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Ford's cars being held up in Chinese ports in trade tensions with U.S.

BEIJING — Ford Motor Co's imported vehicles are being held up at Chinese ports, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, underscoring how U.S. goods are facing increased customs scrutiny in China amid a tense trade standoff. The three people said Ford and Lincoln vehicles were facing unusual delays at customs, with officials asking for extra technical checks. Two of the people said U.S.-made models of some German carmakers, mainly SUVs, being brought into China, were also affected. Ford was being asked to do extra checks on emission components, said a China-based Ford executive familiar with the matter, asking not be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. China's customs agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The holdups add to a growing list of American products facing issues at China's borders, as officials try to avert a full-blown trade war. Some trade experts said they believe Beijing is sending a defiant warning to Washington in response to sweeping U.S. trade demands made on China last week. Reuters reported Tuesday that China had ramped up inspections of pork shipped from the United States, after the country's customs agency said it would step up quarantine checks on American apples and logs. The second person, a China-based industry official with knowledge of the matter, said the delays for Ford — as well as some U.S.-made cars from BMW and Mercedes-Benz — had been going on for the last two weeks. "Customs pretends there are technical non-conformities of some nature that won't allow them to clear these U.S.-made cars through customs, but the U.S.-China trade frictions must be the background to this," he said. "Although no one will officially admit it." Responding to a request for comment from Reuters, a BMW spokesman said that "U.S.-made BMW cars have not been delayed at the ports as of last week and before." A Daimler spokeswoman said it was "monitoring the situation closely" regarding ongoing trade talks between China and the United States, but that she could not speculate further on other matters. The third person said the Ford issue, which had been noted by the United States government, and other holdups facing American goods, were clearly related to the trade dispute. A Ford spokeswoman in Shanghai when asked about the matter said: "We are closely monitoring our situation at the port." She declined to comment further.

Aye Captain! Hennessey's 2018 Lincoln Navigator has 600 HP

Texas tuner John Hennessey wants to steer the 2018 Lincoln Navigator into some serious performance SUV waters, presently dominated by the Mercedes-Benz G-Class and Range Rover SVR. Upping the power of Lincoln's range-topping sport-utility, from 450 horsepower to an even 600 hp, is enough to hustle the Navigator from 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds and run the quarter mile in 12.9 seconds at 107 mph. In terms of the 0-60 sprint, this performance upgrade nets you about 0.7 seconds versus the stock model. Good to know, in case you're hot to run a Navigator at your local drag-strip. "The 2018 Navigator is a world-class luxury SUV and we wanted to take its already impressive power and performance to the next level," said president and company founder, John Hennessey. So, what exactly has been done under the hood? The key to the performance improvements is better breathing, courtesy of a HPE600 twin-turbo engine upgrade. Using the Navigator's twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 as its base, Hennessey adds a new engine management computer, a stainless steel exhaust system, high-flow air induction, and a large front-mounted intercooler with blow-off valve. Hennessey's six-wheel VelociRaptor, which uses the same base engine, produces 602 hp and 622 lb-ft of torque. Optional extras include 22-inch forged alloy wheels, a lowering kit, and Brembo brakes at the front and rear. Those brakes might not be a bad idea, especially considering this 600-hp motor is attached to approximately three tons of SUV that will, eventually, need to be stopped. This performance package rings in at $19,950 (including installation) and comes with a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty from Hennessey. Only 200 examples will be built for the 2018 model year. While not quite as crazy as the VelociRaptor, this Lincoln is also only about one-third the price of that monster truck. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Aftermarket Lincoln SUV Luxury Performance Hennessey lincoln navigator

Mustang parts under the new Lincoln Aviator mean good things for Ford

NEW YORK — As we mentioned last night, underneath the new Lincoln Aviator "concept" there appears to be an independent rear suspension lifted right from the Ford Mustang parts bin. And while it's pretty cool on its face that Mustang rear-drive platform bits are being reused in the broader Ford universe, what this means for the next Explorer could be really cool. A quick caveat: The Aviator here in New York is very close to the production version, but it's not technically a production car. It looks hand-built, with temporary exhaust and some show-car touches. The suspension underneath looks exactly like a Mustang's, but the actual production Aviator will almost certainly use beefier components with the same basic design and geometry, since the Aviator will be much heavier than the smaller Mustang. That being said, we're fairly confident that even at this early stage, the Mustang-derived suspension seen in New York is a preview of what'll be under the production Aviator. Furthermore, Ford won't say it, but based on what we're seeing on Aviator, it's a safe bet that Ford will utilize the Aviator platform for the next Explorer. That would enable the economies of scale necessary to produce a brand new rear-drive-based SUV platform in the first place. It also means that the Explorer should be available without AWD — and given the stable of powerful EcoBoost engines, and the competent 10-speed automatic in the parts bin, a rear-drive Explorer has a shot at being a decent driver. Aviator wouldn't go rear-drive-based if driving dynamics weren't important; Explorer should inherit these priorities. More evidence: The Explorer spy shots we saw back in February sure share the Aviator's general proportions. Even back then, before Aviator was revealed, we were hypothesizing that an EcoBoost 3.5-liter-powered version could boast as much as 400 horsepower, if the Expedition's tune were adopted. Suddenly, the Explorer seems very interesting. So, an EcoBoost, rear-drive Explorer sure sounds like something Ford Performance would be interested in, right? We knew an Explorer ST is coming, but with 365-400 horsepower potential and a chassis designed with dynamics in mind, it doesn't seem like as much of a stretch as the Edge ST. And a performance-oriented AWD system is a possibility, too. That's an area where Ford has been gathering experience at a rapid pace. What do we not expect from a new Explorer? A V8.