Yes I have to agree they were the aviation equivalent of the modern car. They seem to have been under the impression that being different meant ruling themselves out of the market as “people like what they know” rather than daring to be a little different and probably selling more because not everyone wants the same as the guy next door.

Yes, aviation was pretty conservative in the old days, but more to the point, the GA biplanes of the era were more a product of “state of the art” as opposed to a “me too” mentality.
Pushing the envelope in terms of fuselage construction would have meant RD and technical risk…which most small firms could not afford. Also, designers, factory workers and available tools were available for tube and fabric biplanes.