The automotive industry is moving to self driving cars. Screens will be needed for entertainment and trip planning. You won't need simple physical buttons to quickly actuate while you're driving, since you won't be driving. The car will drive. You'll be a passenger like on a plane for most of the time.
I don't believe the mantra. Not every road is in the US and there are more driving scenarios than highways. There's a long way to go until self driving cars will be able to master the tiny streets and complex (behavioral) patterns fond, say, in a medieval Italian town. And there is more to driving and the car as a product than just commute. Will BMW change the slogan from "aus Freude am Fahren" to "play Solitaire while being bored?" I think, manual driving will be always at least an option. And, if self driving really becomes a sorted thing, it's the manual driving option that will define a car as a product.
Not so sure about those medieval towns: you can't navigate them by bus, anything rail-related is out of question for the terrain, but transport is still essential. It won't be internal combustion engines, but still cars.
Could you make an example? In any town I know that stepped away from cars, you can easily go around on foot/bike/wheelchair. I don't see how the same wouldn't be feasible on other towns too
I like physical buttons and dislike cars :)