Well, you "asked" for comments so ...
Oil bath air filters are still in use in applications where there is potential for a lot of dust. One of the benefits of an oil bath over a paper air filter is constant air flow to the carb. As paper air filters plug up with dust the amount of air getting to the carb will go down. Haven't personally found my oil bath filter to be messy, but that's certainly a personal opinion.
If you really believe that auto manufacturers usually make decisions such as this for reasons having to do with superior technology rather than cost, I have a bridge over the Ohio here in Paducah that I could let you have REAL cheap. :p
