Upon reading the 2019 order guide, a couple weeks ago, I placed an order for what is probably one of the last of the 2018s. I had a strong preference for leadfoot, I think I'll prefer the look of the old forged wheels, I liked the slightly lower price and quicker build time, and do NOT want the AEB. Unfortunately, the 2018s get the ***** stamp, so I have the plastic for now.
WRT AEB, my school of thought goes like this: I don't text and drive and maintain very good situational awareness, prioritizing driving over everything when I'm behind the wheel. Also, I don't want the AEB upsetting up an evasive maneuver I may be implementing, leading to a bad outcome. You know, like if I swerve because that's the best way to avoid a head on collision... and at the same time as I fire the neurons to initiate the swerve, the AEB decides I should be standing on the brakes. Or it stands on the brakes 1/2 second before I initiate the swerve and I'm stuck with the 1/2 second decision between an uncontrolled drift -> rollover vs a head on.
Unfortunately, my order was so late Ford rejected the leadfoot, but at least I won't get the AEB. The livevalve shocks are a big question mark to me. Tuning will be everything. Could be great, could be a bust.
If Ford decides to offer a good FU color (bring back avalanche or terrain or leadfoot) and the tuning is on its game, maybe I'll make another bad financial decision on a 2020.
Regarding 2019 pricing, I had a couple dealers offering MSRP and effectively no other fees, one who had some < $1000 dealer fees tacked onto MSRP, and one who was immediately discussing nontrivial markups. The local dealer who told me $10k markup with a straight face a few months ago didn't get consideration. I got widely varying delivery estimates, ranging from ~12/2018 to ~06/2019. Of course, I expect all of the above could've been adjustable if the MSRP dealers decided to get greedy.
