This is all very true. Just watch a movie from the 1970s with a car chase, and note the way cars roll around through turns, squeal, and oversteer. They looked good but drove terrible.
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Haha, yah, the 70s and early 80s American cars were especially bad. That’s what we call the Malaise Era. A combination of stiff new fuel economy and emissions laws (due to the OPEC crisis and smog respectively) combined with no overseas competition made the Big 3 very complacent and defeatist. They produced some truly terrible cars during this time while raking in record profits
Meanwhile the signs were there that they were about to get their lunch eaten by Japan and Germany. Cars like the ‘70s BMW 2002s were really excellent. Drove great, looked great, lots of fun, and were very efficient on fuel and emissions. Detroit would spend another decade or so stomping their feet and complaining that the new rules made good cars impossible, meanwhile we all started driving Toyotas and VWs. 
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