I know they're everywhere, but gawd, those things look unstable. Hit a pothole and over we go.
Much like the British 3-wheelers.
Actually, there were plenty of fairly austere vehicles out there, and the degree to which they flourished was subject to their value and performance, legislative restrictions and market popularity. Sometimes, austere was popular, and you paid more. Sometimes, austere was crap, and they disappeared, unless you lived in East Germany.