https://www.macrumors.com/2023/10/23/all-new-carplay-late-20...
The example of my car with a lot of buttons:
https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/hyundai/santa-fe/2017/oem...
What benefit do I get from PHONE being a physical button? Or INFO, or SETUP, or BLUELINK? I shouldn't be using those buttons while the vehicle is in motion. I shouldn't even really be using MAP or NAVI or MEDIA while the vehicle is in motion either, I should be adjusting such things while the car is stopped. And the SEEK/TRACK buttons and volume knob are actually redundant, those controls are also on the wheel so I shouldn't be using those while driving either. And what, I'm going to navigate folders of media while I'm driving with the FILE/ENTER knob?
If the car is stopped, why should I care if its physical or not? I'd prefer the larger screen to actually see more of my media or the navigation or what not when stopped. All these buttons just get in the way when stopped, they're not helpful in the slightest.
And then when I'm actually moving I'd prefer the larger screen as then the navigation and map is much larger so its way easier to understand what its telling me with a fast glance if I'm unsure about the next turn.
About the only buttons I actually need to use here when the vehicle is in motion is the defroster. Everything else here is stuff I probably shouldn't bother touching while in motion. The climate control is auto, so I only end up touching it a few times a year.
I do understand the other poster here talking about a convertible though. Driving when its cold out with the top down I'd probably prefer more physical buttons, but this isn't a convertible.
In the end, all the controls I should actually be using while driving should be on or directly around the steering wheel. I shouldn't have to touch anything in the center console while the vehicle is moving. Ideally, I shouldn't have to take my hands off the wheel at all while the car is in motion.
As for digital gauges vs having needles, I'd probably always take a decent digital gauge. The needles were already digital for decades so any talk about reliability or vendor lock or maintainability is moot. They take up more space than just showing a number. Combined with the fact the digital gauge also shows other useful information like the next turn information for navigation, LKA information, auto-cruise information, etc its way more useful than just a big circle vaguely showing my speed and a big circle showing me RPMs which isn't really necessary 99% of the time in an automatic. There's a slight argument to be made about brightness with night vision but they're usually able to dim pretty dark when you're truly out there. I haven't had a problem seeing while driving around at night even far out in the country with no streetlights.
As far as the oil pan, the design of the pan probably makes it too complex to manufacture at scale in a material that is more durable. It is not a simple cake-pan style reservoir. It has mating surfaces and ports that would be difficult to reproduce in metal. Here is the TSB that Ford techs need to follow to accomplish this temporary repair.[0]
[0]https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10164470-0001.pdf
