Looks like somebody clicked on this. I didn't because on my old computer it said I had a virus when I clicked on an IQ test. I shut computer off and rebooted and it was fine again. Last time I took an offline IQ test it was rather high, but I don't remember the score.  My high school math teachers use to make me tutor my classmates in Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry.  Does that count?

And this is why the buying public can be just so confounding, you'd bet money that a certain performance sedan would be  a shoe in for easy sales and then they don’t show up because this or that is wrong with the car…. (Caddy CT4/CT5?) 

Fascinating, that's one of those things where you wouldn't immediately think that way, you wouldn't automatically assume the bronco appealed to a lot of mustang enthusiasts. But the more you think about it, the more sense it starts to make, a lifestyle heritage model from Ford with retro styling, and relatively decent performance for the money. There's a lot of overlap there.    I think Farley has been watching the market pretty closely, and is seeing there's relatively resilient for a performance sedan both among enthusiast consumers, and groups like police fleets who are still using chargers and starting to buy mustang GTS more. 

I wonder if this new PHEV will have Pro Power Onboard. It would strengthen its appeal.

The insane part is that there probably is a hardcore RWD car niche market that Ford could easily fill with a four door based off the Mustang’s platform. All the elements have been there for years but Farley and Ford gave us a hint at priorities when Bromco was launched - the biggest demographic  open to buying a Bronco came from Mustang owners….. So yeah, Maybe Mr. Farley was cautious about offering the car knowing that eyes could be distracted from those lucrative Bronco sales? …I wonder if that view is starting to change?

Avoid importation? I have a feeling that the Bronco Sport made at Valencia will be for Europe and ROW markets only and that a US evolution of that vehicle gets built at Hermosillo as a second generation Bronco Sport. Thinking about the new Bronco Sport length vs Escape: Current Bronco Sport length 172” Current Ecape Length 178”   First generation boxy Escape length 173” 2005-2007  boxy Escape Length 174.9” 2nd Gen boxy Escape length 174.7”   thinking logically, a new Bronco Sport that’s 175”-176” long is still technically shorter than the latest Escape but would probably work much better at convincing Escape buyers to try it…exactly what Ford wants.    

It's not a premium. The only options were the wheels and the paint, vapor blue, was a 450(!) dollar option. I liked the color so much, and I didn't want another grayscale car, I ponied up for the paint.

We've said that for years.  It's always been that way thanks in part to high labor costs.  The only reason they kept building them in the 80s, 90s and 2000s is because of UAW contracts and CAFE benefits.  That's also the reason they didn't care about platform costs.  They didn't expect them to be profitable.   The only difference is you're saying they just quit making them and we're saying they replaced or are replacing most of them with new better products.  

Your just moving the goal posts bringing up products that where stopped being made 30-40 years ago with acknowledging that the market has changed in several different ways during that time.    Small cars haven’t made a profit for the big three for over 45 years…why would they do so now? 

It's too affordable for Americans to want.