It’s a common complaint among a certain crowd that many of today’s cars have overly complex instrument panels, with numerous buttons, controls, and screens galore. While there’s justifiable validity in this claim, somewhat complicated, poor user-friendly layouts in cars is not a new trend — just look at this 1986 Pontiac 6000 STE reveling in its ’80s techy glory with a clusterfuk of tiny buttons and digital displays.
Complicated vehicle controls aren’t a 1980s-present problem either. If you don’t believe me, just turn to the 1958 Edsel and its confusing Teletouch pushbutton automatic transmission controls located in the center of the steering wheel.