Interesting. I crossed the border via car into and out of CH multiple times in 2000-2001 and never saw any form of passport control or even an inspection station. They were still doing it on trains, though? I wonder why.

(I did a bit more reading, and it seems that I should have encountered border checks between Switzerland and Germany or France when I was there, but I distinctly remember noticing there were no signs of the border aside from a sign and the telltale patches in the asphalt under which, rumor had it, explosive devices for Swiss defense purposes lay...)