Like many things in the car business- it is about negotiations. This small dealer group has 500 new Fords in a state that is loosing population and its residents have less buying power than many other states.Looking at the website, they are applying incentives to bring their price down to the MSRP on many vehicles - meaning their actual price is well above MSRP just like the rest of the market is...
F150's look like they are running 5-6k above MSRP.
My gut tells me a buyer from Idaho can get a new Ford from this dealer group at or very near MSRP, maybe even below. I could be wrong, but that is my life experience.
The housing market was very hot across the USA. Home buyers were offering above asking price, waving home inspections, and willing to put a clause in the contract to not "bail" if the appraisal came in less than the offer price. We have a home for sale in Illinois, and talking to over a dozen agents, none of those three items were waived in transactions in their Illinois markets. Even with a possible shortage of available homes in Illinois (hard to believe), it is still a buyers market for home buying. It may be the same in the new car market in rural Illinois.
Nothing wrong with the dealer asking above MSRP, but withh 500 new Fords in inventory, life experience suggests one has the ability to negotiate much better, than lets say a Ford dealer in Boise Idaho with two vehicles in inventory. A much greater ability.