Two things about that. 2k isn’t as much as it probably could be and at least it isn’t a blanket increase across the board like some companies are doing. 

Neither.  I'd rather work at McD's for a month for the same money than paint for 2 days.  Ugh I hate painting!

or option #3 (Ford's normal choice) - drop 3 products, and replace them with one*     *in 6 years....until Ford's plans change by then

No, making it look like a Bronco with rugged styling and off road performance to match makes it not a commodity.

They didn’t say they couldn’t sell them or buyers didn’t want them.  They said mainstream 2 row crossovers have become commodities keeping prices low and margins even lower.  Bronco and Bronco Sport are the exception because they’re in a unique market segment with passionate buyers.     Let’s say you’re a painter and you have the choice of two jobs.  Both take 2 days same work but one pays $1500 and the other pays $2500.  Which one are you taking?

It’s included on higher trims even if you don’t want the subscription therefore you’re paying for the hardware.

Volume didn’t drop that much so the margin reduction was probably a correction from the super high post covid prices.

Interesting thought!     So slap the Flex name on something 2 sizes smaller than the old Flex?  Just to retain the name of a broadly unpopular model (owners loved them, including me, but the market as a whole didn't)?  I loved the Flex, but nah.....if anything, make a new body EV9-like model to be Flex.   This would just be Bronco Sport v2.     The Fairlane name would have done absolutely nothing for sales.....if anything, it sounds old and may have negatively impacted sales, IMO.     In this scenario/current thinking, they're saying this would replace our existing Bronco Sport, so there'd still only be 2 models.     Well, 1) that was Ford's plan last week, and 2) he said "commodity" products.....and their current line of thinking is that slapping "Bronco" on it makes it not commodity.

Don't under estimate people over buying vehicles. It explains why people are buying larger vehicles or pickups-just because hey it is nice to have a pickup to take junk to recycling 2x a year or bring home a big screen TV without needing it getting shipped to your house. Or when you get your crotch goblin from school and need to take their friends to sports practice or something like that.     If you really want to get down to it, we only need one or two passenger vehicles because 75% of the time I'd venture to say that only one person is in a vehicle. 

I'd rather pay up front and have permanent access than a monthly fee.  Though I guess you could not get it, and pay for it for only a month if you needed it (i.e. road trip planned, you could pay for BC for that month and cancel the next).     You don't have to get the option?