I recognize this is a somewhat rhetorical question and your point is well taken. But something that maps well is car makes and models:

- Is Ford Better than Chevy? (Comparison across providers) It depends on what you value, but I guarantee there's tribes that are sure there's only one answer.

- Is the 6th gen 2025 4Runner better than 5th gen 2024 4Runner? (Comparison of same model across new releases) It depends on what you value. It is a clear iteration on the technology, but there will probably be more plastic parts that will annoy you as well.

- Is the 2025 BMW M3 base model better than the 2022 M3 Competition (Comparing across years and trims)? Starts to depend even more on what you value.

Providers need to delineate between releases, and years, models, and trims help do this. There are companies that will try to eschew this and go the Tesla route without models years, but still can't get away from it entirely. To a certain person, every character in "2025 M3 Competition xDrive Sedan" matters immensely, to another person its just gibberish.

But a pure ranking isn't the point.