Yeah, I think it makes total sense for Ford to concentrate their flailing business on the few things they do very well. IE: F150s and SUVs. Ford does very well in that market and has a healthy profit margin selling those vehicles. Why bother continuing to compete in a market sector where they have been routinely thrashed(small cars/sedans). I see plenty of smallish cars on the road, but 90% of them are Hondas, Nissans, Mazdas, etc...
Also, the idea that smaller cars are deathtraps is also misleading, considering Ford just had one of their SUVs get the lowest possible safety rating for passengers. Basically, in a head-on collision, the driver is protected by the structural design, but the passenger gets a facefull of dashboard and engine parts because they completely neglected that side of the vehicle(because prior to this year, passenger side was never tested).
Rather than suggesting your daughter drive an SUV, hoping she will survive the inevitable collision, perhaps defensive driving skills would be a better investment.