wescoent Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 The entry on the Lincoln MKS indicates that Ford may be considering dropping the MK-naming scheme as part of its return to sanity. I have no information to back this up besides the Wikipedia entry, but it seems logical. Any thoughts on the matter? I think Lincoln's naming system has been screwed up since they named the Lincoln LS. Stupid name. This new MK naming scheme is confusing to most people, and even though Ford will be lambasted for changing course AGAIN, I think it would be better in the long run. MKZ should return to Zephyr for the 2009 refresh. MKX should return to Aviator for its 2010 refresh. Mark LT should be renamed Navigator LT. Town Car keeps its name. MKS gets renamed Continental. MKR gets renamed Mark IX. Lincoln people mover... thats a toughie. Navicross? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford-150 Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 maybe they should make MK a performance model for their vehicles, oh wait that means ford has to build performance models of their cars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LincolnFan Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 As much as I like the D3s, there's no way in hell I'd forgive Ford if they named a D3 Lincoln a Continental. No more FWD Contis, the world is sick of them, they're a disgrace. Oh and Wikipedia can be edited by anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainp4 Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 ... Lincoln people mover... thats a toughie. Navicross? Navigator X, duh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 (edited) Frankly, there are no obvious merits to returning to a name-based strategy. Pick A strategy and STICK WITH IT. ---- GM is reportedly considering going back to names at Cadillac. This I consider to be incredibly stupid. You have, at Cadillac, this goal of attracting young people to the brand, and away from marques such as BMW and Lexus, right? Right. So, you're going to rename the DTS "Deville"? The STS, Seville? etc. What 33 year old professional male on the way up will be aiming to impress his co-workers (of whatever gender he happens to prefer), by saying, "Like it? It's a Seville." See, Cadillac can't impress 30-somethings with heritage names. --------- Granted, Ford is at least smart enough to be aiming at people they have a likelihood of reaching with Lincoln, but in their case, flip-flop-flipping on naming does nothing but confuse people. When I was at Gateway, every other month, it seemed like, we had to learn a new call handling strategy, each one 'guaranteed' to reduce our handle time. The problem was, we never stuck with any strategy long enough to see it pay off. Edited April 16, 2007 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconman13 Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 GM has the distinct disadvantage of having the S naming over at Caddy for a while. The STS has a acquired an identity. With Lincoln, it may serve to eliminate some of the confusion to return to actual names. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 GM has the distinct disadvantage of having the S naming over at Caddy for a while. The STS has a acquired an identity. With Lincoln, it may serve to eliminate some of the confusion to return to actual names. Changing anything causes confusion. Saying that 'the change is causing confusion' is no basis for undoing the change, as it is an exceptionally obvious outcome from the change. You want to justify undoing the change, look somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconman13 Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 (edited) OK RJ, I find all the MK? stuff a bit confusing. Its almost like I need a playbook to keep up with the Lincoln posts. Now, imagine the target audience of 60+ YO average Lincoln buyer? How confused do you think they are? Maybe I am just Old School in my thinking, but I like my cars to have names Then again, When I first read that SVT was making a BOF Truck. I thought they meant a Big Old F@$#ing Truck. So Maybe its just me. Edited April 16, 2007 by falconman13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 OK RJ,I find all the MK? stuff a bit confusing. Its almost like I need a playbook to keep up with the Lincoln posts. Now, imagine the target audience of 60+ YO average Lincoln buyer? How confused do you think they are? Maybe I am just Old School in my thinking, but I like my cars to have names The idea is you end up with a Lincoln, not an Aviator, Zephyr, etc. If it causes confusion on the boards that is not necessarily indicative of long term problems in the marketplace. The marketplace in general is not full of people trying to keep the various MKs sorted out in their heads. It's full of people that want a luxury car that they can feel good about. The actual product name, for most people, forms a small part of the overall experience of ownership. IMO, they should've gone with "Mark" and a more mnemonic friendly set of letters and numbers. However what's done is done, and can't be undone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Its not the name they need to worry about. Its the product. I agree. I think the MK names are fine for the most part...but NOT exclusively throughout the Lincoln line. They are Mk-ing everything and that just ain't good. Two or three "Marks" is all they need. Lincoln needs a name like the Continental to return to a worthy platform and even Town Car wouldn't be so bad to hang on to. I personally don't like Zephyr so I think the MKZ is good for that platform. I think the MKX is good for the little sport-ute. I'm not really that crazy about the "Mark LT" for a name. "Mark" just doesn't seem to belong on a truck. The rest of the lineup, should bear heritage names. If Lincoln were to build the MKR concept car, it DEFINITELY SHOULD BE CALLED CONTINENTAL. That looks like a Continental. As for the F is for Ford and M is for Mercury...I hope they get off that kick completely. Here and there is okay but its borderline retarded to me. Its shows no originality and seems to suggest that the general public can't recall a name unless it sounds like it belongs in a Golden Book. Fusion was a good choice of name; better than the original Futura that was to be used. So, Ford did good on that. Focus is a good name. Let's keep the names unique and original on some models; recall the past with others and not require a F to follow a Ford or a M to follow a Mercury or MK* to follow Lincoln. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 From my experience in what I've seen on other boards, it's the from MK being used for the wrong vehicle. The MKZ being used for what is really the MKX, and vice versa. Whats worse, is when someone corrects them, then they pick up on it, and will refer to it as "That new Lincoln SUV", "that new small Lincoln", "the baby Lincoln", "that Edge wannabe Lincoln they got". Even sales people have an issue keeping it straight. Whats worse is, it's just one letter, and thats the mistake with nomeclatures badging. Majority of people will know the difference between a TSX, TL, MDX, etc. But with Lincoln it's Mark X, Mark Z, Mark this, Mark that. IN the Ford literature, most of it is MK-Z, etc. NOT Mark, so why hint to MARK, if MARK is not hardly used or their own literature?! Whats worse is, now that the media has whined about it. It would be that much difficult to revert back to names, since the Zephyr to MKZ, situation has occured. If it changes again, Lincoln will be laughed at and kill any creditbility on naming. They would have to wait for a total redesign to try and get away with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Like killing off the Taurus/Sable? Exactly. They killed that platform, and stopped building those cars, and calling the Five Hundred and Montego the Taurus and Sable doesn't change those facts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Whats worse, is when someone corrects them, then they pick up on it, and will refer to it as "That new Lincoln SUV", "that new small Lincoln", "the baby Lincoln", "that Edge wannabe Lincoln they got". AFAIK, that's what Lincoln marketing execs want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 (edited) Worst thing Lincoln could do to to stop its recovery is to plunge it back into an age when it was 'your father's retirement car'. Lincoln, more than any brand, needs to separate itself from its past but do so in a way that honors its distinctiveness. Stodgy names like Continental and Zephyr belong on Buicks, not on products targeting a rapidly growing entry level market hungry for fresh options. This is a VERY image driven brand, this is not Taurus. The 500 was designed to be a mercilessly practical with a audience distinctively older and traditional. It makes sense to re-use the Taurus name. On Lincoln, nothing could cause more damage to the brand then to link its products to their mediocre past. Edited April 16, 2007 by BORG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 I dunno, after a suitable hiatus, Continental might be brought back. The name is rather ...... uh. ..... 'Continental'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 It would make sense if the MKS is named Continental, it is the splitting image of the Continentals from 80s and 90s. Once again it will be a luxury version of the Ford Taurus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercurymichael Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Alpha Numeric names make no sence on any car. I can except them on Mercedes and BMW because that was always their thing. But they make no sence to me. They stir no passion or emotion or even an image of what their car is supposed to be and certainly no heritage. I thought it was a mistake when Cadillac switched to it and an even bigger, copy cat, can't think for ourselves decision for Lincoln to do it. Continental is an awesome name and should come back. However the car that wears that badge needs to live up to it. Something the last Continental struggled to do. Zepher was a much better name than mkz or ls. Same with Aviator. When and if there is ever a coupe or sports model it should Mark IX. Someone mentioned using MK as a high performace insigna--good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbalek Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 One thing I have noticed, almost as often as the MkZ/MkX confusion, is the frequent mispelling of the Zephyr name! LOL When I first heard of the Zephyr concept, I thought it was the wrong name for a new production car that was supposed to appeal to younger buyers. As a 38 year old fan of Lincolns, I had never heard of the vaunted Lincoln Zephyr of the 1930s. Unfortunately I had heard of the 1970s Mercury Zephyr, which for me has a very negative connotation! I am now used to the new Em Kay naming scheme but it took more getting used to than the original announcement that it was "Mark!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro-man Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Stodgy names like Continental and Zephyr belong on Buicks, not on products targeting a rapidly growing entry level market hungry for fresh options. Dude, you so lost me right there. There is nothing "stodgy" about a '62 Continental - I don't care how wet you are behind the ears. Even the weak sauce Continentals of the '80s and '90s couldn't erase that. God knows, they tried. Another decade or so of f*cking up the cars that bear the name (for example, sticking it on a CD3 based vehicle) and they might kill off all residual brand equity. But they haven't yet. Richard, I sort of agree with you about the average consumer's approach to the car names. I also agree with whoever said that "it's the product stupid". Cadillac names make some sense to me insofar as I can equate them to a car that has some substance in my memory: STS=Seville Touring Sedan, CTS=Catera Touring Sedan, ETC=Eldorado Touring Coupe, etc. etc. But doing the alpha-numeric thing just to make the cars seem somehow more like Mercedes or BMW has always seemed so pathetic to me. (BTW, when it comes to volume sellers, Honda does just fine with "Accord" and "Civic", Toyota with "Camry" and "Corolla", and so did Ford with "Taurus".) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joihan777 Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 (edited) Personally, I have grown to like the Mk naming scheme, and hope they stick with it. Ditto, didn't like the MK stuff at first... but now I think it fits. MKZ=MK Zephyr MKX=MK X-over SUV MKR=MK Racing? MKS=MK Standard, the bar to which others must raise to? I dunno, but I think the MK names are starting to grow on me. The Navigator is a fine name. And if a stretched Mustang platform appears to refresh the nation's police fleets, would that be a good place to apply the Continental name? A Continental MK5? I just wish I could afford one! Edited April 17, 2007 by joihan777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LincolnFan Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 You know you shouldn't be buying Lincolns when you call the Continental name stodgy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armadamaster Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 (edited) The dumba$$ed MK names REALLY need to go. I could see a Five Hundread based Continental, for all it's faults, the last gen Continental is still recent in most folks minds. Of course, the only Lincoln nameplate at present that grandpa cares about or that even matters is the one that begins in "Town" and ends with "Car". Edited April 17, 2007 by Armada Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVT_MAN Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 (edited) You know what is funny? Everybody is crapping on the Continental. You know the funnier part? Sure, it did not sell well, but it's extremely reliable and not a bad car at all. But, what did Ford do? Instead of improving and repositioning the car, they END it. Even if there is a hint of potential, Ford never invests in a product that has potential. They just ditch the name and drop the product. Tbird - GONE, then RETURNED. FAILED. Continental - GONE. Is it going to return? Who knows, but I hope it doesn't have the same fate as the Tbird. Zephyr - GONE, GONE, GONE ... returning? Will Ford make up its mind already? The only thing worse than a company failing is a company that is FAILING AND INDECISIVE. It seems like most of Ford's cars with a bad image aren't in reality bad cars. They just are positioned incorrectly and have terrible marketing. My family owns a 95 Continental with 86,000 miles on it and it hasn't had any problems, even with the air suspension. We've had it since 45,000 miles. It's a very comfortable car. It even handles pretty well. But, there is only so much you can do to stop the forces of gravitiy on a FWD 3900 lbs car. The Continental is not a bad car. It never was. Lincoln's biggest problem with their cars in the past was that they were too stodgy for a younger audience though. If they can create a car that doesn't evoke that image, things would be fine. Everybody seems to be missing it ... The name does NOT make the car. This is Ford's problem with the new "Taurus" too. You can't make a medicore car great by just putting a special name on it. Edited April 17, 2007 by SVT_MAN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 The name does NOT make the car. This is Ford's problem with the new "Taurus" too. You can't make a medicore car great by just putting a special name on it. The only mediocre things about the Five Hundred were the looks and powertrain. The powertrain is fixed with the Taurus. The looks...eh...they're better. Not super, but not offensive on any level. The only really bad thing about the Five Hundred was the ADVERTISING. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Yeah, nowadays the name 'Continental' stinks SOOOO BAD...that Bentley uses it on their two-door GT coupe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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