What would have been stupid is if they went with Ranchero. They didn't, so giving it a new, never used name on the product, they should also consider new trim level names....first two gives you something familiar and Mariner (or something similar) can now be an upscale trim level.

Not the finished vehicle.  The platform itself was designed to support higher level trims and higher ATPs especially in Europe.  Same thing happened with fusion moving to EUCD/CD4.  Heavy and expensive.

It was compared to the previous generation.

that’s stupid.   Stick to a set of trim levels

I think this is the first time I’ve heard the escape called premium lol. There was nothing premium about it.

Continuing the school bus angle, you'll see some old B700's here:   (184) Poor-quality welds helped kill Carpenter Body Company - YouTube

I’ve been saying this for years too.   We’ve heard for decades now about Ford’s hybrid capacity issues.  You’d think they’d work more to rectify it.     FWD doesn’t fit with the Bronco name, so having this other product with different branding can allow them to have their cake and eat it too. Regarding Mustang sedan, I think their goal is two fold 1) offering a sedan based on a sports car allows them to charge a premium and keep ROIs where they want them, and not fall into the price war strategy of offering a typical FWD midsize sedan, and 2) give Flat rock additional product for a highly underutilized factory.    I doubt we’ll see it with 3 rows. i also see no reason to call this Flex.  Flex was a large 3 row, vs 2-row something compact maybe bleeding into small midsize at best. call it Escape.     -Calling it Maverick Sport makes absolutely no sense.  It’s not a truck. -Explorer Sport is a lazy attempt to capitalize on Explorer branding, however, maybe it would mean they’d try harder to keep it competitive to not tarnish the Explorer name?  -Just call it Escape.  The market knows the name, and IMO is not tarnished beyond repair.  If it returns as a highly competitive and good looking product, customers will return.   it sounds like they actually want to try with this one and make it something customers will be more passionate about, which can still fit the mantra even if it sounds goofy on the surface.

Trim levels are reported to be XL, XLT and Mariner.

I knew that "fathom" was a marine measurement. Researching further I see it's about 6 feet deep in water. So I just can't fathom why they named it Fathom!!!!