This might be a bit disingenuous but has any software in any car been worth the drive space it was installed on?
The untold amounts of complaints just on the software from various auto manufacturers is incredibly concerning to the point that I soon drive a car from the 90s into dust before I attempt to drive something with a lagging interface, or a complete screen failure leaving the car inoperable.
Some of the issues could be attributed to user error (working in IT I'm not stranger to that), but this push to screen everything is a huge step backwards in the automobile design philosophy.
I think all the negative online comments have clouded your perception of modern cars. The toyota rav4 is the best selling non-truck in the US in 2023. If you check their interior shot[1], there's a screen but all the essential functions have physical controls. The only reason you'd need to use the screen is if you want to access the built in navigation system or radio, but you were probably going to use google maps and spotify anyways. Meanwhile you get all the features that "a car from the 90s" doesn't have: rear camera, adaptive cruise control, parking sensors, automatic breaking, lane departure warnings, blind spot monitoring, and better fuel economy.
[1] https://www.toyota.com/rav4/photo-gallery/section/interior/s...
SavageGeese on YT specifically points this out, and actually had a really great video on this very subject.
>Better fuel economy
Debatable, incredibly so. Vehicles have only gotten larger to side step the federal MPG mandate, so whilst it appears they're getting better gas mileage the reality is we've been stagnate since the 90s, per the UM report below.
http://websites.umich.edu/~umtriswt/PDF/SWT-2017-5.pdf
We could argue over emissions standards being much more stringent (and they have), but auto makers have sought to only embrace larger vehicles in lieu of proper fuel efficient development of ICE automobiles. Hybrids seem to be a stop gap, but R&D appears to have ceased on ICE in favor of EV.
Currently I'm car-free, I was an auto enthusiast (built plenty of different cars) and what I see on the road currently only reinforces the idea that rather than build a better car, automakers seek to only build them larger and more reliant on technology that trails smart tech by 15 years. In the meantime, I'll keep riding motorcycles (not perfect either) and bicycles.
I will say Ford releasing the Maverick was a bit of a wake up call that folks still want a truck, but not truck sized, and not getting truck MPGs.