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Ford to ramp up Lincoln rollout in China in bid to catch rivals

DETROIT/BEIJING — Ford Motor Co's premium Lincoln brand plans to build as many as five new vehicles in China by 2022, according to two U.S. sources, in a move to expand sales in the world's largest vehicle market that would also blunt the impact of trade U.S.-China trade spats. Ford has said it plans to build an all-new sport utility vehicle in China by the end of 2019, however the company has not detailed future production plans for the Lincoln brand in China beyond that. "Our localization plans to support the China market are on track and will serve to further drive Lincoln's growth in China," Lincoln spokeswoman Angie Kozleski said. "Beyond that, it would be premature to discuss our future product and production plans or timing." Sources familiar with Ford's production plans told Reuters the automaker now expects to begin building the new Lincoln Aviator in China in late 2019 or early 2020, along with replacements for the MKC compact crossover and the MKZ midsize sedan, followed in 2021 by the all-new Nautilus, which replaces the Lincoln MKX crossover. A fifth model, a small coupe-like crossover, is tentatively slated for production in China in 2022, the sources said. Ford has much to lose if the war of words over trade between China and U.S. President Donald Trump escalates into a full-blown tariff war. Last year, it shipped about 80,000 vehicles to China from North America, more than half of them Lincolns to support the brand's growth. All Lincoln vehicles that Ford now sells in China are brought in from North America. Even if China does reduce its 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles - as Chinese President Xi Jinping promised on Tuesday - it is not clear that would mean a big, long-term increase in Fords and Lincolns made in U.S. factories heading to Chinese showrooms. Ford is pursuing long-range plans to build more vehicles in China to serve a market that is now roughly 60 percent larger than the U.S. market, and projected to keep growing. But it is playing catch up to hometown rival General Motors Co and German luxury brands including Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which have invested heavily in Chinese production in recent years as a form of insurance against trade, political and currency gyrations and to lower price points for their premium cars.

Ford Australia goes miniature with Beachkhana 1.0 video

Ken Block's Gymkhana franchise may have started with Subaru, but it's most closely associated with Ford, which the rally star joined way back in 2010. That fruitful partnership has spawned a number of Gymkhanas, and Block even showed up to help introduce the new Focus RS. To honor this, Ford Australia has come up with an adorable parody (for lack of a better word), starring the hero Sun Block. Rather than a full-scale rally Fiesta piloted by a Vegemite-munching Aussie, though, Ford of Oz has gone tiny for its tribute. Really tiny. The product is Beachkhana 1.0 – Wild on the Beaches of Australia, is a funky little stop-motion feature using tiny, 1:43-scale cars in much the same manner as Mr. Block drives his Fiesta rally car. It even pokes some fun at Mercedes-Benz's hilarious Magic Body Control ad. Check it out. Related Video: News Source: Ford Australia Facebook, Ford Australia via YouTube Ford Hatchback Racing Vehicles Videos Ken Block gymkhana ford australia

Auto critic calls out Corvette, Mustang and Cherokee faithful

Most automotive purists fear change, but not without reason. Change, after all, did kill big-block V8s, along with most station wagons and manual transmissions. But change has also brought with it far more performance, safety and fuel economy - not to mention ridding the world of shag carpet interiors, bias-ply tires and those horrible motorized seatbelts of the early '90s.
By this time next year, the Chevy Corvette, Jeep Cherokee and next-generation Ford Mustang will all be on sale and will all, in some way, have angered or offended purists. To those critics, Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press is preemptively telling them to stop complaining - at least until they've all been driven. From the Corvette's square taillights and the Cherokee's radical nose to whatever pony car purists will harp on the 2015 Mustang for, Phelan's column points out the positives of automotive evolution and the negatives of staying the course for too long. That's fair enough, but do you think Phelan is on point, or all wet? Head on over to the Detroit Free Press to read his words, then have your say in Comments.