My car has a holographic HUD that displays on the windshield, and responds to hand and voice gestures. (The HUD is _awesome_, but the gesture recognition is hit or miss at present).

I agree with you that touchscreens in autos are garbage. However I don't agree that physical or haptic switches are the _only_ solution. I think touchscreens in autos were just a technical stepping stone towards something new, like this combo of holographic/gesture/voice control UI.