Typical Ford planning...nothing has changed in 30+ years LOL But in all seriousness, it was the first product to launch the modular 4.6L 4v V8, which most likely accounted for its delay, and I think the 4.6 first came out in 1990 Crown Vic. The other factor was the Fox platform getting updated to the SN95 in 1994...  

Oops I must have clicked on mark viii by mistake.

I don't read the Free Press, but an article in the Detroit News about the Glass House said that Bill Ford was in a room once when part of the ceiling came down.

Correct. The Fox based Mark VII's last year of production was 1992 which seems a bit odd since the first year for the MN-12 platform as used under the T-Bird and Cougar was 1989 and the Mark VIII, which also used the MN-12 platform, didn't come out until 1993.

You're right. One of the good things about this being a 1989 model is that that was the last year for the AOD 4-speed auto which means that it still has a cable driven speedometer and minimal electronic controls. That should make it easier to correct the speedometer for my planned tire change because the speedometer cable still uses a plastic gear on the end of the cable where it plugs into the trans and those gears come in various tooth counts. That might not even be necessary since there is only .5" difference in tire overall diameters. 1990 was the first year for the AODE in the Mark VII and the speedometer was also fully electronic.

I'd have liked to read it but it's unfortunately behind a paywall.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2025/09/16/ford-new-headquarters-glass-house/86167361007/   long but interesting read analyzing the move. Allegedly The Glass House is decaying from the inside out. 

From what I remember, the glass (if opened) wouldn't have hit the car if the tailgate was opened on the 2010 and prior Escapes too...my wife had one and I think I tried it once. 

Our 2009 Mariner had the opening glass w/manual tailgate, never opened the glass. It was a reach to the floor of the cargo area, and you could soil your clothes leaning over the dirty or wet tailgate & bumper. The Mariner's tailgate was an easy open & close. The BS loaner we are using has an easy manual tailgate as well.    As I understand it, Ford Connect relays all kinds of data to the factory, including arcane info like if the Homelink opener was even programmed and how often it is used. Apparently a lot of folks don't bother to program it or park outside so it gets dropped, or it gets moved to a higher trim pr package and the price is increased.

Mark VII-Fox(as seen above) Mark VIII-MN12 below: