Even a Miata can handle snow with modern snow tires until it's ground clearance isn't high enough anymore.

Most people don't like maintaining two sets of wheels for summer and winter, nor do they get enough snow to justify having a full set of winter tires. For light snow and plowed roads, AWD and all season tires work well enough.

Yes, people are lazy and don't want to shell out $500 for a second set of tires and $100 a year to swap them on and off. They'd rather be out in the puckerbrush off the road because they try driving in snow and slush on "all-weather" tires...

The first snow storm of the year is a great day for the wrecker companies.

That's assuming you're willing to run winter tires on your summer wheels, which you probably aren't given the trend of big wheels, narrow sidewalls. You're probably going to want a set of smaller steel wheels for the winter.

AWD is usually a <$1500 option which makes it really competitive against a second set of wheels and tires.

If you need AWD to get moving, that's kind of dangerous, since it doesn't increase your ability to stop.

I think most people just want the AWD to get in/out of their driveway, then you're on plowed roads and the AWD doesn't really make a difference anymore.

Plus, AWD+snow tires is still better than FWD/RWD+snow tires. It's not always an either-or situation.

I suppose but I find that AWD is generally a crutch that most people don't need at all, and those that think they do just don't want to use proper winter tires and endanger others on the road as a result.

The amount of people who actually need AWD in addition to proper equipment, is probably a minuscule fraction of the people who think they need it.

I specify winter tires instead of snow tires because it's not just about snow, it's about temperature as well. All-season tires are generally pretty good about this, compared to summer tires, but once you get to 10F or less, most all-season tires (maybe all of them?) are about as good as driving on rocks.