"give people a heads up about Ford's data collection"
The entire auto industry (once VW fully integrated Porsche) does that (at the time, Porsche was the only carmaker that DIDN'T collect such data). Been that way for about 20 years, so...
"Cash" buyer here as well, but I do finance as the dealer makes a few $ from the lender, so that makes negotiations a bit smoother.
Then pay off just before second payment is due. Works out for all...
Indeed. Saw one in the woodlands the other day (had dlr tags on it), and thought it was a variety of the new Outback at first. Kinda generic station wagon (not a bad thing, there).
"Are high volume dealers having orders (retail and/or stock) being prioritized"
Yes. By a huge margin. "Allocation" has become the industry norm. All orders are most certainly not equal...