It hasn't gotten any better with modern vehicles, which have programmable controls, and in a way worse, by allowing different schemes to suit different markets, leaving some, like the U.S .to be configured with the simplest version like above, while the rest of the fixture (with elements that may be needed to satisfy others' regs) goes unused.
An example of this is a late model BMW SUV, which have large tail fixtures and ample room for discrete functions, but light up only two parts of it in U.S. spec.