That's a PNW perspective Kevin...you guys need large saw motors and long bars......you would have little use for a saw less then 80cc.....much of the rest of the world doesn't need an 80cc saw.......the trees are not that big so the saws don't need to that large either. In most of Maine a 20" bar is considered a large/long bar...many full time pro cutters run 16-18" bars on a 60+cc saw...no need for a longer bar and larger saw motor....just extra weight to throw around limbing and a longer bar is a lot more dangerous in a thick brush pile. But that is not to say the smaller saws are necessarily or need be of an inferior build. The old Jonsereds company ( before most of the 4XX and 5XX series) considered practically all their saws Professional saws....if they didn't it was either obvious (like a Lil' Jon) or they said so...hence the 49SP.....built on a professional series platform to be able to do a full days work but reduced slightly in power and longevity to appeal to a semi professional market but not to be confused with a light duty homeowner special like a Craftsman or Poulan etc.
With all due respect, many Poulan & Poulan re-badged for Craftsman models around the time of the 49SP were designed to be workhorses. And that includes some of the Poulan saws utilizing plastic parts. Poulan even had Jonsered--and many other manufacturers--beat in the top-handled chainsaw market for a very long time. IIRC the light duty "homeowner" Poulan saws came along later. To my knowledge there is no distinct timeline for the end of "good" Poulan models and the flood of homeowner models; the transition was gradual and there is considerable overlap.
With that said, Jonsered did manage to stay away from the smaller light duty homeowner saw market for a very long time. I'm not sure which company (my guess is Electrolux) decided to offer the 'lesser' Poulan models badged as Jonsered and Husqvarna.
I'm not trying to talk up Poulan (some of their models definitely deserve the bad reputation they have), or bash Jonsered. It simply wouldn't be fair for some folks to think that the 49SP didn't have any competition from Poulan at the time.