# Physical buttons/knobs vs touch screens **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/physical-buttons-knobs-vs-touch-screens/200197 "2025-05-09T19:03:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2025, 5:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/physical-buttons-knobs-vs-touch-screens/200197/101 "2025-06-06T17:49:53Z")
> [@db4690](#): > > I remember from my childhood that the typical visitor to the USA was impressed, and jealous, how well-equipped the american-spec cars were, even the economy cars But, the typical American car didn’t have fairly simple features such as a trip odometer and an adjustable steering wheel until a couple of decades later. I remember driving a '70s era Dodge Colt (actually a Mitsubishi of some sort) and marveling that a cheap little car like that had features that my '71 Dodge Charger lacked. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/physical-buttons-knobs-vs-touch-screens/200197/102 "2025-06-06T23:31:29Z")
> [@texases](#): > > Nissan could easily make that car today for that price NIssan could make a much better car for that price! The 510 was a bit of a tin can… and just as safe! ---
**Author:** ![asemaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@asemaster](https://community.cartalk.com/u/asemaster)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2025, 11:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/physical-buttons-knobs-vs-touch-screens/200197/103 "2025-06-06T23:36:46Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > Just in case the younger forum members don’t recall the Datsun 510 Senior year of high school, 1987, a buddy drove in to the parking lot in a 510. We were checking out this fine transport when he commented that he had to be careful with it, it had to last him through college. And I’ll be ■■■■■■ if it didn’t make it through all 4 years at Arizona State. We were all surprised that it even made the trip out there from LA. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2025, 12:42am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/physical-buttons-knobs-vs-touch-screens/200197/104 "2025-06-07T00:42:31Z")
Can we presume the car was an embarrassing heap by the time your buddy finished college? But I guess if it served its purpose, that might just be good enough ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2025, 1:03am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/physical-buttons-knobs-vs-touch-screens/200197/105 "2025-06-07T01:03:55Z")
> [@asemaster](#): > > We were all surprised that it even made the trip out there from LA The engine was nearly bulletproof… Maybe U-joints on the axle shafts may need replacing…Maybe a clutch. But the cars were tough. The bodies, however, rusted like an old tin can if exposed to road salt. An LA based car driving to ASU, no question it would last 4 years. If he’d gone to school in the snowy north… It would have returned to the earth from which it came about graduation time! ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/physical-buttons-knobs-vs-touch-screens/200197/106 "2025-06-07T13:42:44Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > Just in case the younger forum members don’t recall the Datsun 510 Some of the younger crowd probably know more about the 510’s than the much older crowd… The JDM racers love the little 510’s and have a pretty big following… I think they like to run them in the Time Attack Racing world… > **[1969 Race Car in Portland, OR](https://www.510forsale.com/1969-race-car-portland-or/)** > > Nissan Bluebird 1300, 1500, 1600 North American Classifieds - Direct Seller Ad - 1969 Datsun 510 Two Door Race Car For Sale by Owner in Portland, Oregon. > **[datsun 510 race car at DuckDuckGo](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=datsun+510+race+car&atb=v448-1&ia=images&iax=images)** > > DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified. And of course, no 510 would be complete without being LS swapped… 😆 > **[This LS-Swapped, Hilborn-Injected Datsun 510 Is In A Class By Itself](https://www.holley.com/blog/post/this_ls-swapped_hilborn-injected_datsun_510_is_in_a_class_by_itself/)** > > Born out of a Formula Drift build, Marcus Fry's Datsun 510 made a huge visual statement at the 2021 LS Fest West show. This mental Datsun is now poised to take on the Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge and the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. ---
**Author:** ![asemaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@asemaster](https://community.cartalk.com/u/asemaster)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2025, 2:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/physical-buttons-knobs-vs-touch-screens/200197/107 "2025-06-07T14:08:10Z")
> [@db4690](#): > > Can we presume the car was an embarrassing heap by the time your buddy finished college? It was an embarrassing heap by the time we finished high school. The brush marks from the green paint job were a downside, but we didn’t judge. The guy needed a car and that’s all that mattered. I had a pretty nice car within my group of friends in '87. My car was a 77 Cutlass with faded paint. Lily got her mother’s Mark IV, also with faded paint and a tattered vinyl top. Eric had a B210 that he shared with his brother. Andy had a 66 Mustang with a power steering leak so bad his dad cut the belt off and had him drive it like that. Mike never did get the 460 to fit in his 63 Ranchero. Danny had 5 brothers and sisters and couldn’t afford a car, but Robin’s dad bought her a new Tercel for her birthday. Most of the others were sensible cars like a Corolla or the old family wagon. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. > [@Mustangman](#): > > But the cars were tough Exactly. We lost touch but I know the car made it through year 4 of college for him. ---
**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/physical-buttons-knobs-vs-touch-screens/200197/108 "2025-06-07T14:12:04Z")
> [@Nevada\_545](#): > > It doesn’t respond to sign language. For what it’s worth, my wife’s BMW has “gesture control” that more or less does that. I don’t use it, as I rarely drive her car and there’s minimal traffic here to focus on. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2025, 2:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/physical-buttons-knobs-vs-touch-screens/200197/109 "2025-06-07T14:28:48Z")
This predates the 510 model, but I recall the first Datsun radio ads from the mid-late '60s. Their slogan was, “It runs with a key and small change”, in order to emphasize that, in addition to being cheap to buy, it was also cheaper to run than the American cars of the day. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2025, 2:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/physical-buttons-knobs-vs-touch-screens/200197/110 "2025-06-07T14:52:12Z")
Wifes first car out of college was a Datsun 510. They were great cars mechanically, but they were rust buckets in just a few years (at least in the north). I LOVED that NapZ engine with it’s dual ignition (2 sparkplugs per cylinder). It was a very fast little car for its day. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/physical-buttons-knobs-vs-touch-screens/200197.md?page=5)