If by necessary, you mean does it move Ford forward? I think it was a smart move and "The Glass House" is just that....a mid-50's structure that is past it's prime and the only reason you refer to it as a "landmark" is due to the blue oval being attached to the top of it....it's an out of date building with no real style...was it nice at one time? Yes.... Could it be rehab'ed and reused? Sure.... but I am guessing with the limitations that were inherent with the design, it just became an obsolete office structure and Ford is demo'ing it instead of letting it become another abandoned eyesore that a future generation will have to deal with...my guess is, there is a lot of asbestos abatement that will need to be done....demolish it and move the property forward.  

Aka....overlap lol.

It feels less about capability gaps and more about not wanting to cannibalize or overspend on something they don’t think will move the needle.

Ah I see.   yeah, I think they see it as too much overlap since they don't seem to want to push the plant (look at low Ranger sales).

Yes it is-I work in building that is roughly as old as I am that is maintained by the government and was built by the lowest bidder. I've only been back in the office a full week since the Spring, and the building had to be shut down a couple of times because of mold and HVAC issues that never get taken care of. Its a bad work environment and people are getting sick from it.    If your going to force people to work onsite, they better have decent/good working areas or they are going to leave or find a job that allows them to work remotely. 

I somehow didn't know about the emissions scandal.  How many truck brands can any company own before an antitrust suit kicks in either nationally or globally?

Yeah I just read this yesterday. Was this necessary? Is it necessary to destroy a landmark?  Nowhere do I see the cost!  Where did they get the money? With EV sales not that great; recalls breaking the bank; and the UAW planning to ask for the return of pension plans for ALL workers and also everlasting medical care, I think it was a bad decision.

I’ll buy that for a dollar

Waiting on the 4V 4.6 was my assumption as well. Sales of the Mark VII had really tapered off by the end of its run so you would think they would have replaced it sooner.   I thought the first car to get the 4.6 2V was the '91 Lincoln Town Car?    Anyway, I also looked at several Thunderbird SCs before settling on this Mark VII which is ironically the exact opposite of what I did in 1989. The SC that I bought new in 1989 was super reliable but I have heard lots of horror stories about blown head gaskets, etc. The resale value on those is horrible as well with even less parts availability compared to anything with a Fox chassis.   Hard to beat the reliability of the good old Windsor small block but I wouldn't be at all opposed to an eventual Coyote/10-speed swap on this one. The cool factor would be awesome.

Of course it is. It wasn’t when I read it 😒