In the 1970s even the luxury cars started replacing painted metal and chromed controls with plastic buttons and knobs.

The streamlining of manufacturing meant that the radio and climate controls in a Pinto were the same parts that were in a Lincoln.

The 1950s and 1960s cars often had wildly changed controls and indicators between cars from the same manufacturer and even between the same model from one year to the next.

It was common to sit down in a 1950s truck and wonder where the start buttion was.