Yeah car payments are insane, that is why I question how "cheap" it actually can be. Interest rates don't do any favors either, but people have been used to subprime rates for over the past decade and a half. 

At this point to keep things fun we start using ploymarket to make bets on what Ford does next.   So how many times will this plan change between now and 2029?!

I think the execution of the Gladiator is the problem, like you mentioned.  The only ones that look decent are the ones with big tires.  Everything else just looks out of whack.  I think a Bronco truck could be done well, but I don't see the point over a Ranger.  Unless they just want something to stand out in a crowd of mid-sized trucks, where the Ranger does not.

Cheap small pickup with a payment of $542/month.  Yikes!   Back in my day...

I dunno I don't see the appeal of the Bronco Pickup, going by how poorly the Gladiator has been doing. If anything, maybe just change the Ranger styling using the Bronco 2/4 door body from the C pillar forward, but still looks like a pickup? The Gladiator suffers from having too long of a bed and just looks disjointed. 

Affordable is nebulous term-I see it as a product that still makes a profit. Not sure Ford can sell a cheaper product under the Maverick, plus an EV Truck.    Just as an example-looking at it being "affordable"   The math I used-starting MSRP for the lowest end trim and highest end trim to get the average price. $5K downpayment over 60 months at 5% interest   Maverick payment would be `$643.41 a month   Ranger payment $865.01   CE1 EV Assumed $35K starting price and the top end going up to 50K $841 payment   Cheap Small pickup-$22K starting MSRP and it topping out at $36K $542 a month payment

Ok hear me out.  Borg may not be wrong.   Step 1 - Kill Ranger and add a Bronco pickup to MAP.  The pickup will be lower volume but higher profit freeing up Bronco capacity as they add hybrids.   Step 2 - combine Maverick with CE1 components and make a new unibody Ranger.  Offer affordable single cab models and a crew cab Maverick replacement.  All hybrids.  Maybe even a SUV.     This frees up Hermosillo to make next gen bronco sport and vans.

...and miss almost every time. Jimbo is the most psychotic head honcho at FoMoCo since Jac Nasser.  

It's been that way for a long time. Even before I first worked there in the 1990s, FoMoCo was goin' from one crisis to another. But to your point about remain optimistic about the future, Ford is still around today, despite so many of the company's big shots then and now being narcissistic psychopaths doin' everything except executing sound business strategies with a long-term focus.    But as I mentioned earlier, if you prefer it may be prudent to grab a life preserver and jump off the sinking ship while you can.

Do we know what the current plan is for OAC?  Still an electrified Super Duty coming in 2026?