Yup, the website is pretty good at explaining it.
To me, it's the expansion of the product line (welcome back F-212XL!!!) and doing that into a somewhat lower price point that makes the Standard Series so interesting.
Now, with the introduction of some new cutaway models, the Standard Series is going after more contemporary-style players. It should broaden the market, somewhat.
What we learned at LetsMeetGuild 2010 was that a quicker finishing process was being used to seal the guitars prior to applying the lacquer. This should/will enable New Hartford to increase production volumes by shortening (by a lot) the time required back and forth from the spray booth.