It's a term used when shooting. Spray a bunch of shots and hope to hit something. I adapted it for use in this scenario, because it fits what they are doing. As I mentioned, though, they were straight-up about it and didn't try to hide the fact.
They don't have any allocations, available. The dealer is using a spray and pray approach. The manager was upfront and honest and specifically indicated that they were taking orders hoping to receive additional allocations from corporate.
It happens all the time with specialty vehicles. I'm sure their intention is not altruistic, though. Typically, with a high-demand vehicle, they really don't have to or want to put any extra effort into a deal.
The 3.0 in the Explorer ST has huge tuning potential and the 3.0 holds up very well. Rarely, do you see issues with the engine, even when pushed 100whp over stock. I've owned 2 ST's and they are solid.