I know. You are 100% correct. We have both shared these sentiments over the years.

I was cleaning my computer at work (job change related) and came across those old Faction images and it hit me that not a word has been said about that vehicle in 4 years - it slid into oblivion - un-noticed, but I think it looks JUST as modern and trendy in today's market of SUVs and crossovers as it did then. It just kinda set me off, that Ford blew it AGAIN. Like the Forty-nine, the 427, the new L, and all the others you listed.
Hence, my opening statement in the first post.

Guy, if common Joes like us on this board can see that vehicles should/should not be made, and we can hit 90% of the time, why is it so hard for auto experts to do it? It's like a song I hear on the radio for the first time - I make a guess to myself that 1) this is going to be a HUGE hit, 2) this is a really good song, or 3) I wish they'd not play that crap again! And you know what? About 90% of the time I can pick the hits and they end up at #1 or #2 on the charts. It's not that I have some "talent" for picking hits... it's that I am an AVERAGE GUY, like 150-million other average people, and we all have essentially common tastes (in music anyways).

I think it's the same in cars. The cars I tend to like seem to be liked by many people to the point that they plop down major cash for them. Mustangs, Camaros, Vettes, etc. for sure, but even rare or unusual vehicles seem to strike a common chord between me and the mass-populous.
SO - when I see a concept car or a pre-production test mule - I go with my gut feel WRT how the vehicle will be received. I knew from day 1 that the Marauder had the body, looks, and stance for an awesome mafia hit-car - the looks were there, but the engine would not be the tire-smoking torque-monster that the old-school guys (likely to buy such a car) wanted. Sure enough... the rags bashed it for not being able to back-up the nasty appearance of a bully because it wouldn't leave rubber stripes on a parking lot. (Pricing is a whole nother story.)

Oh well. Maybe when Ford stops hemorrhaging money and starts to look at their actual offerings to the US market, they will see the light. I can only hope.

4 years ago, I was the loudest rooster on the henhouse... crowing about SVT this and V8-RWD that, new Mustang coming, new L coming, new powerplants, performance was back, the GT was tops and it's replacement was looking great, etc, etc. Now, I am just kind looking through the bottom of an empty beer glass, claiming my beer goggles still make the lineup look good to me.... wanting another beer so it will look even better.
Oh well, I'm used to it. I'm a Mustang guy at heart - and being the underdog comes natural.