I too have a huge problem with touch screens in cars. Having tactile knobs means I can find things on the dash without taking my eyes off the road. The thing that I think most of the comments are missing is the thing that powers all tech... Ads
There is currently a push behind the scenes to own the in-car advertising system. This is a reason why Google is making a play for an automobile OS [0].
I desperately hope that car manufacturers return to physical buttons, but in-car ads are offer huge potential financial upside. You could sell a car at a loss to consumers and still come out ahead...