Hood ornaments were a thing with thieves. Especially kids who were stealing them and using them for necklaces or bracelets. Cadillac hood ornaments were quite popular.
GM, Ford & Chrsyler are most focused on making higher profits and they have been known to put profits over quality and safety,. We saw this with the Ford Pinto. Lee Iacocca who greenlighted the Ford Pinto said customers didn't care about safety. Also, Ford didn't want to spend money fixing this problem with the Pinto