The problem I have with this is twofold. First, the DS guy doesn't want to ditch touchscreens because of the potential danger in having both such a large and distracting screen or screens in the drivers eyeline, and the difficulty in operating controls on it. No, he wants to ditch them because they are not sexy when switched off!. Second, what would they be replaced with?. Given he is only concerned about the aesthetics, could whatever the touchscreens are replaced with be even more distracting?

Time was when a measure of the quality of your motor was the number of buttons and knobs on the dashboard. How times change! I hope we don't return to this.

ICE, wipers, lights, cruise control and gears (auto paddles) can all be operated without moving hands from wheel.

The only thing I may occasionally change when on the move is climate control - although usually just leave this at a constant setting.

Separate knobs and switches will no doubt increase costs and probably failures - more hardware, more wires, visually cluttered. Other settings - sat nav defaults, clock, door locks, station search, etc do not normally need to be operated on the move anyway..

The best ancillary controls are those which (a) fall easily to hand; (b) are intuitive rather than wacky, and (c) don't need to be looked at whilst operating - better still, are actually out of direct sight, meaning that a driver is unlikely to take eyes off the road to look for them and is more likely to learn the position and operation from muscle memory, like typists of old.
No-one looks at the indicator or wiper stalk these days, and the main light switch is either a twist of the former or a good solid rotary knob near the wheel. (Even with automatic lights, we need to switch them on in fog!)
I much prefer a "pod" for ICE controls, as steering wheel buttons are rarely intuitive and if the wheel is anything other than straight ahead, fiddly to use. Citroën were decades ahead of the competition with the ancillary pods on the Visa, GSA and CX, but for some reason they died out. Frankly, I wouldn't miss in-car touchscreens if they were abolished tomorrow.

I hate touchscreens, mostly because I don't seem to have the skill to actually press the right buttons. I don't understand the climate thing, though. Other than the demister, why would you need to change it? I just put mine on 20 and leave it.

I thought "Touchscreens to go" was either an IT delivery service, or a removable touchscreen, (android or apple?)

I is a little ironic that DS wants to do away with touchscreens. I watched a video review of the new DS 4, and while the reviewer (Rory Reid, ex Top Gear presenter) was very impressed with the car overall, he really wasn't impressed with the infotainment system and touchscreens saying it was very awkward and not intuitive at all!.

But I remember reading that if there is a small ledge or shelf right below the touchscreen, it makes it much easier to use because you can use your pinky to steady your hand making it easier to hit whatever you are aiming for.