Your analogy doesn't fly with regards to Ford, because Ford has continued to make new cars from the 60s to today and there are competitors out there continuing to make cars in the budget/style (with evolution, of course).
The crux of the rant is that there is really no "middle of the road" update to what the Pronto did. Either you're going to buy yourself a complete control system or you're going to buy a ridiculous low end version (eg. Harmony).
Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity
