I think you are right about the marketing decision as it was to confusing for people to figure out if they were getting a 4200 series scope or a 3200 series scope. Bushnell did this when they decided to trim down the Elite line. I spoke with someone at Bushnell about the 1.5-6 x 36 Elite regarding why they were removing it from the line-up and they said it just didn't sell well enough to keep making it.
