The first production car to come with touchscreen features

Touch ME In today's car's entertainment devices almost always include a touch screen feature to set some functions, but has it ever thought by us that's several decades ago there had been similar device is also equipped with a such kind feature and was installed inside a standard car in the 1980s?

The 1986 Buick Riviera is considered to be the first production car to come with a touchscreen feature, and referred as the Graphic Control Center. (Picture from: WikiCars)

As quoted of TopGear, what is considered to be the first production car to come with a touchscreen feature is the 1986 Buick Riverra, something the automaker referred to as the Graphic Control Center which had a bulky shaped Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor that only displayed two colors, black and green. Its features, on the other hand, are far from outdated as they boast 91 functions, some of which are still relevant today.

Besides that it also emits a high-pitched beeping sound every time the digital button is pressed. So, how revolutionary was this Buick' touchscreen system? The such system applied by the maker to this touchscreen feature is excellent, and it can be said that was decades ahead of its time.

The Buick Riviera's touchscreen display which had a bulky shaped Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor that only displayed two colors, black and green. (Picture from: Flickr)

Due to this Buick's system does not use physical knobs and buttons at all, instead uses the screen itself as its sole means of control. This was more akin to the Tesla Model S that came out over a decade after BMW's iDrive system, making the 1986 Buick Riviera worthy called as the "pioneer" of the touchscreen infotainment system.

Of course the first-ever-in-car touchscreen not happen by accident, it was a direct result of Buick's desire to become the industry leader at the time. As quoted of Hagerty, it all started in 1980, when this American automaker executives wanted to develop a vehicle with the most cutting-edge technology, so they tried to realize it through GM subsidiary Delco Electronics.

The Buick Riviera's touchscreen display are far from outdated as its features boast 91 functions, such to show a five-band audio equalizer, stereo balancing, and one-touch windshield defrost. (Picture from: SlashGear)

This subsidiary developed such device specifically for car use later named Graphic Control Center with a touch sensitive CRT. Unlike modern capacitive touchscreens, this display is embedded with a row of invisible Mylar switches, which perform different functions depending on the page its user was on.

As you can see at YouTube video showcase by MotorWeek highlights most of its CRT display's luxurious amenities, which included a five-band audio equalizer, stereo balancing, and one-touch windshield defrost. Its Climate Control system not only showed both internal and external temperatures, it even included animations, portrayed by a mini digital fan that changed rotation speed depending on the air-conditioning level.

The Buick Riviera's touchscreen display are far from outdated as its features boast 91 functions, such to show vehicle diagnostics, trip computer, and fuel economy. (Picture from: SlashGear)

It also handled all the essentials such as vehicle diagnostics, trip computer, and fuel economy, as well as a slew of safety features that utilized graphics reminding drivers to keep their eyes on the road or even alerting them if their door wasn't fully closed. To say that the 1986 Buick Riviera was innovative is an understatement considering the number of features it offered at the time. In fact, everything about it was decades ahead.

The problem is, it took a while before these dated monitors could display anything, so its engineers cleverly made it heat up when the driver touched the car door handle. There're another problem which was later noted as a weakness of this system was the incessant beeping sound, the tendency to distract the driver from the road, as TopGear noted.

However, Buick only used this system again for the 1988 Buick Reatta before eventually discontinuing it in later models. Of course, this is not the end of car touchscreen monitors, it will only be another two decades before such advanced technology returns to surface. 

Then-Buick executive Cary Wilson claimed the company "set the stage" for what he believed to be a "new generation" of automotive electronics. It's a shame it came at a time when the world wasn't ready for the touchscreen revolution.😯 *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | SLASHGEAR | TOPGEAR | HAGERTY ]

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