I concur
I, too, have no hard data, but the influence of Hollywood can't be discounted in the rise in popularity of full-cap autos, although I don't think that is the entire answer. Hollywood lives on presenting eye candy to the public (the plot/storyline is a secondary consideration), so they need things that are flashy, such as 15-plus-round handguns. It's a lot of fun to the uninformed to watch character A shoot umpteen times at character B, usually missing all but once or twice, and not have to reload.
One of the worst movies I have seen this demonstrated in was "Desperado" (the ONLY good thing about that movie was Salma Hayek--what a sight to behold is she, but I digress). The Antonio Bandaras character was constantly spraying rounds and often missing. If you look closely at the movie, it's easy to see why: The muzzles of his pistols were waving like flags in the wind while he was shooting.
Someone above mentioned that he hopes autos continue to be popular because that will keep the price of revolvers in check; I do too. I just picked up a S&W 19 this week in what looks to me to be great shape from my local gun shop. I wouldn't call it a steal at $300, but it wasn't a bad price either, I think (hope). They also had a used S.S. GP100 3" .357 I may pick up for $270, although I've seen them cheaper in Denver.
DAL