I think Erik might prefer C
I prefer C when the cost is mainly engineering, I prefer assembler when the cost is parts.

For example, I one of my current products I saved ~$10 each on 1000 units/month by writing some assembler to make it fit a P89c668 without any external components instead of external RAM and CPLD.

It so happens that I wrote programs before C was available for the processors I worked with and assembler was the only way.

I have, in the past, written very large programs exclusively in assembler and I have written programs exclusively in C. I lean towards a mixed language use. My preference is the language that fit (that particular part of) the application.

Erik