I think EREVS are the way to go, for all the reasons you have stated. A significant portion of entry level buyers are living in apartments or other multi family housing, which in most cases currently can't or don't support 240V for even a handful of onsite chargers.

What did sales guy have to say?

FWIW, here’s the NHTSA report on the recall. It looks like a supplier used a sub-contractor who wasn’t up to the task. RCLRPT-25V455-7716.pdf

I wonder how this will translate into long term sales...they could be new customers say from Tesla, which hasn't had much new in the marketplace, so people are willing to try new things.   The overall feel for EVs is that it seems like overall in the industry that demand is softening for them, but I don't have the numbers for that but I'm sure we'll have a better picture once the tax rebates go away. 

I don't believe Fords backing down on making compelling entry level vehicles, I believe they're diverting those funds to CE1 products. EV technology is the future of affordable transportation, especially good affordable transportation.    EVs are more reliable, more refined, more enjoyable to drive, more comfortable, have better packaging, and look better. For people who just want an affordable, reliable, easy to own, nice enough, good looking enough vehicle, EVs are gonna be the path forward with Ford's 25-30k EVs.    You put a rattling, buzzy 4 or 3 cyl crossover in front of someone that looks like a potato, and a cool looking crossover where people drive it and can't stop thinking about how refined it is, and tell people they're the same price, basically any sane person is gonna buy the EV.    Keep the V8 engines around for the mustang and other stuff, where that's what people really want, and offer EVs for everyone else who just wants an affordable, reliable vehicle. EVs don't make sense for everyone, but they're the perfect solution for entry level buyers. 

This is why I think having great design is gonna be an essential component of differentiating your product, especially moving forward. She doesn't know what kind of engine it has, but she pays attention to the looks. I don't believe I've ever encountered someone who doesn't care about how a car looks to one degree or another.    That's where Ford should invest more heavily with future products, making the best designs in the industry, instead of spending billions on engines when no-one even cares. 

I maintain that for a significant number of American buyers (obviously not all) that 3-cylinders is too few.  AFAIK that doesn’t affect Maverick anyway.  Having said that, a base gas option priced below the 2.0L EB still makes sense to me.  Other manufacturers are doing it on various entry-level vehicles, so why is it so difficult for Ford?  Is it that they can’t for lack of resources, or is it that they do not want to?

I agree – my mother-in-law bought a bronco sport six months ago, and I doubt she could tell you how many cylinders it has. All she cared about is that she liked the way it looked,how I drove, and what it cost.  As long as it drives well I don’t think the specifics of the engine matter for a mass market vehicle.

Most people only care if an engine is reliable, and fuel efficient. That's about it. That describes almost every modern engine in these sorts of cars. 

The Ford 1.5 Dragon was developed as an evolution of the learnings from the  1.0 EB, increasing cylinder capacity to 500 cc that Ford’s combustion studies indicated was in the range considered ideal for lowest emissions and good power. It also has a dry weight of 95 Kg or 209 lbs so as engines go, that reasonably light, For using an aluminium block for lowest weight and quick warm up important for cat converter light off within 30 seconds of cold start.   Just back on topic, the fact that 60% of sales were to people new to Ford would seem to suggest that the 1.5 EB is not the impediment to sales as some may think. While that may be true, it’s hard to say whether the addition of a hybrid would increase sales or simply replace  some percentage of those 1.5 EB sales….