It was actually built as a brand image booster for Ford, lots of companies do it and make very little profit on them. The Nissan 350z for instance, the dealers don't make a penny on them and Nissan make a very slim profit margin. But they will lpater the tv in adverts even though they are already sold out for the rest of the year as it raises brand awareness..

Probably a lot more to it, but i'm no marketing monkey!