Blast From The Past: Digital Car Dashboards From The '80s [20 Pics]

We often write about the retro video games from the ’80s, but there are other things the ’80s were notorious for too. Aside from the big hair, parachute pants and shoulder pads, there were colorful digital car dashboards. I was too young to drive during those digital dashboard years, but I remember riding in sports cars that had the most tricked out controls.

They don’t make dashboards like this anymore, and it’s a nostalgic blast from the past to see these photos from a time when car dashboards looked like video games. In an article called Flash Dance: Digital Dashboards of the 1980s, author Avi Abrams put together an outrageous collection of digital car dashboards. They were so fabulous that I decided to share a sampling of them with you here today.

Back in the ’80s it seems like everything was colorful. Whether it was the sparkling disco balls, leg warmers or these car dashboards, people liked flashy things. It’s interesting how today it’s almost the opposite since minimalist designs and fashions are the trend. If you click over to the source article (linked above), you can read the story behind most of these dashboards.

The car dashboards in the ’80s were inspired by television shows, movies and other things that dominated our attention. I think most of us have heard of “Knight Rider,” which was a television show that came out in 1982. That car had the most tricked out dashboard ever, and it even had a little AI incorporated into it. Knight Rider was the inspiration for many dashboards.

Also Darth Vader, video games and even the colors on a synthesizer were inspiration for these colorful designs. The first photo below is definitely my favorite. Driving that car would be like playing a real life video game. Too bad they don’t make car dashboards like these anymore!