Plastic Fantastic: The Joy of Buttons

Wikimedia Commons/4AGZE

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have heard all about—or experienced—carmakers’ rush toward touch-screen technology.

There has been much wailing about it in the motoring press, and frustration via social media. However, to give manufacturers some credit, the modern car is so full of technology that condensing it all into easy-to-reach touch points is near impossible. In one modern car I borrowed this year, finding the button to alter the mirrors meant issuing a plea for guidance on social media.

Corralling all the functions onto one tablet makes sense—at least in principle—because you can pack more functionality into a small space. Well, in principle.

Just like those non-removable bottle caps that suddenly appeared this year, the concept behind them made sense, but the execution lagged behind—which is usually why I end up arriving for meetings wearing more of my in-car beverage than I’ve imbibed. Much in the same way, the touch screen technology in its current form doesn’t offer the instant response you might get from, say, twisting a knob or pressing some buttons

Not only can you do this without having to take your eyes off the road to search through menus at 70 mph, but there’s a much more pleasant tactile feeling. Aston Martin has recently upgraded its interior to look and feel like high-end audio equipment. 

However, there’s a joy to 1980s buttons that we love. This was an era of All The Technology, All At Once, which meant buttons and sliders for all sorts of functions sprouted up all over the dashboard and binnacles like a rampaging fungus. Add in hard black plastic and it all seems very Tonka Truck–style cool now—another way to feel at one with your car, other than driving, braking, steering, and swapping ratios.

We’ve pulled out some pretty amazing driving environments of the past—by no means comprehensive—but this list will certainly have you scouting out dashboard delight in the old cars around you.

Porsche 928

Porsche 928 dash
Porsche

For many years, the 911’s interior was probably the least exciting part of the car. Indeed, it was often a criticism that for all the money you’d waxed on a 911 Turbo, the ambience wasn’t much more swish than a Carrera—or worse.

The 928 was different. Not only does it feel like you’re ensconced in a spaceship, all swoopy lines and multi-colored finishes, but the steering column moved. Other than the automatic shifter—which looked and felt like a Starship Enterprise thrust lever—our favorite part of the interior has to be the big twistable knobs to active lamps and windshield wipers. They’re comedically outsized for their function, but with a satisfying thunk to each movement. You could spend all day in there without turning the engine on, just interacting with it all.

Toyota MR2 Mk1

Toyota MR2 MkI dash
Toyota

Japanese manufacturers really got on board with binnacle-mounted functionality. The MR2’s dashboard is fairly simple—we love the green-tinged wording, for example. However, the enormous rotary switches, with little levers attached, that sprout from the binnacle surround rather than conventionally behind the steering wheel itself, just feel magnificent to use. Add in buttons for the de-mister and the washer jets and it all feels far more immediate for any MR2 maestro to use. With the comically large gearshift handle and handbrake (relative to the rest of the car), the MR2 is memorable even before you fire it up.

Nissan 300ZX (Z32)

Nissan 300ZX dash
Nissan

Choosing just one car to demonstrate the Japanese appetite for binnacle-mounted button overload is hard—the Subaru XT offers up an intriguingly unconventional offset three-spoke steering wheel with more buttons on top, for example. However, we’ve gone for the Z32 300ZX because, as Nissan’s top-of-the-range two-door, it was festooned with all sorts of technology to tempt people out of their Porsches. 

Of course, condensing all this into the dashboard was an almighty challenge—it even had a mini-LCD screen!—and you could spend a day trying to work out where everything was. What makes it even more special is that it still has stalks for the lamps and washers and all the functions on top. By rights this could all be annoying on the move but just look how cool it is, and how satisfying it must be when you finally stop setting off the foglight by mistake during quick cornering.

Alfa Romeo 164

Alfa Romeo 164 dash
Alfa Romeo

For all of Alfa Romeo’s exterior flair, not all interiors to wear the hallowed badge are quite as stylish. The 164, however, was button overload, with a bonus LCD display. It was very much like driving around with a high-end stereo in the front of the car. One for the nostalgic person who spent many an evening staring at their dad’s graphic equalizer. 

Renault 25

Renault 25 dash
Renault

Marcello Gandini had a knack for bringing the majestic to the mundane—even his least exotic projects have the odd flash of magic to them. Now, the Renault 25 was anything but mundane from behind the wheel, even if the exterior wasn’t quite as exciting as other Renaults of the era. This luxurious cruiser was great for eating up autoroutes—but we would struggle not to get distracted by this magnificent interior from Gandini himself.  It looks like it’s come straight from the Alien ship Nostromo, but with a center console from Giorgio Moroder’s living room. Even the door handles look like a haptic delight, and the steering wheel even gets in on the button action. A masterpiece.

Lancia Trevi

Lancia Beta Trevi dash
Lancia

The Trevi is an unconventional-looking car, even from the outside. The true delight is when you get inside. CAR magazine memorably described it as having a “Swiss cheese Beta” dashboard. It was designed by Mario Bellini, who had made his name designing homewares and typewriters. He found himself with a very small space to get a lot of information, and his reasoning for the design was that it was purely structural. 

He was pilloried at the time—it was roundly criticized for being ugly. Now though? It hangs like a magnificent piece of outsider art, especially when you take in the two-spoke steering wheel. It’s certainly a daring design—and wouldn’t you rather stare at this for a long journey, rather than a touch screen?

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Comments

    I have a 2023 GMC SLT pickup. The GPS stops functioning mid trip w/ no warning. The radio volume and GPS volume stop working for days. My 2021 GMC has the same problem. Sometime if you stop the truck, shut off the ignition, open the drivers door, wait 3-5 minutes…..reset the computer….it might work. The dealer acknowledges that GM has had this problem for years and can’t seem to fix it. After 6 dealer resets and programming ….nothing changes! All the dealers know this problem exists…..but won’t tell you until after you purchased the truck. Thee car play system isthe worst out there!

    there is a bulletin at least for chevy silverados for multiple electrical issues. consider doing a search online for your issue(s). most people can do most of what’s outlined in that bulletin.

    My 2022 suburban does something similar where I cannot change the radio volume sometimes after driving for a while until I pull over and turn the truck off and open the door.

    The E28/30 BMW’s had the sliding vent control that allowed you to easily control precisely how much air came out the floor, dash and defrost vents. There will never be anything like that ever again. It’s too simple and effective.

    The most memorable set of tactile switches belongs to a late 60’s Jaguar sedan. The row of toggle switches in unforgettable.

    My 2015 Porsche Macan S with sport chrono, adjustable suspension, heated and cooled seats, etc. has lots of buttons. It does have a touch screen, but is really only necessary when changing audio sources, and a few other audio controls. Most of the time I never use it. Later models have done away with the lovely buttons, sadly.

    This is what I want for gauges on the dash: Speedo, maybe Tach, fuel, oil, temp, voltage. Switches: Headlights and wipers (these can be on the turn signal stalk), HVAC. AND I want to be able to do them by feel without taking my eyes off the road. Cruise and basic radio on the steering wheel is OK. I do NOT want a bunch of touch screen junk and I do NOT want everything going through a module. The switch I touch should connect DIRECTLY to what it controls.

    The late ’80s/early ’90s Audi 100/200 series cabin was a work of art. A single-piece, large swooping dash, analog speedometer and tachometer front-and-center, flanked by all the essential gauges (4 on the right, one on the left, and a center information display. But it didn’t end there. The center stack provided a row of tactile push-button switches, as well as easy-to-use rotary dials for climate controls. The 4-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel kept the view unobstructed and the red backlighting was both easy on the eyes and gave the feeling of a cockpit. The real testament is that with minimal change, it could look just as nice in a new car today.

    the toyota & nissan in this article are good examples of 80s/90s japanese cars, in the least, that had controls at the corners or sides of the combination meter pod and close to the steering wheel. the idea was to operate these mounted switches without taking your hands off the steering wheel (think paddle shifters). there’s a name for this setup, i just can’t remember it.

    The undisputed champion is my 87 / 88 Pontiac Fiero GT’s. The true “ Plastic Fantastic “. Everyone else need not apply.

    The Lear Ziegler interior option on the IROCZ Camaros had a great look. Gotta give some love to an American car!

    10 points for writer Nathan Chadwick for the Jefferson Airplane reference (“Plastic Fantastic Lover”).

    Wonder if they had a premonition of what one can apparently buy nowadays that is absolutely the embodiment of that phrase?

    My ’62 Plymouth Fury has the best buttons for gear selection (never had a problem) and heat/vent controls. My grandparents bought it new.

    I miss the center dash display in my two Saturn’s. Made so much sense. Every other vehicle I’ve owned and currently own i can’t see the display ,especially speed,once I tilt the wheel to my liking.

    My 72 Javelin had a row of 4 slide switches mounted on a ledge just below the instrument cluster that controlled the lights, wipers, ww washer etc. Fit in well with the cool cockpit dash design. With the big push to eliminate distracted driving, how is it that vehicle manufacturers can justify and get away with the huge display panels that look like small tv screens. In many jurisdictions it is illegal to view your phone for apps such as maps for directions, selecting music, searching for phone numbers etc. Big fine for using phone for anything while driving here in B.C. I don’t understand the logic in allowing big touch displays to be installed in new vehicles because of this. Maybe I’m too old to fit in with these new technologies.

    NCAP, the safety-rating group in Europe, will require physical controls for five functions (horn, wipers, turn signals, hazard lights, and SOS features) for a car to earn a top safety rating, starting in 2026.
    Sounds like a good start.

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