At its core, the car dashboard is a simple, utilitarian thing. It exists to convey information: speed, the fullness of the gas tank or battery, miles driven, the occasional warning about low oil or tire pressure. But auto designers have long had greater ambitions for this prime real estate, right in the driver's line of sight. They see the potential for personalization, for excitement, for a selling point in the ever competitive industry.
Modern drivers, after all, demand maps with navigation instructions. They want music album art and extra readouts of turbo boost, or oil temperature. And so designers have turned to screens. The trend started with high-end rides, the Range Rovers and Audis, but has trickled most of the way down to mass market offerings.
The trend is so pervasive, not even the folks working on the classics can claim immunity. Just look at the 2018 Mustang GT, the latest version of the famed pony car. Ford's designers squeezed an (optional) 12-inch LCD screen behind the steering wheel, in the hopes of emphasizing (and not ruining) the car's sporty appeal.
For the purists, the digital dash can display the traditional gauges. For the heavy footed, sport mode stretches the tachometer across the top of the display, allowing it to blossom into fiery orange when a driver’s hammering it. For the track types, the full racing display includes a lap timer. Ford hopes details like these will showcase the Mustang’s pedigree. Check it out in the video above.
One day, it’s likely your car will drive itself, and the screens inside will be more useful for watching Netflix than displaying driving data. Until then, just hope designers keep exploring ways to enhance your view of the road ahead.
