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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 Navigator priced at just $5 more than last year

The 2022 Lincoln Navigator still isn't listed on the Lincoln site at the time of writing, but Ford Authority says it has a price — one you'll not be surprised to hear is higher than that of the 2021 Navigator. The 2022 Navigator Standard sets the baseline with an MSRP of $76,710, or $78,405 with destination, a trifle of an up-charge at just $5 more than last year's trim. After that, premiums for the tech and feature updates given to the new Navigator climb quickly except in the case of the lengthened Standard L in rear-wheel-drive guise. That trim comes down by $200 on its MSRP, going up overall by $200 because of the updated destination fee, totaling $81,400.    2022 Navigator prices and their differences from last year are: Standard: $78,405 ($5) Standard L: $81,400 ($200) Reserve: $89,100 ($4,955) Reserve L: $91,770 ($4,760) Standard 4WD: $81,405 ($735) Standard L 4WD: $84,400 ($530) Reserve 4WD: $91,440 ($1,760) Reserve L 4WD: $94,465 ($4,785) Black Label 4WD: $104,675 ($4,725) Black Label L 4WD: $107,720 ($4,570) All Navigators will benefit from Lincoln Enhance, the brand name for Lincoln's over-the-air software update capability, and the improved Amazon Alexa integration that can respond to more natural language. The substantial rises on the Reserve and Black Label trims pay for ActiveGlide and CoPilot360 2.0. ActiveGlide is the advanced driver assistance tech that allows hands-free highway driving if the right conditions are met (it's known as BlueCruise on Fords). Using adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, lane centering and traffic sign recognition, the system can be activated on more than 130,000 miles of divided highways in North America. To help ensure hands-free doesn't turn into attention-free, ActiveGlide monitors the driverÂ’s head and eye positions with a driver-facing camera. Lincoln Co-Pilot360 2.0 bundles more ADAS like forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, and dynamic brake support, and for 2022 adds Intersection Assist and Active Sense Park Assist 2.0. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lincoln Continental sent 'into the vault' ... again

Ford confirmed today that the Lincoln Continental will be discontinued for North America after the 2020 model year. The news certainly isn't surprising given the Continental's meager sales figures, lukewarm critical reception and the fact that the Navigator has resoundingly entrenched itself as the brand's true modern flagship. "The name will go back into the vault," Lincoln spokesperson Angie Kozleski told the Detroit Free Press. "It has a long and rich history. But production for this vehicle will be ending at the end of this year." In an official statement, the brand said the decision was due to the continued decline of full-size premium sedans in the United States. The Continental is built in Flat Rock, Mich., and dates back to 2017 when Lincoln resurrected the nameplate after a 15-year hiatus. The car itself technically replaced the unloved MKS in Lincoln's lineup, and although based on a well-received concept car, the actual production model failed to live up to the rather grand style statement that had been promised. The interior in particular was a letdown. Lincoln sold 6,586 Continentals in 2019; likely many of those were fleet sales. Nevertheless, it can be argued that this Continental triggered Lincoln's rebirth. It was named something, for starters, as the Nautilus, Aviator and Corsair would eventually follow, signaling the end to the unloved and confusing MK nomenclature. And although it didn't live up to its concept, Lincoln at least learned from the episode and didn't repeat the mistake with Navigator or Aviator. They came as promised.  Though it's dead in the U.S., the Continental will live on for 2021 in China, where its sales are in decline but not by as much. And although it'll likely be remembered as a footnote in the long history of cars named Lincoln Continental, and with few fans in its corner, at least it reaches the end of the line having left a mark. Cue the Traveling Wilburys.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 2017 Lincoln Continental: Detroit 2016 View 17 Photos Plants/Manufacturing Lincoln Sedan