My current car has an emergency spare. For me, that is an absolute minimum requirement. I simply will not buy a car without a spare. If that means I will be driving this or a similar older car forever, so be it.
I think there are two drivers behind this trend: Increasingly restrictive fuel consumption goals are forcing manufacturers to look for eight savings everywhere and, of course, elimination of a component is a profit opportunity.
In the same vein, I am certain that the sourcing and installation of a touch screen, widely touted as a feature, is far cheaper as a manufacturing process than the procurement, wiring and separate installation of an array of mechanical and electromechanical controls for heating, AC, radio tuning and volume, CD or tape controls etc. Of course, in addition to necessitating looking away from the road instead of making adjustments by feel, replacement of the whole (expensive) assembly instead of a single malfunctioning switch is a highly profitable service opportunity.
The last vehicle that I owned that had a real wheel and tire as spare was a 2003 Toyota Sequoia. While it had its faults that led to eventual replacement - bulk, fuel consumption (13 mpg average at best) and the need to remove and store the heavy 3rd row seats to use the full capacity, it gave up nothing in fit and finish compared to the '94 Mercedes wagon that it replaced.
EM