And next year should be way down as a result.  

Yeah I forgot about the GM version! Thanks for refreshing my memory!

The old Conventional Wisdom was to wait until the second year to buy a new model- let them work the bugs out. The new CW is, best to buy the first year, because the following years will have less standard equipment, or moved to a higher trim and the series will likely have recalls anyway.

More like the 60's GM B Series (top) Ford N-Series (bottom)  

Ford Ends 2025 With 100 More Recalls Than Crosstown Rival   According to the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Ford has issued 153 recalls as of this writing, which is exactly 100 more than its cross-town rival, second-place Stellantis, at 53. Coming in third place is recreational vehicle maker Forest River (36), followed by General Motors (27), International Motors (26), Volkswagen (25), Hyundai (21), and Honda (21).  

Meh, Subarus have historically been anonymous blobs, IMO, until they've recently become more bizarre looking.

According to the Stay Connected: EV Monthly Recharge report for December 2025, EVs accounted for 9.5 percent of U.S. new vehicle sales through November 2025. Since about a quarter of new car shoppers are very interested in buying an EV, there's a lot of unfulfilled demand.    And a great opportunity for automakers, especially those not named Tesla, to take advantage of that demand (the report said Year-to-date, market leader Tesla sold roughly 30,000 fewer vehicles than at this point last year and has ceded about 2.3 percentage points of EV market share, equivalent to a roughly 6 percent decline in share.)

Kinda like an E-Series....kinda. 

Yea, it's better. People who like Subaru Outbacks appreciate a vehicle that looks tougher and emphasizes elements that fit with an outdoorsy lifestyle. 2026 Outback does those things better than the many anonymous boring unibody blobs out there

If the prices were being commensurately dropped, then this is all for the consumers' benefit and there is an understandable cost/return valuation occurring.  But, Ford has doggedly been trying to move up from a commodity product (Kia, Hyundai, etc.) to a higher-value offering.  Ford can't have it both ways.  If you cut the value of the product, you can't demand the higher price.  I understand an SE is not going to have the features of a Titanium/Limited/whatever the top tier trim package is called, but blatant decontenting is, is, well, dang it, it's UNAMERICAN!  "Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen!"