What I want next is an automatic sunscreen that slides down based on sensing the angle of the sunlight. I think there is also technology to dynamically darken glass that could be used. I hereby grant a free perpetual license to auto manufacturers to use this idea. :)

Looked into it previously. Even if you got it to work, it likely would not be street legal, as there are pretty strict regulations on what part of the windshield can or cannot be tinted.

The great thing about the touch screen is not the UI experience, but the flexibility when it comes to updates that also include new features. When you go the hardware controller route on a product that is still heavily being interrated on, you quickly run out of intuitive ways to clearly label and/or manipulate things or an exzessive number of buttons with integrated screens (to indicate their function in any given context), neither of which is great UX wise and also pretty expensive.

That's the main problem. Change is good only if it's optional, by choice. Forced redesign only makes designers happy, because they can now stop looking at that old version that they released some years ago and want to sunset it.