I know the Tib does and the Sonata and most Mercs as well, what do you have against this? I think it is a huge bonus. Especially in the evening in the city when half the people are too dumb to remember to turn their headlights on.
I think you misunderstood my points:
1. I like the "Auto ON/OFF Headlights" feature very much. I have it in my Mazda3, but I miss it my Outlander. I consider it very helpful to avoid the situations you described (in bold in my quote from your post), which I often see on the roads.
2. I do not think that you are supposed to use your headlights in daylight except for the situations with low visibility (snow, heavy rain, fog, etc.). For normal weather conditions, the DRL are sufficient and this is what they are meant for and mandatory on all vehicles in Canada. What would be the reason to have them if you could use the headlights instead?
3. I do not agree with you that the majority of the vehicles in Canada have any taillights on with the DRL. The taillights only light up when the parking lights (I think this is how it's called the first position on the light stalk) or the headlights are turned on.
I drive every day on packed highways so I see hundreds of cars in my way, but I don't see any lights in the back of the cars (I'm talking broad daylight and I'm not talking brake lights). I will pay attention today in my way home.