As to the part of your question as to why they were built the way they were. The most important part of the answer is probably that it is what the state wanted, there is still a very very big chunk of the money coming from the state.Part 2 would be that it is what is available, its not as if there are a lot of car builders available these days. Why re-event the wheel with all the design work and testing of prototypes that would have to be done. Robbie