I have had my side view mirrors setup like this for years and it isn't always better.
The first problem is that you cannot see your car in the side view mirror. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but it can be difficult to judge where everything in the mirror is positioned if you don't have a reference point. You get used to this.
The second issue is that if you have a big straight long line of cars behind that are close together (e.g. traffic on the interstate is at a crawl), you can not see far back on either side of your lane since your mirrors are pointed out and your center mirror is mostly consumed by the vehicle behind you. This makes it difficult to safely merge out of your lane in this situation.
You're right about that, but I don't usually find myself in such situations too often, and when I do I just move my head to get a better view straight back (either side/rear). I find blind spots much more dangerous :D.
The first problem is that you cannot see your car in the side view mirror. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but it can be difficult to judge where everything in the mirror is positioned if you don't have a reference point. You get used to this.
The second issue is that if you have a big straight long line of cars behind that are close together (e.g. traffic on the interstate is at a crawl), you can not see far back on either side of your lane since your mirrors are pointed out and your center mirror is mostly consumed by the vehicle behind you. This makes it difficult to safely merge out of your lane in this situation.