What happend to 'cockpit style' dashboards?

[ApexJimi]

Why has this style of dash gone the way of the dodo? Is it a crash protection issue?

For reference I'm talking about those dashboards / instrumentation clusters that are angled exclusively towards the driver. I'm thinking SAAB 9000, E30, RX7, Supra etc.

[ApexJimi]

Zod said:

BMW had one generation off them, but they're back now on every model.

It was actually the dashboards from the E36 / E39 onwards that got me thinking about this.