Consumer interest in the 2022 Ford Maverick has proven to be quite strong since the compact pickup was revealed back in June. A grand total of 36,000 Ford Maverick reservations were secured in the first week they were available, and more than doubled to 80,000 just a few weeks later. Things haven't slowed down since then, and the automaker has now garnered 100,000 Ford Maverick reservations, according to the Detroit Free Press.   https://fordauthority.com/2021/08/2022-ford-maverick-reservations-surpass-100k-as-production-begins/

But people do WANT all those trucks and SUVs and  mustangs contrary to what you and Biker16 think.  Nobody is forcing consumers into those vehicles.   They stopped making cars because their costs were never optimized so they weren't profitable and Ford found better options.  

And that was the last time the prices of cars actually were lowered for the masses....these days, any efficiencies wrung out of new processes will be used to "enhance investor value"....Henry famously bristled at outsider stock ownership of his company and famously went on a buying spree to gather as much "common stock/shares" to regain control of the company that bore his name....business practices you will never see in our lifetimes ever again. 

It's only a loss until demand catches up with supply. Jim Farley eluded to this. I think the industry spent too much time trying to build a completely new type of vehicle with methods that don't suit the technology. How much money did Henry Ford lose between 1895 when he started on the Quadracycle prototype and the time that the assembly line-produced 1908 Model T started making money? It was only after Ford adopted the assembly line to build cars that they became affordable to the masses.  We are at that crossroads now where robotics, AI, giga-casting et al promises to make electric vehicles truly affordable.

I was under the impression that it was recycled/thrown out-I don't see how the economics of that would work. 

https://www.piher.net/news/steer-by-wire-ensuring-redundancy/   https://www.arnoldnextg.com/company/blog/safety-redundancy-why-drive-by-wire-must-be-fail-operational

Given how "good" an average person can drive, the first reaction is going to be to slam on the brakes. I don't think its going to be as big of an issue as it seems. 

But yet Ford isn't losing major parts of its market share short term either by doing this.    I'm guessing they'll be riding out the next 24 months or so till the new products start hitting. 

But look how that has worked out for the past couple vehicles that did that. I'd rather see this grow like the Maverick did vs trying to sell it like the Lightning or Cybertruck. 

Many current and past Ford owners are facing the same dilemma globally since Ford's lineup is shrinking. A lot (particularly those not looking for a 4x4 or truck) have migrated to other brands. While I'm happy Ford continues to build its icon range (F-series, Mustang, Bronco), they've seemed to lost interest in building vehicles people want. Ford's rivals continue to build compact ICE/hybrid CUVs/SUVs because they still sell a ton of them both in and out of North America.