[IKE]

Not all "ABS" tunings were created equal. Especially in the early days of ABS, they often had a tough time with low speed impending lock scenarios on slick surfaces. When Squirrel said the truck wouldn't let him stop, he wasn't kidding. I have driven several cars with early ABS that were great at high speeds (when the tone wheel is humming along and giving a great signal), but horrible at low speed when the signal starts to look more like a lock-up. ABS has gotten a ton better.

The same goes for any new technology. Airbags were actually pretty dangerous for small people when they first came out. That and IP rights kept them out of a lot of cars early on. Now with the sensors and multi-stage bags, pretty much every car has at least front bags, and many have curtains and all of these are much safer.

You could do similar good versus bad tuning stories for Traction Control, Stability control, engine and transmission calibrations... A good way to think about these technologies is your Car is similar to a competition robot. Early comp robots were mostly manual control with tethered switches turning the motors on and off. Often when a new piece of Tech is introduced, some teams do a good job integrating it, where as other do not. The same is often true with car tech.
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To bring this back to the OP of what car to buy:
I would not recommend buying "new tech" until it has the bugs worked out of it unless you have a lot of extra money and patience as both will likely be required. I am a big fan of 2nd year of production vehicles as they ahve fewer bugs than first year, and haven't had materials cheapened yet. I.E. If the car was new in 2001 MY, buy a 2002.
Almost every car has a forum (there is even a forum for dodge Stratus and avenger owners). Poke around the forum to know what problems to look for. As these are mass produced, vehicles often have a "known issue" that is either corrected or not. 4 cyl. subi head-gaskets, some vehicles have transmission issues, some have leaky AC systems. If you see it a lot in the forums, then it is a good thing to look out for.

Good luck and happy hunting.