This is so true. My car is the last generation of 3 series that has the classic BMW amber gauges (doesn't kill night vision) and no iDrive (terrible series of spins, pushes, and clicks to do something simple like change the radio station to a CD track). I've been in family member's newer BMWs with white gauge lighting and screens all over the place (dash and cluster) and a distinct lack of dedicated buttons that I can use without looking at a screen while driving. I hate it.
BMW started to include more configurable buttons. I think that is a good idea having the best of both worlds: Keys for the functions /you/ need most often, and not a ocean of keys for every possible thing.
Too often usability is sacrificed for design. White lights are not the worst in this sense. For example:
Audi has red lights, which, as some people believe, makes aggressive.
VW has blue lights. This is absolutely terrible, as the human eye can not focus blue very well. Extra fuzzy numbers!
The worst thing I ever saw in that regard was a rental: Light gray dashboard. I had to cover it with dark t-shirts, otherwise I wasn't able to see the road!
