New Delhi, Dec. 15 -- Hopes that a landmark cut in federal taxes would provide a lifeline to struggling small cars like Maruti Alto, Spresso and Renault Kwid have been dashed, with latest sales data showing buyers continuing to favour bigger, more expensive vehicles. The trends come in the backdrop of an intensifying tussle between carmakers over policy support for small cars under upcoming emission norms. In October-November, data released on Friday by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed that mini cars cumulatively grew just 3% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 22,415 units, compared to 17% (to 2,07,180 units) for compact SUVs of less than 4 metre length. To be sure, both numbers reversed declines seen in the first six month...