Actually these MP cams were designed in the 60's and 70's and really have nothing to do with saving money. They were made for Mopar by Racer Brown originally and they were part of a package that Mopar would put out for the street cars and bracket racers for use in building good performance package. They would recommend the eng parts to use for stuff like a 12 second and 11 second build and so on. So Mopar had these cams ground to work for budget street racers and bracket racers. You could buy the cams themselfs and use them how ever you liked. But if you looked in the MP books they would have different builds in the books for big and small blocks and anywhere from 14 second to 10 second builds. And they all used one of the MP cams.
I believed they felt it really helped the average hot rodder in helping them select a cam for their Mopar build. Yes they are good cams and were some of the best back when they were put out. Today there are better cams but there is still nothing wrong with the MP cams if they fit your build.
I guess what I am trying to say is back when they were put out there was not alot of cams to use and these were good selection that Mopar recommended. But today there are alot more cams out there and alot more eng builders to help hot rodders select a cam for their build.
Bottom line is that yes the MP cams work fine and yes there are better cams to choose from nowadays so it is up to you or your eng builder to choose a cam. Nothing wrong choosing one of the Mopar cams if you feel like it fits your bill but you have many more modern cams to choose from now.

I myself like to use some of the MP cams in my budget builds as they work fine in the right combo. I used the .484 cam in a very mild 383 Dart and I really liked it. It ran 12.30's with 3.91's and was just a basic stock 383 with 9.5 comp and the normal bolt on's........headers , Eddy intake , Holley carb and MP ign.
I also used the .557 cam in my old 440 that was in my 63 and it was a mild 440 that ran a best of 11.49 @ 116.
I would suggest that if you dont know alot about cams talk with your eng builder or one of the reputable shops in your area about choosing the right cam for your combo. Ron