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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.

Lincoln Continental with suicide doors sold out, but Lincoln will make more

The Lincoln Continental Coach Door Edition was announced just late last year, but now we have news that it's coming back for a second run of cars. All 80 initially planned have been allocated at this point. Lincoln wouldn't give an exact final price, but says it's somewhere north of $110,000. A fully-loaded Black Label car goes for a bit over $70,000, so it appears to be about a $40,000 premium for the Coach Door Edition. We're told that customers will be notified about their success at grabbing one in February, with shipments commencing over summer. Lincoln originally decided to build 80 of these because it's officially called the "80th Anniversary" car. Now that there will be a second year of production, we reached out to see if Lincoln will continue to produce the same number, or switch it up. Judging by the internet's excitement about this expensive sedan, there's a lot of interest in it. If you missed the reveal the first time around, you can read our full breakdown. To be succinct, it's a normal Black Label Continental that's been stretched by six inches and had suicide doors fitted to it. Sweet. There's also a full flow-through center console for the two rear passengers. Lincoln contracted Cabot Coach Builders to manufacture it; the two have worked together in the past. It's great to see Lincoln will be building more of these flagship-type sedans for the world. One could even make the argument that every new Continental screwed together should look like this, for history's sake. Related video:

2020 Lincoln Aviator First Drive | The Real Deal

NAPA VALLEY, Calif. – We're in Yountville, a town that's equal parts hoity and toity. The restaurants are adorned with the names of Top Chef Masters and the gas station offers wine tasting. A store that exclusively sells Panama hats will be opening soon. It's in places like these where the 2020 Lincoln Aviator needs to be taken seriously. When the local bakery is a Bouchon, chances are the local populace isn't going to be fooled out of their Audis, BMWs and Mercedes by sub-standard merchandise. The Aviator needs to be the real deal.  It is. There is a sophistication to its engineering and driving experience, plus a distinctive, tasteful style that should collectively meet lofty expectations and attract the desired inquisitive responses from fellow Yountvillians. Indeed, this three-row luxury crossover is no half-hearted, badge-engineered effort as Lincolns of the past were. Though it shares its rear-wheel-drive architecture with the new Ford Explorer, the two differ greatly, and Lincoln's own engineers casually speak of the advantages of "developing their own platform from the ground up." As in, this platform is as much their baby as Ford's, and not something that was sent over from HQ with orders to slap on some different styling and call it a day. For instance, the front and rear suspension designs are different, in part to accommodate the Aviator's unique pair of available damping systems: standard adaptive dampers and an optional air suspension that's height-adjustable, load-leveling and reactive to input from a forward-facing camera to pre-set itself for bumps in the road. We only sampled the latter, and despite our test Aviator being shod in massive 22-inch wheels, it soaked up the gnarled pavement around Napa Valley with no nervousness over smaller bumps or impact harshness over bigger ones. It also doesn't bound about as the springy new Explorer does. The Aviator is impressively planted, even in its most comfort-oriented driver mode of "Normal," and possesses a composure that was not expected given Lincoln's emphasis on comfort, effortlessness and "quiet flight." 2020 Lincoln Aviator Interior View 9 Photos Indeed, the Aviator can be hustled quite capably around some pretty serious mountain roads thanks to the advanced suspension and inherent chassis balance afforded by its rear-drive-based architecture (all-wheel drive is optional).