Disc brakes are more powerful, but it's easier to add a parking brake to a drum brake. So the front wheels often gets disc brakes, as they do most of the braking anyway, and the rears get drum brakes.
No, they are inferior to disc brakes. Drum brakes were used from the beginning of the auto up until the late 60s. Drum brakes are more prone to overheating than disc brakes. Disc brakes also shed water much better than drum brakes which improves stopping distance in wet conditions. Disc brakes apply pressure more evenly than drum brakes thus improving stopping distance. Disc brakes are superior in every way.
There's no guarantee that they will. Disc brakes have a higher initial cost and are prone to heating more quickly than foundation drum brakes.
No. Drum brakes are large and contain the mechanism within them. Disc brakes are slim and use calipers to slow them down. Although both are very similar, disc brakes are more advanced and a better option for your car.
because disc brakes provide more uniform torque throughout than drum brakes during braking..
Disc brakes are actually preferred on vehicles because they cool more quickly then drum brakes, which allows them to be more effective at braking. However, many cars have rear drum brakes because they are cheaper and easier to replace, and as the rear brakes actually do not have much of an effect on overall braking, it is not necessary to have disc brakes.
Five advantages of disc brakes include that they are more reliable, more stable working, can be used on a variety of vehicles, are self adjusting, and the pads are next to the spinning rotor. Disc brakes are often chosen over drum brakes.
Front brakes provide about 70% of stopping force. Disc brakes have an advantage over drum brakes in that they can provide more stopping force without overheating (and thus loosing their stopping efficiency). I believe drum brake units are less costly to manufacture than disc brakes, so using them on the rear also saves manufacturing costs.
Disc brakes means less wear on the rim, more consistent braking in poor weather, and more powerful brakes overall. One finger on the lever is often enough.
This question needs to more specific. Disc or drum? Front or back?
There are several reasons, the main one relates to the weight transfer that occurs when applying the brakes, making the front wheel brakes work harder, thus needing more effective stopping power and more efficient cooling. It is basically a matter of cost. Drum brakes are cheaper to produce than disc brakes thus saving the manufacture money. Another reason is that on a vehicle without independent wheel suspension, as in a pick up truck, disc brakes are a little more difficult to design and produce. It all boils down to manufacturing costs. They will use drum brakes whenever they can.
Yes. Disc front/drum rear has been the most common configuration for many years, though disc front and rear is becoming more common among the manufacturers.