you can tweak them pretty effectively, and there's the ease of learning to do it. i'm not a mechanic by any means, but i've taken classes on basic small engine stuff, and it's logical and fairly easily learned. the new computerized engines are much more difficult for the amateur to tweak. the other advantage to the older cars (besides aesthetics) is the raw power and throaty roar. i'll never get tired of hearing that.
the new ones, though, are just so much lighter and safer; not to mention more efficient and quicker. if i accelerate like a complete leadfoot, i still get almost 30 MPG, and if i drive normally, i do better than that. they are starting to abandon the gray plastic unremarkable interiors that made 1990s sports cars so blah, also. and the tech in the cabin is awesome. i don't notice how much i rely on it until i get into my old Jeep. and my newest car is 2010; the new cars out now have made incredible leaps and bounds just in three years.
i'm happy to see the progress. i was afraid that i was doomed to an adulthood where every car looked like a 1999 Civic. but ****, even the Civics look better now.
One draw back to now cars is the lack of unique creative body design. If you look at cars - particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, the freedom in aesthetic appearance and variety is FANTASTIC! Now because of safety demands (is there anything that could hook a pedestrian) and aerodynamics, for most cars I have no clue even what country the brand is, let alone what brand, it is until I see the emblem. Cars such as the Cooper (my Mrs. has a classic British mini) are distinct, and so are cars such as Camaros, Challengers, Mustangs etc. But for MOST cars and SUVs, there is little that separated them in appearance.
They have GREATLY improved interiors from the super cheapie plastic.
As for the ride and handling, most people have no clue how much computers not only designed it and the vast levels of testing, but also how much computers are actually controlling the car including suspension.
The Cooper is German made and Germans are INTENSELY into using computers to blend performance, ride and handling to computer controls. The computers are doing everything possible to try to keep you from crashing AND to try to get the car to do what YOU want it to do. Their computer systems even are analytical, keeping record of how YOU personally drive, so to best calculate what to do with the motor, transmission and brakes to match your personality. It is all quite amazing and I had no clue until I really started researching it with the used German (MB) I recently got.
For example, if the sensors detect you are taking a corner TOO fast, it will be applying the brakes and down-powering the motor, whether you touch the brakes or not. The analytical aspect, however, is "thinking" about how you usually drive to determine if you are trying to take the corner at maximum speed (performance driving) OR if you screwed up and something is wrong because you NEVER drive your car that fast around corners. SO... if you want your Cooper to be the most peppy, every now and then you need to punch it or take a curve a tad fast - so the computer "knows" this is one part of your driving personality.
The MB I have was a 1 owner who was a radical speed freak and had the car radically modified including the computer system. The computer "knows" the driver is a speed lunatic - and I'm still not used to it. If I even somehow punch it, the car goes absolutely berserk for which, in 7 milliseconds (how long it takes the turbos to spool up to whooping 26 psi) it throws the transmission down to maximum torque (over 1000 foot pounds!) and does everything the car can to reach maximum hp (790) and then throws it back to maximum torque. It is more than I can handle and is unusable unless I want one of those tickets that no one ever wants to get (or I rear end someone).
No, I don't like that if I lift the hood, other than checking the oil and water there isn't a thing anyone but an MB factory computer tech can work on, but modern cars are vastly superior by every measure.