But if that happened, you'd have to spend even more money on outfitting it. The thing the CVPI had going for it was it was the same car for 20 years more or less and equipment could be just transferred to it and maintenance was a well known and didn't require mechanics to get retrained regularly. I'm going to guess that the current Explorer will have an extended run to a point because its being used as a PI to help with expenses or what ever succeeds it will be as backwards compatible with mounting equipment.    Also I'm pretty willing to assume that the Mustang is much more cramped for a driver then the Explorer is also, so I don't see the sedan being able to make a major change to that. 

I can see dealerships trying to be dicks with ADMs when they first come out, but if its successful, supply will ruin that ability 

by many accounts, there’s a second line at flatrock. You can’t believe everything you read on the Internet.   Are/were there dealers who were unscrupulous? Sure. Was it widespread? No. Charging $20,000 off our MSRP is a great click bait headline, and sure, some people paid it. Some people paid inflated prices for the cyber truck. That didn’t even involve the dealerships. Part of the craziness was the nature of the time. Even used car pricing went nuts during Covid. I’m sure I’ve spent a lot more time in the Mach-E and Lightning forums than you have. It wasn’t really all that widespread.

If it was cheaper, sure they would. Crown Vics were cheaper, roomy, and dependable. Now, whether that would be the case if they modernized it is the question!   We may get that answer though if the Mustang based sedan is produced as rumored and they offer a police package...   There are several state agencies that have purchased Mustangs now and have commented they are cheaper to purchase. Of course they have limitations and are primarily used for special patrol...

by many accounts you are an exception

I paid MSRP for both my Mach-E and Lightning and was the first delivery of both at the dealer I purchased from. 

So, my 2023 Nautilus with 2.7 could be a concern over the the wet belt?  

The one thing Slate has over this, is potential Dealer Markup.  If my memory is correct, (ha that's a laugh), Slate is purchased by bypassing dealerships.    $28K, we'll take care of that!  How's $35K sound?  

Fathom is definitely better than ranchero, however, ever since Sherminators typo (fantom), I keep thinking Ford Phantom sounds so much better than both of them.

Overall, calling it fathom was the right move. A neat sounding, fresh name for a super innovative and groundbreaking product. Using a heritage name for that always felt kinda off. Plus ranchero is up there with Thunderbird for being a pretty clunky sounding name imo.    This would have been Capri or mustang mach-e all over again had they called it ranchero. A bunch of enthusiasts bitching about it ruining the ranchero nameplate. Giving it something new was the better approach.    Hopefully that means other future Ford icons introduce more new names instead of relying on heritage alone.