Disc and drum brakes can both be well-designed for their intended purpose, as long as they're also well-maintained. I always assumed that discs were better for linearity (feel), fade resistance, reliability (simplicity), and light weight, at the expense of higher cost. In these times of high precision machine tools being common, it's hard to imagine that the extra complexity of drums is still cheaper than discs, but this must reflect some sort of supplier economics oddity.
There's also the marketing aspect of discs being perceived as safer and sportier, and one often sees rear drums on the low trim models and discs on the higher-up models (even with the same engine, a la Accord I4 or Camry I4). I don't look forward to ever having drum brakes again, though, as they're troublesome, ugly, and old-fashioned. (Having said that, the front discs on my upscale Honda keep warping, but that's another story.)
There's also the marketing aspect of discs being perceived as safer and sportier, and one often sees rear drums on the low trim models and discs on the higher-up models (even with the same engine, a la Accord I4 or Camry I4). I don't look forward to ever having drum brakes again, though, as they're troublesome, ugly, and old-fashioned. (Having said that, the front discs on my upscale Honda keep warping, but that's another story.)