A Raptor Transit??  

Very true, we had a handful of extremely passionate Sport/ST buyers. Even did some simple custom graphics for one of our Edge ST buyers, he loved the logo and wanted it on his windshield, so we made him a couple vinyls of the ST logo. Edge definitely needed a hybrid, and even a slightly de-tuned 2.7 for the high Titanium packages as an available would have been nice. The things that could have been...

F-650 Raptor?

But the industry data doesn't support that theory.   A lot of people are also trading up to a Maverick from a small car.  Yes some are downsizing but large truck sales aren't going down so just as many are also trading up.   You're not wrong that some are doing that, just not enough to say it's an industry trend

I think everything is being a little biased here, but I'm referencing the success of things like that maverick. 15 years ago, Ford would have told you there's no market for a compact, affordable truck in the N. American market. Were they lying or is that genuinely what they believed, that's up to you to decide, but that was what they were claiming. People didn't think a small, affordable truck would sell in high volume, even leading up to the Maverick's release I recall a considerable portion of people who were skeptical, and thought it would flop. Instead it became Ford's most successful release of the 2020s thus far imo.    Because it's just a good product. It's not trying to be everything, it's just trying to be enough. It's not insanely powerful, it can't tow a lot of weight, it can't go off-road, but it doesn't have to in order to appeal to people. It's just a sensible, reliable, efficient, and affordable vehicle. We need to get away from this mindset of vehicles needing to be and do everything, and get back to what we actually need and use.    As the maverick has proven, that often takes the form of smaller, more affordable vehicles, and that includes other categories like small crossovers and cars. 

Thank you. That's what I'm getting at, I understand where Akirby and Sherm are coming from, but I'm arguing there are generational differences in terms of needs, preferences, taste, and so on. It's not a case of one side is right and the other is wrong, it's just different groups with different perspectives. 

Where is the data for this? Affordable is a nebulous term-   Affordable to one person might mean a 20K vehicle and to another a 40K vehicle and that has sometimes very little to do with income levels.    Automakers can't or it is very difficult to make money on a 20K car. Once you get cheap, it can turn customers off from buying, unless they can only buy that. That type of customer isn't best in Ford's eyes.    The major reason why smaller cars in the 1980s sold so well was they where offsetting CAFE regs of the era. But the big 3 wasn't make much if anything off them.    I think your biases are showing through, because after following the industry for almost 30 years now, there hasn't been a major shift in what is popular in vehicle type and if there was, it was temporary and snaped back.    Then don't forget about marketing etc that affects buyers purchases when it comes to vehicles also. 

I'm and old guy but value your perspective as a younger guy. Glad you're here.

My argument is that what drove the sale of large trucks and SUVs was the rising need to have it all so to speak, the swiss army knife of vehicles. It was people with two kids buying an expedition because "What if I need the extra space someday" or people buying an f-150 in case they ever wanted to haul something, even if most of the time it was just used as a commuter car.    My argument is that mentality is shifting. Vehicles like the maverick prove that more people are questioning why they're overbuying their vehicles, why they're buying these large, heavy, expensive vehicles when their only benefits are attributes that people hardly use. Something like a super duty really only pays off if one plans to tow really heavy things. Beyond that, there isn't much of a use case for them. They're terrible vehicles for commuting, they're terrible family vehicles due to how cumbersome they are.    So a lot of people are looking at vehicles like that, and saying "A maverick can do basically anything my super duty can apart from towing, and I don't use it to tow really. So why don't I sell it and buy a truck that can still do basic truck stuff, but is a much better commuter vehicle, and more affordable?".    You do see some hatchback and sedan customers buying mavericks. But as a maverick owner, and someone who's been on maverick forums, I can tell you there are a ton of maverick owners who came from larger trucks precisely for the reasons I mentioned. It's just a better vehicle for the actual use case of a lot of truck owners.    But that points to a larger trend. That more affordable, and smaller vehicles are starting to make a comeback. You're seeing a shift in consumer priorities where an increasing number of buyers are questioning what they actually need, and rejecting what they think they need. I could see that ushering in a future where small and affordable vehicles start to make up a larger portion of the market again, and that includes things like sedans and hatchbacks. 

Yeah I recently had a friend tell me he was fairly sure the amount of buildable combinations for Bronco exceeds F-150. I don’t doubt it based on the order guide/build and price tools.