Car interiors should be simple, clear, and not distracting. Jalopnik readers, however, have found ten absurd dashboard that don't follow that formula.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
The dashboard started out with humble beginnings. All it had to be was a board that kept horses from flinging dirt at you while they were going fast, or dashing. When horseless carriages came along, people presumably started sticking dials and switches into the board because it was convenient, or at least that’s what I’d do.
In any case, dashboards have nothing to do with dashing anymore, but they should still remain un-cluttered and easy-to-read.
That is precisely why we love these totally complex, distracting masses of knobs, switches, and chrome. They’re bad ideas in the very best way.
We restricted ourselves to just production cars, so unfortunately we had to cut the frankly stunning Maserati Boomerang’s dashboard-within-the-wheel as well as the buttonspalooza of the Lancia Orca. Speaking of tons of buttons, we should also point out that nobody looks at a more confusing set of switches, buttons, and readouts than the current crop of Formula One drivers, who have their whole dashboard on the wheel.
We had tons of honorable mentions that just couldn’t fit in the list, so please help us fill out all of your other favorite insane dashes in Kinja below.
10.) LEDs-On-Metal Pagani Huayra
Suggested By: Garrett Davis, Photo Credit: Pagani
9.) Ultra-Digital Mid-1980s Corvette
Suggested By: ReverendDexter, Photo Credit: Chevrolet via OldCarBrochures
8.) Chromed-Out 1960 Corvette
Suggested By: Jonee, Photo Credit: Denis De Mesmaeker
7.) Ostrich Leather-Optional Vector W8
Suggested By: EricSledlecki, Photo Credit: RM Auctions
6.) Every Steampunk Spyker
Suggested By: 6cyl, Photo Credit: Ann Wuyts
5.) Center-Stack Fiat Multipla
Suggested By: Compasteedee, Photo Credit: Fiat
4.) Aerospace Lancia Beta Trevi
Suggested By: 505-morphine not found, Photo Credit: Lancia
3.) Never-Functional Aston Martin Lagonda
Suggested By: SennaMP4, Photo Credit: Bill Kwok
2.) Square Wheel 1962 Imperial
Suggested By: Jonee, Photo Credit: Chrysler via OldCarBrochures
1.) Alien Hands Citroen GSA
Suggested By: boddagettaflyer, Photo Credit: Citroen