> Analog tach and speedo with idiot lights for critical alerts (there is literally an ISO standard for this) should be mandated by law. Substitute tach for a battery monitor in an EV.
You don't need a tacho. Some people add them in, like the Mini dashboard in the pic below, but they are absolutely not necessary. We managed fine without them for long enough.
https://treasuredcars.com/public/uploads/2019/10/22/mini_cla...
There you go, 1970 Mini, it's a 1275 version so it has an oil pressure gauge and an aftermarket rev counter.
Does your modern car actually *need* anything more exciting than that?
Compare these:
1982 Volvo, like I bought after I passed my driving test in the early 90s:
https://autopecas.norsider.pt/content/images/thumbs/136/1365...
2004 Range Rover P38A similar to the '97 I drive now although this is a NAS-spec cluster (like with the "unleaded fuel only" placard):
https://www.rangerovers.net/attachments/smartselect_20210517...
Notice something? Both have the fuel gauge, Volvo has a clock but posh models had a tacho, Rangie has a tacho, then both have the speedo, then the temperature gauge.
The Volvo has the idiot lights along the top, the Range Rover has them along the bottom - and in the middle a 20x2 LCD (which in that one looks a bit worse for wear) which shows the odometer, gear selection, and occasionally lies about fault conditions.
Doesn't it remind you a little of how aircraft have a standard "Six Pack" layout for the flight instruments?
We should do it this way.
See also Mercedes W115 and W123 240D. Even the ones with a manual transmission had a clock where the tach would go. The speedometer had a series of dots at particular speeds that indicate the shift points for each gear (e.g. 1 dot for 1-2 shift, 2 dots for 2-3, 3 dots 3-4). I'm not sure whether a tach was even an option. The higher spec models had them, though.
My W123 230TE definitely had a tach, and also the shift point dots, and a 3-speed thirstymatic.
I wish I still had it.