A couple of years ago, I got my first car with a touchscreen, not that I asked for it. But it's okay because my 2017 Camry allows me to drive without using the touchscreen. I don't have to push a button to see the backup camera, and I don't change the radio station unless I'm going out of town. My kid set up the phone interface, so I don't have to do anything. I still have knobs for the heat and air, windows, locks, trunk, wipers, lights, cruise, and radio volume. If I had to deal with all that on a touchscreen, it would drive me nuts. Besides, I've always known that the more electronics a car has, the more problems I cannot fix myself. Computers are that idea on steroids.
Now my daughter is looking for a car to drive her two young children around in, and is having a hard time buying a late-model anything without an extensive touchscreen. She doesn't need any more distractions. She doesn't want a smart car that may fail and lock her kids inside. How did we get here? Morning Brew takes a close look at how and why we got all these confusing and unsafe touchscreens in our vehicles. -via The Awesomer