Michelins were always a bit hard for my liking. If mileage is your thing, Michelin is your tire.
Stan is probably on the right track about penny-pinchers, stats, and bottom-line accounting.
Vred also makes the Sprint+, which I mentioned before. Same 300 treadwear rating as the Sportrac5. This is a Grand Touring Summer tire rather than a High Performance Summer tire. They both have the same temperature restrictions, but the sizing availability stinks in the good old USA. The Sprint+ is more than twice as expensive for less tire than a Sportrac5?
How hard would it be to just churn some out, Vred? You already have the molds made, the tires have been available for YEARS in Europe, I mean seriously WTF!
If the tires cost 150-200 each, I'd still buy them, even though I got a whole set for less than $250...
I guess we're gonna have to buy a new set of Avons every year. Or suffer with touring tires.
The problem as I see it: Stan and I and a few others are firmly in the minority.