A lot of these features are in the category of options..nothing wrong w/ providing lots of options...dual zone climate control is an old option..been around at least 15 years. It seems to work, driver and passenger sides can be some degrees different without closing the vents...
The availability of what you label 'gadgets' is nothing new, cars have long offered a variety of options..over time, many options become standard. No one (or only a few luddites) wants a car today equipped the way a typical car was 50 years ago (vinyl interior, am radio, no a/c, manual everything).