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Drivers are speaking up—and automakers might finally be listening

Drivers are speaking up—and automakers might finally be listening

Well, at least some of them...

Anna del Villar & Car Dealership Guy
May 22, 2025

Hey, everyone — Chevy’s been on a tear lately with strong sales, tight inventory, rising multiples.

But I wanted to know what the CDG community really thinks about the brand. So I ran a poll.

Here’s what readers said:

🟩 42% – Chevy is overlooked
🟨 32% – Meh, I could go either way
🟥 26% – Chevy has major issues

Turns out, sentiment is more split than I expected.

—CDG

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Welcome to The Breakdown, an analysis of auto retail’s top trends, moves, and insights—in under 5 minutes.

For the past few years, COVID-era shortages and easy margins gave OEMs room to prioritize software over usability, and they did. Interfaces got sleeker. Screens got bigger. And user experience took a back seat.

But that window’s closing. Buyers aren’t just grabbing whatever’s available anymore. They’re making real choices again.

And I wanted to know: are automakers actually listening?

So, we took a very specific example and ran a poll. Do you prefer touchscreens or physical buttons in your car?

Nearly 13,000 people weighed in, and here are the three clearest signals that the feedback loop might be starting to work...

Insight #1: Consumers are revolting against features they don’t need (or want.)

Touchscreens make a lot of sense on paper. They reduce parts, simplify production, make OTA updates possible, and give the product team new real estate to play with.

But real-world usage tells a different story.

Swedish car magazine Vi Bilägare found that basic in-car tasks took up to four times longer on a touchscreen than on physical controls.
And JD Power’s TXI study ranked infotainment systems among the top consumer complaints for three years running.
And in a UK study, reaction times while using Apple CarPlay by touch were worse than driving under the influence.

Via IAM RoadSmart

You see—drivers like touchscreens in theory. But they don't want to scroll through three menus to change key settings while merging onto the highway.

Driving already demands a lot. Interfaces shouldn’t make that harder.

And while many (mostly all) Tesla owners told us they loved their setups…

Lots of people don’t own a Tesla. Most people just want to change the temperature without having to aim.

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Insight #2: Automakers are scaling back complexity to improve customer satisfaction.

The walk back is already underway, and it’s happening quietly, one model at a time.

Porsche reversed its touch-screen course with the Cayenne after pushback on the Taycan’s full-screen cockpit.
Honda’s latest Civic and Accord both feature prominent, physical knobs for HVAC and audio despite earlier versions leaning into more digital layouts.
Subaru’s 2026 Outback takes a hybrid approach, blending touchscreen displays with traditional, button-based layouts.
And Volkswagen most recently committed to bringing physical controls back for essential functions like volume, seat heating, and fan speed.

VW's design chief Andreas Mindt even told Autocar, “We will never, ever make this mistake anymore. It’s not a phone, it’s a car.”

New ID Every1 concept with button bar for the most-used functions

Internally, that’s code for rising support costs, low satisfaction scores, and eroding loyalty. If the UI gets in the way of basic functionality, it drags the brand down with it.

Basically, the return of physical buttons comes down to this: they’re easier to explain and easier to resell.

And the decision-makers know it.

Insight #3: For dealers, good design often shortens the path to a sale.

When a car is intuitive to use, the selling process gets easier at every step.

There’s less to explain during the test drive. Less confusion when walking through features. Fewer follow-up calls after delivery. And way fewer moments where a customer says, “Wait, how do I turn this on?”

That clarity builds trust. It reduces friction. And it makes the car feel “right” faster before the buyer has even made a decision.

And in the service bay, a failed screen might cost $1,500 to replace.

But a sticky button? Maybe $80.

The more owners a vehicle sees, the more this matters. For fleet operators, subscription And platforms, or buy-here-pay-here dealers, UX becomes a liability if it requires training.

That’s why designs that feel intuitive on day one end up outperforming over the lifecycle.

Bottom line: Drivers are done tolerating unnecessary complexity.

And automakers are no longer insulated from that feedback.

The touchscreen era revealed a lot about what manufacturers prioritized, and what consumers were willing to put up with. But the last few years gave automakers too much runway to build around themselves.

The next winners in auto retail won’t be the ones with the biggest screen. They’ll be the ones that make a test drive feel intuitive, a trade-in feel valuable, and ownership feel obvious—no tutorial required.

Where do you fall in this debate? Hit Reply and let me know your hot takes…