[shovel]

I don't think there is anything nefarious going on. The customer isn't "brainwashed" and the manufacturers aren't forcing anyone to buy anything.

Like any company, they're trying to build what the customer will buy with a profit.

If they build a car that has only the necessities, as little weight as possible and a low powered engine so it gets 50+ mpg, now they have to sell the consumer a small, featureless, low-powered car. For a profit. They still spent the same millions of dollars designing, testing, etc that they would have on a loaded, powerful, masculine vehicle that's just dripping with profit-driving features - but on a little econo car they just can't ask you for much money because then you'll complain about how ford's econo car is more expensive than hyundai's econo car.

Similar to the movie industry.. Hollywood could produce great movies for $30,000 - hell download "Star Wreck - in the Pirkinning" and see what <$25k buys, it might surprise you. But the average consumer is so used to seeing superstar faces, bleedingest-edge visual effects, and multimillion dollar sets that even if they tried to scale back their ludicrous budgets and sell you a movie for $3.50, the average consumer would complain about how hokey it LOOKS without bothering to notice the story and substance of a cheap film can be every bit as good as those on an expensive one.

As long as people keep forking over money for excess, it's here to stay.