The most annoying thing is that carmakers didn’t move to touchscreen-only because people want it,

They definitely wanted it at first, or at least, they wanted the “new shiny tech” in their cars.

They first added screens for things that are appropriate to show on screens, like GPS maps. But that's not going "touchscreen-only." Touchscreen-only -- putting everything on the touchscreen, whether it was an appropriate interface for it or not -- was purely a cost-cutting move.

I disagree. I knew touchscreen controls on a vehicle sucked as soon as I encountered them. Sticking my hand out to reach for the heater slider/knob that was always in the same place, always there, and gave immediate real feedback of the real world is better.

It feels dangerous to use lcd touchscreens while the car is moving.

Yeah. There are two kinds of 'want' to consider really - one being what sells cars, and the other being what people actually enjoy using.

Nice clean interiors with huge full-console touchscreens look modern and have that wow-factor that impresses in the showroom, and that's what matters as far as getting a purchase.

So yeah, you're right that people do want it, but only until they've had to live with it for a while.

I think because most buyers have never been in this position before, they aren't considering what the driving experience would be of not having those controls. They assume and trust that the manufacturers will make sensible design decisions and that the car will first and foremost function well and intuitively as a vehicle, because that's the whole point of a car, right?

We have lived through many decades of car controls getting better and more intuitive all the time, so people would naturally assume the manufacturers know what they are doing. And then only now suddenly get slapped in the face by changes that make the experience actually worse for the driver.