Digital dashboards
From the late 1970s, microprocessors let carmakers replace needles with digital numerals and bar graphs.
- Years
- Cars
- Photographed
About
Aston Martin’s Lagonda used LED readouts, Cadillac and Buick chose vacuum fluorescent displays, and Mitsubishi, Audi and Chevrolet used liquid crystal. Toyota and Mazda tried mirror-projected and electroluminescent meters, sometimes next to an early CRT touchscreen. Many of these dashboards were expensive options that proved fragile or hard to live with, and by the early 1990s several makers had gone back to conventional dials and buttons.
Drawn recreations of displays in the style of this era are on the Display recreations page.
- Defining technology
- Other elements in its photos
- Instrument cluster
- Primary input
- Climate controls
Cars
Related
Photo credits
Photo credits (14)
- Aston Martin Lagonda (Series 2), cockpit“AstonMartinLagonda-interior” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: dave_7 · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons
- Cadillac Seville (1st generation), cockpit“1977 Cadillac Seville dashboard (9363423196)” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: dave_7 from Lethbridge, Canada · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons
- Cadillac Seville (2nd generation), cockpit“Morsang-sur-Orge, France (3651124316)” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: Mic from Reading - Berkshire, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons
- Mitsubishi Cordia (1st generation), instrument cluster“Mitsubishi Cordia 001” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: Tennen-Gas · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons
- Audi quattro (Typ 85), cockpit“1990 Audi Quattro 20V - Flickr - The Car Spy (9)” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: The Car Spy · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons
- Austin Maestro (LM10), cockpit“Maestro vp” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: Decampos · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- Renault 11 (Mk1), instrument cluster“Tableau de bord renault 11 electronic” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: Pouichi1973 · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons
- Nissan 300ZX (Z31), cockpit“Nissan 300ZX Turbo T-top 50th Anniversary (Canadian spec.), interior” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: Kazyakuruma · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons
- Chevrolet Corvette (C4), cockpit“W6074 Landreau BasBriace ACAL2025 Chevrolet Corvette C4 TunedPortInjection 26457XA2” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: Llann Wé² · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons
- Toyota Soarer (Z20), cockpit“Osaka Auto Messe 2022 (370) - Toyota SOARER 2.0GT TWIN TURBO (E-GZ20) restored and tuned by TOYOTA AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING COLLEGE OF KOBE” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: Tokumeigakarinoaoshima · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons
- Aston Martin Lagonda (Series 4), cockpit“Dornbirn-Oberhuber Concierge-Car Show-Aston Martin Lagonda-02ASD” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: Asurnipal · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons
- Buick Reatta, cockpit“2016 Northeast Texas Buick and Classic Car Show 18 (1989 Buick Reatta interior)” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons
- Mazda Eunos Cosmo (JC), cockpit“Eunos Cosmo (3rd gen. model, 1990 debut)” (opens in a new tab) · © Mazda · Editorial use (opens in a new tab) · Mazda Newsroom
- Toyota Soarer (Z30), cockpit“Toyota E-JZZ31 Soarer 3.0GT (4466184859)” (opens in a new tab) · Photo: Masayuki (Yuki) Kawagishi · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab) · Wikimedia Commons