I believe this is the same theory as remove Edge so Mach E gets more sales. So in that theory, Ford will remove Escape and its hybrid in hopes that increases interest in CE1 pickup and Utility.

Hopefully they overbuilt and imported a bunch before the tariffs. 

Not much unless they add the hybrid to BS.  I don’t think most non hybrid escape buyers would move to BS because of the smaller cargo space and/or they don’t like the rugged styling.

No ticky - no laundry!

I've also seen youtube videos that claim some of the noise comes from the VCT (Variable Cam Timing) solenoid which is located in the driver side valve cover. Interestingly, on my '23 F-150 Tremor with the 5.0L there is a foam cover on top of that valve cover only (separate from the foam covers on the injectors) and that engine is worlds quieter than the one in my previous '18 F-150. It's also the Gen 4 Coyote vs the Gen 3 and I'm sure there are other more significant differences including cylinder deactivation.   When I was looking at '23 F-150s a dealer salesman told me that Ford had issues with noisy 5.0Ls in '18 and '19 F-150s but that was probably just BS in hopes that I would take less for my '18 on a trade.

Ouch, that didn’t help anything.  Hyundai rarely gets styling right IMO, so not surprising.    However, I was in a new Hyundai Palisades Uber in Miami couple weeks ago, and I will say the interior of that particular vehicle was very nice, so they have that going for them.

Am I right in thinking Tariff on Chinese goods is now over 50%? Wat does that mean for Nautilus buyers?

Well that’s a hard pass for me. 

My biggest issue with the refresh is that the grill should've tapered inward to be narrower at the bottom - it's too rectangle, IMO.

I like the Chinese version slightly better, because I think it flows with the rest of the vehicle a little nicer, but this looks good as well. I agree with RMC that the slight changes to the rear end were a nice addition. It was one of my gripes about our current ST, because I always thought the rear was kind of bland.  Now if they would just give it the V6 option.     I picked up a 2025 Explorer Active a couple of weeks ago to replace my Edge, and although the 2.3 is plenty adequate, I would rather have the V6 based on my driving experience so far.