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I smoke like a dragon inside and outside my car. I need a place to put my ash and butt. How come automakers aren't willing to accommodate the smoking crowd anymore?
A couple of reasons. As McKinney said, airbags got in the way. Way back in the late 80's / early 90's, the government told auto manufacturers to either install side airbags, or auto seatbelts in their cars. Going the cheap route, they rolled out auto seatbelts. When side airbags became mandatory years later, they ditched the seatbelts.
There was also an issue with selling the vehicles in other countries. Canada, for example, had higher safety regulations than the US at the time -- making cars with auto seatbelts nearly ineligible to import in Canada.
Then there were the safety issues. When the powered part of the belt was attached to the door, if the car got into an accident that forced the door open, the driver / passenger could potentially be ejected. There was also an issue with people not wearing the lap belts (which had to be put on manually). In a collision, without a lap belt, people would actually go UNDER the powered belt, causing further injuries. Lastly, some people got annoyed by the powered belts, and simply unhooked them (using only the lap belt). For obvious reasons, this caused more injuries in the event of a wreck.
With stronger cars, and more airbags, they're an obsolete technology.
EDIT:
Most cars with manual seatbelts have the ability to move the shoulder part up or down, adjusting for driver height (though it's not required, so many cheaper cars go without it). With non-adjustable shoulder height seatbelts (or powered seatbelts), short drivers find the belt going across their neck (which is obviously not safe).
THIS. Also it's worth noting some car manufactures are starting
To phase out the adjustability of the seat belts because most people
Adjust them for comfort and not optimal crash protection
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