Cars have digital screens because of the huge increase in functionality the digital age has brought. The car would be swamped with switches, buttons and displays if any other solution were adopted.
The only things needing regular access are basic driving controls - steering wheel, brake pedal, indicators. Wipers, fan speed, lighting, are also often adjusted - typically retained as "hard" controls but are often now automated.
There is rarely a need to alter, whilst driving, cabin temperature, check when the next service is due, change the display from miles to kilometres etc etc. The temptation to "fiddle" arises because you can, not because you need to.
Increasingly cars are equipped with voice recognition largely rendering any debate over screen vs "hard" controls somewhat academic.
A return to traditional controls is unlikely - it is cheaper and quicker to change a few lines of code to accommodate new data or functionality. Hardwiring and modifying physical layouts is costly. The days of blanked off switches in base models will be over.
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