It has definitely changed. If I had those sorts of options as a kid, I may well have picked a career that had to do with automotive engineering or something.
They do things like write complete engine maps for specific setups. They have all this data available and so many possible things to configure.
I smashed my femur in a vehicle wreck (I was a passenger) and was unhappy that I'd have to give up my beloved third pedal. So, I called up BMW and told 'em my problem and told 'em that I was thinking about leaving the brand for an AMG. They came over with an M6, sans competition package, and I fell in love with the dual-clutch automatic-manual (flappy paddles).
In the audio you heard, that's actually still just the above mentioned loaner (without the competition pack). I slowed down my rate of acceleration and was pretty much three times the posted speed limit when I finally let off completely. By the time you're shifting out of 2nd, you're going 60 mph.
I thought I'd hate all the automated stuff, but I can disable traction control and leave it in purely automatic mode - and just mash the gas pedal and it'll rip the thing out sideways and keep smoking the rear tires until they pop. It's so configurable, between the many settings for traction and stability control, steering inputs, transmission behavior, etc...
And that transmission? It's delicious! I've been to advanced driving schools around the country - and on tons of tracks. No human alive shifts faster than it does. It's amazing. I expected to hate it, 'cause I do love me a manual transmission. Instead, I absolutely love it.
Don't get me started on the carbon ceramic brakes! They literally catch on fire - and this is considered normal. They explicitly tell you to not worry about it unless they stay on fire for more than 30 seconds. I'm not even kidding. They deal with heat that well. It takes all of like 92' to stop it from 60 mph.
I fucking love modern cars!
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