I think it's a bit different, though, in SUVs and trucks, where the emphasis seems to be a bit more on tire capabilities to match the purpose of the vehicle.
CAFE standards have ruined that, IMO. Unless you get a high end offroad package, most of the SUVs and trucks come with light highway tires. Even my 4Runner (TRAIL EDITION mind you) came with crappy Bridgestone all season highway tires. I mean, I guess they were okay on the highway, but I actually posted here about what they did to me when offroad in Death Valley a few years ago, after which I spent the dough on LT rated all terrain tires, even though I easily had 30K more miles on the OEM tires.
Same with my F150. It actually has really good Michelin tires... for the road. Since I've been on my place here, I've gotten three flats just on my gravel and rock roads around the farm. Tons of tread life left, but this month I'm putting LT all terrain tires on that too.
*I also fail to understand how folks can look at a two ton machine, hurtling down the road at 80 MPH or more, kept in control by four contact patches that are 7 or 8 sqins at best, and think "Yep. That's the spot I'm going to save some money on."
This times one thousand. The way I look at it, about the only thing that can go wrong on my vehicles and kill me are the brakes catastrophically failing or the wheels/tires catastrophically failing. I will never skimp on tires, and also replace them well before they get sketchy.