That said, I can certainly understand the appeal when put this way-- in part because it reminds me of the video game post I just made yesterday. Say what you will about it, a car like his Trans-Am certainly does have an immense amount of character: it has the same raw, "I don't give a damn" personality-filled manner of the old video games I enjoy so much.
I can also relate to what he says, because I see many of those same attributes in my 2003 350z; it has TCS/STM, but with the press of a button all "assists" (other than ABS) are totally defeated-- leaving you alone with the somewhat coarse vibration-filled V6, the throaty exhaust, the notchy 6-speed manual gearbox, the array of oil pressure and electric system analog guages, and the "modulate attack angle with the throttle, or just do donuts if you want" rear-wheel drive.
But that said, my car is a mid-point between his and the modern, so it also has the bubbly, ugly air bag-filled steering wheel and dash board. It is fuel-injected. It also has massive ninteen inch wheels, on which I have fitted a set of the absolutely marvelous "Michelin Pilot 4 S" tires-- although I consider that point to be a positive, not a negative, because my it means car's handling, braking, balance, and power are all in a nice harmony with one another.
And while we're at it, let me complain about something he didn't even mention: the addition of massive iPhone-like screens has completely and utterly ruined whatever was left of car interior aesthetics, to the point where I would never buy a car which has such a monstrous obelisk bolted onto or into the dash.