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U.S. issues new tariff threat, this time against British-built cars

WASHINGTON — Britain is the United States' closest ally but their long friendship may be sorely tested as the two countries try to forge a new trade agreement after Britain's exit from the European Union. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday in London that he was optimistic that a bilateral deal with Britain could be reached as soon as this year. But Mnuchin gave up no ground after a second meeting with his UK counterpart, Sajid Javid. Javid has insisted that Britain will proceed with a unilateral digital services tax, despite a U.S. threat to levy retaliatory tariffs on British-made autos. Mnuchin told reporters after Saturday's meeting that such taxes would discriminate against big U.S. tech companies like Alphabet Inc's Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. The UK Treasury declined to comment on the private meeting. The divide highlights the challenges ahead as the Trump administration seeks a new bilateral agreement with Britain, part of a broader push to rebalance relations with nearly all its major trading partners. The stakes are high — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pegged the trade deal with United States as a way to ease the pain of breaking with Europe, Britain's largest trade partner. U.S. President Donald Trump, has promised a "massive" trade deal to support Brexit, the product of a populist movement similar to his "America First" agenda. The goodwill and special relationship the two countries have enjoyed for decades may not count for much, experts say. "Trump is not going to be doing Johnson any favors," said Amanda Sloat, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution in Washington. "He's not going to give him a trade deal without major concessions." Even before the digital tax issue arose, the Trump administration threatened to tax foreign car imports, which could hit British-made Jaguar, Land Rover, Mini, and Honda Civic hatchback cars. Stiff U.S. trade demands include increased access for U.S. farm goods, concessions that will be difficult for Britain's entrenched natural food culture to swallow. The United States also wants Britain to change the way its National Health Service prices drugs and allow in more U.S. pharmaceuticals, which could prove politically unpopular for Johnson's government. Washington's demand that London block Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd for national security reasons could also cloud talks.

Jaguar F-Pace runs support at Tour de France

Jaguar is going back to the Tour de France. The British automaker will once again support Team Sky in its latest campaign for cycling's biggest prize by loaning out an F-Pace prototype that will run during the brutal first stage of this year's event. This marks our first genuine look at the production sheetmetal, which is lightly obscured by the Team Sky/Jaguar camouflage. Sporting a black theme, it features blue accents, carbon fiber, rubber, and chain elements reminiscent of a racing bike. Outside of that, it looks a lot like C-X17 Concept that previewed the F-Pace. Like the F-Type that was used by Team Sky in last year's race, the F-Pace will carry the team's director and a driver. They'll be joined this year by a mechanic and the team's physician, while the large trunk will house sports drinks, clothing for the riders, and spare parts for their bikes. "We are delighted to be supporting Team Sky again at such a prestigious sporting event and are excited at the prospect of the F-Pace being seen in action in public for the first time," Kevin Stride, the CUV's line director, said in the attached statement. "The Jaguar F-Pace is a striking balance of performance, style, and practicality. And what better way to showcase the vehicle's attributes than on this crucial first leg of the Tour de France." Scroll down for the full press release from Jaguar. JAGUAR F-PACE PROTOTYPE TO LEAD TEAM SKY AT THE TOUR DE FRANCE #FPACE STRICTLY UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01 BST WEDNESDAY 1 JULY 2015 ? Jaguar F-PACE breaks cover at the Tour de France as official Team Sky support vehicle ? Prototype version of Jaguar's first performance crossover will be seen in public for the first time with light camouflage ? Team Sky rider Chris Froome stars alongside the Jaguar F-PACE in a short film showing real world testing of the prototype at their training camp ? Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations designs cutting edge bike racking solution to optimise quick-release of Team Sky's Pinarello Bolide TT bikes for Stage One Wednesday 1 July 2015: Jaguar will set the pace for Team Sky this Saturday when a prototype version of the highly anticipated Jaguar F-PACE will support the team at the Tour de France Grand Depart in Utrecht. Jaguar's first performance crossover is due to be revealed later in the year and is in its final stages of development.

Junkyard Gem: 1977 Jaguar XJ6L

British Leyland began selling the Jaguar XJ in 1968, and production continued through multiple platform generations (and corporate owners) until just a few years ago. The original XJ was facelifted twice, in 1973 and 1979, with sales of the six-cylinder version extending into 1987 (Series 3 cars with V12s were built through 1992). Production numbers were never very high, but these cars proved popular in the United States and I still find them every so often during my junkyard travels. Here's a Series 2 XJ6 saloon that showed up in a Denver-area self-service yard last winter. Jaguar introduced a long-wheelbase version of the XJ saloon for 1972, giving it a four-inch stretch in order to better compete against the planned Rover P8. Since Rover was a fellow British Leyland brand, this was like Buick pouring big resources into crushing a threat from Oldsmobile, to the detriment of the overall company. In any case, the long-wheelbase saloons proved so successful that the short-wheelbase four-doors got the axe a couple of years later (the coupes stayed on the shorter chassis). Jaguar continued to add the "L" badging to the saloons for quite a while after that, presumably because it looked classy. The paint on all the upper body surfaces has been nuked down to the steel by the relentless High Plains sun, so we can assume that this car spent a decade or three sitting parked outside. It may have started out in Arizona, one of the few places with fiercer sunlight than eastern Colorado. Is it possible that it really turned a mere 46,630 miles during its life? With most cars of this vintage, I'd assume that the five-digit odometer has been turned over once or twice. With a Jaguar and its troublesome electrical components made by the Prince of Darkness, however, that's not such a sure bet. To own a car like this, you need to be willing and able to give it the money and work it requires to stay on the road; not many are suited to this responsibility. The interior looks to have been in very nice condition before the car got parked in a field somewhere. The wood interior trim has seen better days. Back in the 1970s, Mercedes-Benz had a big edge over Jaguar with mechanical sophistication and build quality, granted, but Jaguar beat those Stuttgarters hands-down when it came to making a car interior feel like a billionaire's library. The engine is a 4.2-liter XK6 straight-six, rated at 162 horsepower and 225 pound-feet.