Actually I believe that we can thank the glorious imports and thier "option packages" for this. There was a time when you could oder a new car and go down the list and select only the options that you wanted. Of course this meant that line workers actually had to look at the "build sheet for each vehicle and conciously recognize that either this particular car got the option or it did not.
In the interest of "efficiency" the foreign manufactureers created "trim levels" LE, SE, etc. These cars all have the saem option groups and the buyer can't add or subtract from them. Thus if you want anything better than the econo-model you need to egt power windows AND (not OR) locks, etc.
Back in the good old days you could order power locks and manual windows if you wanted. It was called individualism and freedom of choice.