Techniques for Travel: Help find a car rental, campsite
Are you planning a summer vacation? These apps and sites will help you find information about car and RV rentals, available campsites, and destination mask rules.
Jennifer Jolly, USA Today special
It seems to be a trend. Several times a year, you get a new story along the line “Recover the buttons and knobs after Waygood Car Co. moves to the screen.” Then, a few months later, the all-new Waygood Torque Boss 3000 will debut with a volume knob, four climate control buttons, and… the largest touchscreen the company has ever used.
It’s time to embrace reality. The screen does not disappear even if some physical controls return to the cockpit. It’s exactly the opposite. For the next few years, they are ready to multiply throughout the cockpit. Cars continue to catch up with consumer electronics technology. Something will soon appear on the screen in a nearby car.
I lift my eyes and push it out
When the BMW IX3 arrives in the US in mid-2026, a new Panoramic Idrive with a 43-inch display on the base of the windshield, like the 48-inch screen on the Lincoln Nautilus and the Navigator will be released. Both systems aim to distract drivers by bringing their eyes closer to the road, but there is one important difference between them. The Lincoln system uses traditional screens, but BMW’s projects project images onto a black coating printed on the windshield. This provides a crisp, high contrast 4K resolution even when wearing polarized sunglasses, creating the illusion that makes the display even further afield, like traditional head-up displays, passing through the windshield.
Holographic head-up display
Automakers fill their property with screens under the windshield. In so many futures, they will place driving data, navigation instructions, song information, and even videos with super-sized head-up displays on the windshield. With today’s HUDS simply bounce light off the windshield, future “holographic” systems could narrowly focus the light by layering diffracted films on or on glass. This change allows car manufacturers to use small projectors that approach the windshield, while providing brighter and clearer graphics. This technology can also be used to create zones that are visible only to passengers for what is considered distractions to the driver. At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, supplier Hyundai Movis presented a proof of concept developed in 2027 with German lens manufacturer Zeiss, which can be produced immediately.
All windows are screens
Microring technology, which embeds microscopic, individually controlled LEDs in glass, could ultimately turn all windows into screens. Taiwan’s auo demonstrated panoramic roofs and rear windows that can offer firework shows, fill cloud cover with constellations, and turn the outside world into a massive aquarium. When turned off, Micro Red allows 55% of the light to pass through the glass. Switching to black, they effectively color the windows and block everything except 2% of the light. The Auo also has an interactive touchscreen concept that allows passengers to play the game in the window.
Photo by the manufacturer
