_peck@reddit

I'm gonna start using this irl. It will catch on.

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ClaudeVS@reddit

It makes sense, 5 fingers to a hand

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Poison_Pancakes@reddit

half dozen is 6 which is close enough?

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Bogartsboss@reddit

A "Lustrum"

Learned that in True Grit.

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Raspberryian@reddit

the link

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Raspberryian@reddit

This is cracking me up but there’s an ad under your comment for me about the Subaru Crosstrek and it SPECIFICALLY mentions tablet sized touch screen. I will post the screenshot on my page and send a link.

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ozzy_thedog@reddit

I hate the tacked on screen trend. It makes no sense to me. It just looks so lazy. Like no effort made to integrate it better.

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FreidasBoss@reddit

I think it has as much if not more to do with cost. All those knobs and buttons cost money. Now they can just put the functions into some software at a much lower cost per unit.

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f1_stig@reddit

The statement was more about the tablets tacked on the dash than integrated into the dash. Tesla is obvious, so let’s compare Mazda who has it tacked on, vs Subaru, who actually integrated it.

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

Subaru has hands down the absolute worst infotainment screen in any modern vehicle. While there is nothing wrong with integrated or portrait style screens (although most prefer to have the info closer to their sight-lines higher on the dash, so landscape are more popular), the screen quality is abysmal.

Low contrast, low brightness, low resolution, high reflection, its literally dogshit: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jfZI-KtEM4Y

Luckily, the new '26 Subaru Outback fixes this, and it looks quite similar in overall layout to the Expedition above: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0tpqDpMp1gs

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ky7969@reddit

Also the software looks like what comes on an AliExpress Android head unit

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f1_stig@reddit

Again, not talking about the quality, just integrated vs tablet sticking out of the dash.

Also, not disagreeing with you about Subaru’s struggles.

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blissed_off@reddit

It’s the laziest thing ever. Requires zero design effort.

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PiggypPiggyyYaya@reddit

Tech over function. Needs more distractions besides checking notifications (and answering) on their phones while driving.

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ndszero@reddit

It’s because a screen is WAY cheaper to make than a mechanical instrument cluster. There are zero other reasons.

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Pafolo@reddit

You still need to get the screen protected from glare. On BMWs that have a full digital display they still have a normal kind of hood or shroud a typical cluster would have.

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ndszero@reddit

Yes, as do Audi. They also cost significantly more than whatever this Ford is.

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hurricanePopsicles@reddit

My Hyundai has a shroud too…..

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crozone@reddit

I have trouble believing this, how can a PCB with a few surface mount LEDs and stepper motors bolted to some injection molded plastic pieces cost more than a huge LCD panel optically bonded into a glass panel?

I'm not doubting that it does, but... what the fuck?

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ndszero@reddit

It’s the tooling, manufacturing, and assembly. If you just looked at the cost of parts for each, the mechanical cluster might be cheaper.

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alzrnb@reddit

Probably the assembly cost for a mechanical dash just makes no sense by comparison. But also screens in general must be cheap as fuck nowadays.

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s4xtonh4le@reddit

I can imagine, less material cost, less r&d, easier assembly. These are probably a god send to those cheap f$cks

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Captain_Kuhl@reddit

Well, even if a screen is cheaper than an instrument cluster, why did they take the sunshade off of it?

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ndszero@reddit

Because an off the shelf rectangle display is even cheaper than an oddly shaped one (or multiple smaller ones) shrouded in a cluster.

I mean look how janky that interior is. The screens are just slapped on there. The pic isn’t wide enough but I bet the RHD version, if it exists, uses nearly all the same parts.

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Reygle@reddit

Modern vehicle design is only as intelligent as modern people.

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scrubtart@reddit

This is because making the standard dashes with gauges and buttons is actually more expensive than just putting a shitty tablet in.

I thought there's no way at first, but think about it. The physical buttons are a lot more parts to design, inventory, manage, and assemble. The tablet screen itself is likely more expensive than the buttons, but its also just one part vs many.

Its very unpopular for consumers, but if every make is doing it, you don't really have much choice to opt out of it.

I think the whole market for new cars is going to have a reckoning soon. People are just buying used where they can because of out of control prices and shitty practices like this post. Its already happening to stellantis. I can't wait.

Hopefully whoever is left on the other side of things will start to make cars that people want at prices they can pay.

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j0shman@reddit

What is that abomination

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Imaginary_Act_3956@reddit

Ford Explorer EV

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yardgurl10@reddit

BUD.... it literally says Expedition on the console if you take a look at the picture posted

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JarJarDid66@reddit

Ford expedition

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hutacars@reddit

Wait, really? Wow, it looks so… cramped.

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candre23@reddit

Can't have room for humans because they need that 3-foot-wide center console. Because reasons.

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Imaginary_Act_3956@reddit

It may be the Explorer EV as well.

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knsaber@reddit

I still give Porsche credit as one of the only companies that still integrate the LCDs into their design language and don’t look like a tablet.

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narwhals_narwhals@reddit

No, they still have glare and get washed out in bright light. I've been trying to figure out a way to attach the visor from a baseball cap to mine to keep it from happening.

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redhandsblackfuture@reddit

The screens are bright and back-lit enough that there isn't glare

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Desperate_Taro9864@reddit

That's not universally true. It's just a trend. I work for a company that makes automotive clusters and I've already seen two OEMs run into problems with glare. It's like their knowledge is evolving, but backwards. Cowls were put there for a reason.

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C5-O@reddit

Unless they go into night mode when you drive through a particularly big shadow and suddenly you can't see shit for a solid minute (Renault 5E)

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beckett_the_ok@reddit

What car is this?

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strangway@reddit

In my experience, car screens have pretty robust antiglare glass/coatings, as well as excellent brightness. I don’t need a cowl over my phone, but I can usually see it, even in sunlight.

Maybe a cowl would help if the screen is dusty.

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BensOnTheRadio@reddit

The hell with the screens, what the fuck were they thinking with the steering wheel! I drove one of these for work and it was so awkward to steer. The steering wheel controls were also incredibly obtuse.

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JEBariffic@reddit

I think it would be hugely helpful to have two nav screens: one for where I’m starting, one for where I’m going. Am I here? Yes. Is the beer store still there? Yes. Excellent. And away we go!

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braided--asshair@reddit

You can do that in an Audi that is approaching 10 years of age.

And it’s got the cowl on the cluster and all the buttons you could ever want.

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tBrownThunder@reddit

I work in this field. This isn't necessarily about this screen in particular, but general trend why you see this popping up in the market:

Other posters have mentioned that deleting climate control buttons and moving them into the display is cheaper. This is true, and the main driver for why physical buttons have disappeared.
Even if a customer base complains, executives (and the digital design world) do not say "lets add the cost back in to improve customer sat", the immediately think "that's a UX failure, lets improve the digital design". Personal opinion - I think a lot of that is due to who the OEMs have on staff. Most US OEMs have not developed software/UX talent internally. They have hired from Silicon Valley, web design, etc. The attitude in that space is "fix it with software " (because in some cases, there is literally no control over the hardware) and automotive OEMs have adopted it. This has been reinforced by execs in Detroit seeing Tesla's stock price skyrocket with that mentality (albeit for a different reason) so that combined with the cost argument makes it dogma in Detroit.
Why did the cluster cowl disappear? Couple reasons: First, automotive screens have gotten brighter, and contrast ratio has improved. That means improved human perception in brighter light, so the value proposition of having a "shade" goes down. Second, anti-glare performance on displays have gotten better over the years (via material science, films, or coatings) which can help visual perception. Third, OEMs are trying to delete trim pieces wherever possible. Its a cost save, it's de-risking for a rattle concern in warranty, and a de-risk for quality apperances. It's a lot easier for to "outsource" tolerance issues to the display supplier to make sure that back cover looks clean and without gaps, than it is to have a plastic piece from one supplier meet the display, in which case the "blame game" happens when gaps appear.

3.5 In some cases, there are other benefits to not having plastic there such as thermal management (i.e. lots of heat generated by the backlight), but that's really dependent on technical details that can only be answered by the DRE's at OEM's.

All that to say, it isn't perfect and I'm not defending any decisions, just trying to share what's going on. Every OEM has a different "formula" for how much complaints are worth the money, how much glare is too much glare (above the federal and FuSa requirements) and how much to spend on each commodity. More difficult still, that formula seems to change every 2 years at some OEMs.

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No_Beautiful6735@reddit

no. people just stopped caring.

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Crafty_Substance_954@reddit

They're bright enough that you don't need a cowl.

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Kruegr@reddit

That's such an ugly interior.

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bisnicks@reddit

I drive a vehicle with a display like this and it has never been an issue. Between the brightness of the display and anti-glare coating, they seem to have it figured out.

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TheRealTechGandalf@reddit

I absolutely loathe the invasion of screens into each and every possible place in modern vehicles. What was wrong with one screen in the middle of the central console, one small screen between two analogue gauges, and physical controls for HVAC..? Honestly, I feel like car design peaked around 2018-2020, everything afterwards is just too minimalistic. And to answer your question, yes - there's some kind of anti-glare coating, or just straight up a matte surface on these gauge replacement screens.

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Taptrick@reddit

Whatever happened to simple and efficient convenience? I don’t know, everyone out there is trying to convince consumers that they prefer finicky and gimmicky gadgets over proven and functional design… Just like they’re trying to convince us that our refrigerators need AI. High tech is great for space exploration and finding cures for diseases, but keep it out of everyday tools please.

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somestrangerfromkc@reddit

What a useless user interface. Wow that is just incredible.

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Imaginary_Act_3956@reddit

At least this Explorer still has physical buttons unlike a Tesla.

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frank3000@reddit

That interior is 0/10 wow

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dsonger20@reddit

It’s a Ford built and designed after 2020 not a lot to expect

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Imaginary_Act_3956@reddit

That's not even a Ford.

It's the electric Explorer, which is a rebadged VW ID.4.

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dsonger20@reddit

This is the new expedition, my guy

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avoidhugeships@reddit

This is what most new cars look like.

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dsonger20@reddit

While I agree, the new expedition, inside and out, is exceptionally ugly. Screen this and screen that all you want, but you cannot deny that this is one of the worser examples of screen implementation that is in a new car.

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

What do you drive?

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What_A_Win@reddit

He could ride a fucking bicycle for all I care. Absolute garbage interior design. Looks like Lego blocks tacked onto one another.

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

What do you drive?

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What_A_Win@reddit

B8.5 Audi S4

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

So, "yes".

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What_A_Win@reddit

No, because you edited your comment after I replied fucknut.

The fact that you’re basing people’s opinions based on what MY their car is tells me enough about you. You’re not an enthusiast.

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

No, I'm just pointing out a trend; people that can't afford modern designs chastise it, out of jealousy. Jealousy is ugly.

Either pretty much every single global manufacturer is wrong despite the millions spent on market research and watching sales trends, or, the more likely scenario, you aren't the target demographic. Manufacturers sell new vehicles, not decade old used ones. And people that buy new vehicles like new interior designs with large uncowled high resolution screens.

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Familiar_Speaker_278@reddit

I bought a 2025 cx5 so happy it's got one small screen not this god awful overabundance of screens.

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No_Welcome_6093@reddit

No one is jealous of this disaster. Ford did amazing design on the exterior and horrendous on the interior.

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

Ford Expedition sales are strong in 2025, driven by a recent redesign, with Q3 2025 sales reaching 21,844 units, a 47.4% increase over the previous year.

Seems people with the bank to drop on vehicles like the Expedition like it.

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No_Welcome_6093@reddit

Do you have a link to the stats? Only thing I’ve seen is a 3% increase from 2024, which 2024 had over a 6% increase from 2023.

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2025/ford-expedition-record-sales-growth

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No_Welcome_6093@reddit

Appreciate it, I’ll give it a read.

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What_A_Win@reddit

People driving an older car =/= cannot afford a newer car. I’ve dropped over $10k into the S4 since last November, and I could go out and buy the newest car on the lot in cash.

I simply don’t care for this new design language. I’m not an outlier either, in the enthusiast circle I spend a lot of time there are guys 10x more successful with 20x more disposable income than me who also can’t see themselves buying a modern car, save for a few examples.

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

I’m not an outlier either, in the enthusiast circle

You're not an outlier, you're in a group of outliers... OK. Manufacturers sell in the hundreds of thousands, and most people don't want antiquated hooded analog dial instrument clusters with gameboy advanced size infotainment screens. They don't sell.

Mazda was one of the last holdouts, and sure enough the CX5 was one of the lowest selling compact crossovers in the class. So the '26 CX5 has a big 15.6-inch touchscreen. And they will sell a LOT more of them now, I promise you.

Need proof? Look at the 2025 Chevy Equinox.

Its worse fuel economy than last generation.

Its the same low-powered engine as last generation, no improvement.

But its sales are up 99 percent year-over-year for quarter three. Why? Big beautiful high resolution hoodless digital instrument cluster with a matching big nice looking infotainment screen on a much more modern interior design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKFOz9S8WpE

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What_A_Win@reddit

I don’t give a rats ass what the average consumer thinks. The average American thinks a quarter pounder is bigger than a third pounder. I’m not arguing what sells, I’m arguing what’s good design.

The average moron buying a car nowadays thinks “how can I get the largest screen for the lowest monthly payment”.

I still don’t get your point? Who was arguing sales volume? I’m talking about inherently good design.

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

I’m arguing what’s good design.

The customer is always right in matter of taste. Chocolate chip mint ice cream is not inherently better than strawberry ice cream because you say so, its merely a matter of taste.

The public at large have spoken, and moreover, I think if most others were actually honest with themselves and had more disposable income, they'd be making the same buying decisions as well by and large and to say otherwise is a cope.

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spacefret@reddit

You're trying so hard to make a point and it's just not working.

I just bought a new Corolla. I bought it specifically because it's not entirely screen and is actually a practical interior design.

Try again.

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

If the buttons on the Corolla were any smaller, you'd need a stencil to activate them.

The fact is, I'm right, and people here are mad. Being mad doesn't make you right.

Proof? Millions of dollars in market research done by manufacturers around the world, and hundreds of thousands of vehicles sold showing what the target market prefers. Corollas are crappy interiors, but they manage to sell some only because of the Toyota badge, and we both know it. That Toyota badge sells two things: 1) The image of reliability 2) "Bank of Toyota" resale value. If they had a Ford, Chevy, or Nissan badge on it, people wouldn't even consider them at that price.

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Lefthandedsock@reddit

What do you drive? Something expensive and new, like a Nissan Rogue? Those poors who drive a ten year old, $20k-$40k Audi S4, CTS-V, BMW 340i, or C63 AMG must be so jealous of those of you who can afford such modern marvels as the $20k-$40k 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe, Chevy Trailblazer, Ford Maverick, and Kia Carnival.

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

When have I shown jealousy of people with nicer cars than me, like those $75K Expeditions?

My argument is that people with older cars often feel the need to cope in these group therapy sessions.

C63 AMGs are very nice, but I'm sure everyone would prefer a '25 with its unhooded digital instrument cluster over a decade+ old one with obsolete tech.

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Slacker_75@reddit

2005 Chevrolet Cavalier

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

My apologies then, clearly you are a man of taste, as this is peak interior quality.

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Imaginary_Act_3956@reddit

Rebadged VW ID.4 with knockoff Peugeot 3008 interior.

Why?

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are_videos@reddit

wow what a garbage ass interior

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adyrip1@reddit

What a stupid design with the center console buttons also. Who the whole looks at them from above? Another design over functionality choice.

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bbdbbdab@reddit

That is a fuck ugly interior, wow.

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MrEs@reddit

Can't hide your screen, it needs to be out there presented proudly to the world, practically is less important

/s

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

Yes, modern screens have simply improved to the point that it avoids the glare. Hyundai was one of the first, and I remember thinking the same thing when the Tucson launched, and sure enough in the bright Texas sun I could read the gauge cluster clearly.

Ignore the luddites. Most of it is born of jealousy because they can only afford decade old cars and try to justify that its not actually necessity born of poverty, but that its actually better because they can play with their knobs. Cope.

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GoldenState15@reddit

What a strange comment

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

Unwelcome, not strange. Most of those complaining are driving a 2015 or earlier vehicle because its all they can afford, so they cope and pretend its a choice of preference and not financial that they aren't in a $75K Expedition. Its the same as the guys that whine about fit barely 20-something girls that get lip injections, when back home their own girl is approaching menopause, gets winded from a short flight of stairs, and shaves her mustache every other day. In reality, they'd fall over backwards for the former if they won the lottery, but since its unobtainable they pretend they don't want it.

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theunholyporker@reddit

You talk like a person who took a 7 year loan out on an Elantra last year

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

Nah, I'm just interrupting your circle-jerk support group, and its unappreciated.

If you had the means, you'd be in something similar with big screens, hundreds of millions of market research proves it: https://topelectricsuv.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Audi-Q6-e-tron-interior-dashboard.jpg

The manufacturers aren't all wrong.

You're not the target demographic.

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Comrade_Bender@reddit

Are you actually retarded or are you just really good at pretending?

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

Spit out that mouthful of Tylenols before you start throwing names around.

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GoldenState15@reddit

Nothing you're saying has any meaning other than just calling people poor. You have no argument

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

As I said, the manufacturers aren't all wrong. They've done the market research.

Tell you what, we know that the '25 Mazda CX5 with its analog gauges and tiny non-touch (well not really) infotainment screen was the worst seller in the popular compact crossover class.

We know that Mazda recognizes this failure, and the '26 Mazda CX5 has a fully digital instrument cluster and huge 15.3" infotainment screen.

If the manufacturers and myself are wrong, and the '26 CX5 has lower sales figures than the '25 CX5, then I'll happily admit it. But if sales are up, then admit its just a weak cope out of jealousy.

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GoldenState15@reddit

If the manufacturers weren't wrong then why are most automakers shifting back to buttons lol

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HuskyPurpleDinosaur@reddit

Whatever happened to cowls over the gauge cluster? Do modern screens avoid the glare?

Moving the goal post now? This is about big hoodless digital instrument clusters and big infotainment screens, which are in high demand.

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az9393@reddit

Cowls weren’t there for the screens as there were no screens before. There were unlit instruments with highly reflective glass over them.

With very bright screens and less reflective glass cowls are no longer necessary.

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RedditBot90@reddit

I hate screens like this. 2015-2020 screens were the sweet spot, imo. 7-10” which is large enough to read and use but not too big; CarPlay; most had matte screens and were recessed a bit/had a palm shelf; gauge clusters still had real gauges.

Now it’s all giant high gloss screens on top of the dashboard, no physical buttons for hvac

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