The MP1515, 161, 171 are incredible engines, they just run and run without a hicup, I have a few of these that are running 3-5K every month and one was just traded in that had over 200K on the meter. It's not a money maker for the sales person, however it fills the gap when you are replacing a fleet and need a few lv devices that can print, scan, copy and fax.
Think of it this way, if you didn't have these devices in the line-up, your customer may look elsewhere to fill the void and alas they may stumble upon another vendor.
fisher's right, Ricoh dropped the ball on A4 two years ago (I was in a NE region meeting with Ricoh and Engineers from Japan, trying to decide if they needed and A4 device). I also agree that the reincarnated 171 needs a bigger screen and needs some sizzle. Embedded PSIII and DOSS will not make me jump up and down, however the speed increase to 20ppm was a surprise.