...the way to clear out the old stock, it seems to me, would be to shut down the line for a couple of weeks until supply catches up with demand. Keeping the line going at a loss and keeping the iron moving off the lots with deep discounts kills the brand image, wreaks havoc on residual values, and pisses off owners who paid more. DC, Ford, and GM all want to get away from incentives. Then again, I would never buy a domestic car without them, since I would probably feel pretty screwed if some guy across town bought that same car for thousands less. I doubt any of us would have the same concern, if we had purchased (say) Nissan 350Zs.

If this car will only sell in the volumes DC wants at $22k for a base coupe, 27K for a Limited, and mid 30K range for a SRT, then they should be priced accordingly. That's economics at work. To respond to this price structure (and make a profit), DC would be better off removing content from beneath the skin that you wouldn't notice. They've already done it to everything else in the past four years.