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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.

2022 Lincoln Aviator MSRP discounted from $5 to $1,085

Price changes continue apace over at Lincoln. The 2022 Navigator received price boosts from the single figure to four figures, the 2022 Corsair came down in price by anywhere from three to four figures. The penultimate crossover in the four-strong lineup, the Aviator, gets one price increase of $105 to go along with discounts ranging from $105 to almost $1,100. As with the Navigator and Corsair, though, the Aviator's destination price is up by $100, from $1,095 to $1,195, trimming those discounts slightly. Prices for the new Aviator and the changes from the last 2021 pricing are: RWD Standard: $52,660 ($5 less) Reserve: $58,550 ($130 less) AWD Standard: $55,160 ($5 less) Reserve: $61,080 ($110 less) Grand Touring: $69.555 ($1.085 less) Black Label: $80,545 ($105) Black Label Grand Touring: $89,100 ($980 less) Another pricing quirk is that AWD has got more expensive on the Reserve trim. Sending power to the front wheels cost $2,510 in 2021, now it costs $2,530.  The Aviator doesn't appear to pair the price drops with punishments. The only big change for the 2022 model is former Monochromatic Package being given even more black-out trim and a name change to the Jet Package. The Monochromatic Package left bits of chrome on the car, such as the grille surround, fender badges, and window surrounds. The Jet Package abolishes those shiny bits in favor of gloss black trim. The body-colored mirrors also go black, as do the grille centers and the 22-inch wheels. It's meant to be available early this year, but at the time of writing, it's still not on the Lincoln configurator. When it does arrive, it can be optioned with the exterior colors Infinite Black, Pristine White, Silver Radiance, and Burgundy Velvet. The Monochromatic Package cost $2,000, the Jet Package will likely push that number up a bit. Ford Authority reports that Ford engineers have also reduced the latest Aviator's tow rating from 6,700 pounds with the Class IV Trailer Tow Package to 5,600 pounds. That package is standard on the Black Label Grand Touring trim, a cost option on other trims. The 2022 model isn't long for this world, GMA saying the 2023 enters production on May 30th.  Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lincoln trumpets $129M investment, 300 new jobs in Louisville for MKC

Remember when we used to talk about how close Lincoln was to being axed and how it seemed any day now the Grim Reaper would use it as a car service back to the grave? Last time we did it was, oh, not even a month ago. What a difference 27 days makes: Ford and Lincoln are trumpeting a $129M investment in the Louisville Assembly Plant that builds the MKC.
In July the MKC was the third-best-selling Lincoln of the brand's six offerings, beat by the MKZ and - by a much smaller margin - the MKX. It has sold 2,895 units in the two months it's been on sale, which is more than half the year-to-date sales of the MKS, MKT and Navigator. It's already important, is what we're trying to say, and this is before the Chinese market gets a crack at it later this year.
The money headed to Kentucky will be joined by 300 new workers, another marker in Ford's march to create 12,000 hourly jobs in the US by next year. You can read more about it in the press release below.