That’s why god made AAA.
Peace,
mangeorge
Sort of touching on the OP, I think there are two reasons many (most?) cars have four-lug wheels. For one thing, cars are lighter now than they were in the past. I suspect that the lighter cars put less side-load on the wheels, so there is no need for five lugs. But I think the primary reason might be cost. How much does a lug nut cost? I don’t know. But there are 20 of them on a five-lug car, and only 16 on a four-lug car. Multiply that by the number of cars a company makes, and that would add up to significant savings.
Of course, I know nothing about the subject, so I may be wrong.
I also owned a car with three lug nuts. It was a Renault 17 Gordidi with a targa top. Very unusual car.