I agree entirely about the brakes on pre '93s. I do not know if the upgraded ABS system works better, though it seems to. These older brake system will lock up on dry pavement, especially if you have one or more different tires.
I also very much agree about the safety of these cars. Some time ago I was attempting to pass a vehicle on a cold night while driving down a large back road in an SC. It was moving very slowly after a stop, so I took the pass easy. As I began moving back into the lane looking into my side view, I realized I did not have enough clearance & sped up, fast. With the radio & heat on + windows up, I had not realized at the time the vehicle was accelerating heavily to prevent my passing. After speeding up to complete the pass, I again started moving into the lane. It was then I realized how fast it was approaching, and I immediatly pressed the brakes and moved back into the left lane to slow down. Unfortunatley at this point I was well over eighty (speed limit of 55 + any normal pass will almost always put you up to at least 70 even in a Jeep). When I started moving back into my lane, my two front tires (at that time recently replaced with different kind than rear tires) began locking up, and I immedialty started loosing control of the vehicle. I backed off the brakes and was able to correct three times within the second before slamming head on into the 6 foot deep ditch at well over 80 miles an hour. The car flipped 6 times in the air, came back down on the drivers side hard, slid like that for 100 feet, then came perfectly to rest caught in the V of the ditch perpendicular to the road. After watching the vehicle speed by the scene, I immediatley unfastened my seatbelt and jumped out the broken drivers side window of my disabled door. The car looked like a train hit it from 3 sides, but I hadn't even a scratch. Even the safety belt functioned so well that I had no excessive force exerted on my body that entire time. This is unlike the accident which occured to me years back while a passenger in a Subaru wagon @ 40 mphs, in which the seatbelt nearly caused fluid buildup in my lungs, after letting me hit the dash. So yes, I agree that the car is safe.
To those who might be wondering; no. I never caught the vehicle, and even with its type & color, was never able to identify it with the police. I decided three things after this. I was buying another MN12, every pass that I executed in the future would be done as if the car beside me was a time bomb, and I would obtain the license plates, make, model & color of any car that attempted a similar dangerous driving maneuver in my presence again.. for the police.