airbags aren't any cheaper here in the States. But to pay the medical bills that result from not having an airbag is much more than two month's salary.

Slamnasty has it right. There are multiple considerations, and while some of you claim you'd spend the money for a specific feature, the economics don't make any sense from a production standpoint. And marketing flacks are wrong as much as they are right. The people who make these decisions always think they know what they are doing, but the reality is they are often clueless.