There are plenty of interesting, fun-to-drive new models on the market in nearly every category...on the condition that you're looking at the right price point.
>It seems like every automotive engineering decision since the 80s has been dominated by occupant safety and comfort, and fuel efficiency, to the detriment of everything else.
Yes, of course. Regulators (and hence automakers) have realized that a failure to continue to optimize on these features implies an unnecessarily high mortality rate associated with vehicle usage, either directly (in accidents) or indirectly (through pollution and climate change). And for what it's worth: The type of whining you're doing here isn't helpful to the auto enthusiast community -- it comes off as ignorant and entitled to non-enthusiasts.
>It seems like every automotive engineering decision since the 80s has been dominated by occupant safety and comfort, and fuel efficiency, to the detriment of everything else.
Yes, of course. Regulators (and hence automakers) have realized that a failure to continue to optimize on these features implies an unnecessarily high mortality rate associated with vehicle usage, either directly (in accidents) or indirectly (through pollution and climate change). And for what it's worth: The type of whining you're doing here isn't helpful to the auto enthusiast community -- it comes off as ignorant and entitled to non-enthusiasts.