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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.

2019 Lincoln Navigator gets slight price hikes, crosses six-figure mark

As of the end of June this year, all-new Lincoln Navigator sales are up by triple digits over last year. No wonder, as Lincoln's flagship has impressed us on both our initial drive and again recently on a 900-mile road trip. Even if numbers slump some between now and the end of the year, the full-sized luxury SUV should achieve sales not seen since 2007, when it sold 24,050 units. That would help explain why the Navigator's already had one price increase this year, in June, when MSRPs across the range went up $500 and the destination charge rose another $100. According to order guides, prices for the 2019 model year will go up even more. The entry-level Premiere trim gets bumped by another $650, while the Reserve trim climbs by $3,500. After the $1,295 destination fee, the 2019 Navigator Premiere starts $74,500, and the Select trim rises by $1,000 to $78,850. Neither of those trims add additional equipment to offset the additional cost. The Reserve price hike to $86,500 does capture the cost of the Technology Package, which will come standard. On the 2018 Navigator, that package, which bundles aids like adaptive cruise control and autonomous emergency braking, is a $2,640 option, so the net price jump for the trim is $860. The Black Label price drifts upward by $2,190 to $97,690, but the 2019 models will throw in 30-way power seats as standard. Those thrones being a $1,250 option on 2018 models, the net increase is then $940. The long-wheelbase L models will all go up by the same amount as their non-L counterparts, which puts the Navigator over the $100K mark for the first time; the 2019 Black Label L will need $100,890 to put in a suitable driveway. That's just $700 less than the list price of the 2019 Cadillac Escalade ESV Premium, but Cadillac incentives mean the Lincoln would actually cost thousands more. Lease prices have gone skyward, too. Cars Direct found that in the middle of this year, the average monthly cost for a 36-month lease in California was $1,023, a $131 increase compared to lease prices in February. Two months later, the average monthly cost in California has gone up another eight dollars, to $1,031. That's only $14 less per month than the lease for an Escalade Luxury, even though the Cadillac has a list price $9,500 higher. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lincoln MKC Concept shows real promise [w/video]

Ford's efforts to resuscitate its moribund Lincoln luxury brand began in earnest with the introduction of its 2014 MKZ sedan, a model many labeled as the marque's make-or-break offering. Of course, one model does not a comeback make, and with the MKZ just now starting to trickle into dealers, it will be some time before America's jury of consumers comes in with their judgment. More to the point, it's likely to take better than a decade's worth of products and sustained marketing effort to even begin to figure out whether Lincoln has a shot at redemption or if it will die of Mercury poisoning. After all, rival General Motors has been pouring resources into Cadillac since the late '90s, and if the sales charts are any guidance, it's still probably too early to declare its rebirth a success.
Certainly, a brand with Ford's resources, free of distractions (read: the now-defunct Premier Auto Group and various other side projects) should be able to successfully market a single luxury brand, particularly one with such a rich - if distant - history. Especially now with the Blue Oval enjoying more consumer goodwill than at any time in recent history. So let's all give Alan Mulally and friends a little room to work, eh?
We can start by focusing on the compact crossover seen before you, the Lincoln MKC Concept. Riding atop the same global C-platform that underpins the Ford C-Max, Escape and Focus, the MKC showcar here presages a production small CUV that will stick its distinctive nose into one of the auto industry's fastest-growing segments.