There is nothing inherently wrong with the simple, well tried, & thoroughly proven, leaf spring "design." They locate the axle both longditudinally, & transversly, without any added linkages, & they provide the springing medium, all in one crudely engineered, low cost, package.
It aint rocket science, but in a car who's real selling point was it's low low price, this basic system has a lot to offer.

All we need to do with leaf springs, is make sure that we get the best from them.

Anyone have a source for the interleaf, friction reducing, material?