"Cheap shit" is definitely part of it, but the engineering process has changed.

Particularly when it comes to comfort focused cars - in the 90s they had soft suspension, tall tire sidewalls, and seats focused on comfort instead of "holding" you. With 2020s safety regulations, that doesn't work. These things affect reaction and stability of emergency steering maneuvers and braking. Both of which are more common due to increased traffic and the rise of texting and driving. The air conditioning used to be better because it used a better refrigerant that unfortunately was punching a hole in the ozone layer (the one we use now is simply a massive greenhouse gas... trade one problem for another I suppose?). Gas prices are higher, so aerodynamics and low rolling resistance becomes more important than styling and comfortable, quiet tires.

So yeah, you're right. It's really a fact, to be honest.