Owning a performance car used to come with certain compromises. You had to like coupes and possibly not having a back seat. Packing light was a must because cargo space was limited. Fuel economy was usually an afterthought. And reliability was a concept that many performance cars never seemed to embrace. But for all those trade-offs, you were rewarded with amazing acceleration and cornering abilities.

But now it’s 2016, and performance doesn’t have to come with compromise. Walking around the New York International Auto Show this year, I became aware of just how far each brand is pushing its performance cars. First, pick any body style you wish, from a small roadster like the Mazda MX-5 Miata RF all the way up to an SUV, like Mercedes’ AMG GLE63 S.

Then it’s on to the level of performance. Maybe it’s a Lexus F Sport model, which has the looks and power to keep you happy on the street, but is too soft for true high-performance driving. At the other end of the scale, we have the Dodge Viper ACR. With adjustable aero parts and a powerful V-10 engine, the Viper will be happy to make all your track-day fantasies come true. But with bodywork low enough to scrape on a pebble, it’s impractical to drive every day.

Performance also includes better fuel economy, which is being achieved with a helping hand from technology. Turbocharging, electric motors and advanced computers all help the old internal combustion engine achieve a combination of mileage and horsepower figures that were not possible even 10 years ago.

So while Google® and Apple® race to see who can build the most competent autonomous car first, traditional car makers are still betting on their hunch that you and I will want full control of a car that can get us there as fast as possible.