[RedDevil]

Most of the 'luxury'stuff that gets built into modern cars is so cheap to buy for the manufacturer that it is easier to fit them in every car on the production line than to add a selection mechanism to be able to skip it for the few % of beater cars on that line.

A/C is the exception; that is even pricey per unit for the manufacturer, like maybe $200.

But A/C can actually make you drive more economically.
If your alternative is to crank the windows down on the highway you'd probably lose more on added aero drag than the A/C would have cost you.

And in these cold an damp mornings, I can start driving right away; the A/C defogs the windows almost immediately.
In my first few A/C less cars I needed to stop and wipe the inside regularly, until they were decently warmed up.

I use A/C to save fuel, like only when I can save fuel by using it.
I would not want to miss it.

My Nissan Almera could not be bought without A/C, one of the few cars in that segment at the time to have A/C as standard.
They had to.
It had the tendency to fog up badly and I needed the A/C at least half the time.
Nissan could have redesigned the ventilation system but they chose to cheap out and put A/C in every car.