In my opinion there is danger in those touch screens. With a knob for fan, temp and direction of flow I never have to take my eyes off the road and try to focus on the screen and touch the right spot while bouncing down the road. The glow from the screen doesn't help my night vision either.
Great post, Bigfoot Dave
^^ This. Any function that is necessary to manipulate while driving should require minimal 'taking my eyes off the road'.
The guy who thought it is a good idea for touch screen wiper/defrost/fan/ et.al. controls should be hung by his thumbs.