Why Are So Many New Cars' Gear Selectors So Stupid?

No mention of Tesla's "Smart Shift", where the car decides for you?

https://insideevs.com/news/514752/tesla-auto-shift-test-revi...

According to this article, it seems to ignore obstacles like pedestrians, and has no idea if you want to make a three point turn.

Don't get me started. I recently rented a car (American make) that didn't have an actual physical control for the headlights (and no, this wasn't a Tesla.) Took three Ph.D.s in the car to find the right sequence on the touch-screen to operate the headlights.

Makes me think that the UX people don't actually drive cars - are they all riding their unicycles (wearing a top-hat) to work?

It seems replacing every knob and physical buttons with just one big screen is much cheaper for car manufacturers.

The gear selector is only the start. There are so many stupid and driver-hostile design choices that being made in new cars that it almost seems like an industry-wide prank.