A few points to make:
1)
Price Snobbery.
I am quite sure that somewhere there is a forum where Rolex wearers sling off at people who wear Timexes or look at the time on their mobiles.
Reality check, people. Quality flashlights are a tool for a certain type of tradesman, and really expensive flashlights are a token of affluence.
2)
The Reverse is Actually Happening.
I could actually mount the depressing argument that flashlight quality available to the general public has gone backwards over the years.
At least in Australia, there is nothing available, even in high-end camping stores, that even approaches the quality of a D cell Maglite.
There are cheap 2AA, 4AA, 2D plastic things, and anyone who needs a real torch buys an Eveready Dolphin.
But back to my theme. 20 Years ago, you could buy metal 2D, 3D, 4D, 5D and even 8D torches, metal 2C torches, sealed beam throwers, torches with variable focus, metal reflectors and glass lenses. In any local hardware store.
Not any more. Disposable plastic rules the shelves.
And camping stores? Mini-Mag knock-offs and 9-LED junque.
3)
Availability 1.
I show my lights to people, and jaws drop. People are interested, but until torches with Crees and Xenon drop-ins appear at Big W or Bunnings, they will continue to regard them as stuff of the future.
4)
Availability 2.
You people in the USA, count yourselves lucky.
To look down on a D-cell Maglite tells me you have the luxury and priviledge to encounter something better.
To Australian eyes, a Maglite is a ruinously expensive extravagance, and of jaw-dropping quality. I have never ever laid eyes on a MagLED, and the price of one of those here is too high even for a flashoholic.
Other brands further upmarket than Maglite are unknown outside very specialist circles.
5)
Net Worth.
In recent years, electricity supplies have become increasingly more reliable. Blackouts are rare. Nightlights are plugged into powerpoints. Light pollution in our cities means that urban dark often isn't that dark.
Street lighting has improved. Cars are more reliable, and often have "limp home" capability. Doing without a torch is a risk like carrying no spare tyre - a risk people are prepared to accept.
The point I am getting at is the value, to the average city dweller, of a torch is less now than it used to be.