There are a million reasons to buy one car over another. If someone's sole criterion is owning a car with lots of horsepower, it doesn't make much sense to buy any 4-banger.
I own one car. It's my daily driver so it needs to be reliable and get good mileage. I like to drive, so peppiness and handling were second considerations. Finally, there's something to be said for a little customization no matter what kind of car you own. Just like landscaping your yard, home decoration or wearing the same colored socks, anything you spend lots of time around is a bit of an extension of yourself.
Fun, regardless of how inefficient the hp/$ is in modding.
p.s. my next car will be an mg or a fiat spyder, and I'll pour money into it even though I can't beat those 300 supercharged pontiac horses.
