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There is a subtile difference in terms of consequences between blindly picking the wrong button on a car vs plane, though...

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Obviously but OP’s point still stands. Quality UX takes time and careful thinking (which is why it’s worth doing it for a plane but not for a car).

I think both these examples are quality UX. In fact I'd go so far as to bet that BMW has spent far more on UX than Cessna has. The difference is in the definition of "quality". In Cessna's case the objective is to make the plane safer and easier to pilot, so people decide to buy it. In BMW's case the objective is to make people want to buy the car. Two different objectives = Two different user experiences

you confuse sales with UX.

I was being slightly simplistic, but let's not forget that UX means "user experience". It doesn't mean "user efficiency" or "user safety". Clearly BMW has decided that the experience they want to focus on is more emotional than rational.

There are far more people in cars.

There are far more people around cars.

The people in, and around, cars, have far less training to specific instrumentation and controls than those in, and around, aircraft.

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