156n3rd Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 (edited) I have decided to do this over and simply ask.....why do the current Lincolns have such weird names? Whatever happened to the great names of the past? The latest Lincolns appear very Ford-like. They don't have bodies of their own. I know Cadillac hasn't built a classy car in years. It's a shame the Town Car had to die. I always thought it was a great American car. The loss of Mercury seems to have left a big giant gaping hole in the product line, causing Lincoln to be 2 different lines into one. Edited August 16, 2013 by 156n3rd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005Explorer Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 They did it to copy what the other luxury brands were doing with alpha-numeric type model names. I expect the next Navigator to become the MKN so it will be MK everything after that. MKC, MKZ, MKS, MKX, MKT, MKN. Sort of a mess if you ask me, but they seem committed to MK everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 (edited) I have decided to do this over and simply ask.....why do the current Lincolns have such weird names? Whatever happened to the great names of the past? The latest Lincolns appear very Ford-like. They don't have bodies of their own. I know Cadillac hasn't built a classy car in years. It's a shame the Town Car had to die. I always thought it was a great American car. The loss of Mercury seems to have left a big giant gaping hole in the product line, causing Lincoln to be 2 different lines into one. Well, I agree on the names, but... MKZ and MKS have different bodies from their Ford counterparts already. The upcoming MKC does also and there's no reason to think the new MKX won't. That leaves only the Navigator up in the air. The Town Car and the image associated with it is everything that was wrong with Lincoln, not what was right with it. Stodgy, outdated, primitive, old. Good riddance. I also fail to see where the "hole" in the lineup is with Mercury gone. There's still pricing overlap between Ford's brands. It's just not as horrible as it once was. Mercury's lineup consisted of vehicles with 100% price overlap with other brands. The bottom half of it overlapped with Fords. The upper half overlapped with Lincolns. There's no wiggle room for a brand like that to exist anymore. Edited August 20, 2013 by NickF1011 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 The Town Car and the image associated with it is everything that was wrong with Lincoln, not what was right with it. Good riddance. This ^^^^^. That said I don't really like the MK stuff either. It started out as Mark which has historical significance going all the way back to the Mark II in 1956 and ending with the Mark VIII in 98. Mark Z got shortened to MKZ and the rest is history. I don't really care what they call them as long as the products are great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 I have decided to do this over and simply ask.....why do the current Lincolns have such weird names? Whatever happened to the great names of the past? The latest Lincolns appear very Ford-like. They don't have bodies of their own. I know Cadillac hasn't built a classy car in years. It's a shame the Town Car had to die. I always thought it was a great American car. The loss of Mercury seems to have left a big giant gaping hole in the product line, causing Lincoln to be 2 different lines into one. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 I think the MK was a good idea gone off the rails. It harken back to the Mk days which unfortunately seemed to be lost to the newer generations. The closest I remember was the original LS6 and LS8. That made sense. I also agree the looks are getting pretty much apart between Lincoln and Ford that you really have to be picky to notice the similarities. Mercury, IMHO, I could never understand the reason for it as far back as 1986 when my father had to choose between a Tempo or Topaz. I felt the interior trim of the last generation of Mercury's would have at least being a trim level in a Ford. Just my nickel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marginal Economist Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 I heard a rumor from a fairly connected source that the Continental name is coming back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iiari Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 The Town Car and the image associated with it is everything that was wrong with Lincoln, not what was right with it. Stodgy, outdated, primitive, old. Good riddance. I also fail to see where the "hole" in the lineup is with Mercury gone. There's still pricing overlap between Ford's brands. It's just not as horrible as it once was. Mercury's lineup consisted of vehicles with 100% price overlap with other brands. The bottom half of it overlapped with Fords. The upper half overlapped with Lincolns. There's no wiggle room for a brand like that to exist anymore. Totally agree on the Town Car and the lack of a "hole" in the lineup. If anything, Mercury was (trying) to occupy too narrow a niche and pricing point. I may be the only one here who likes the MK naming scheme. It has a heritage to point to with it, and people were abbreviating Mark as that anyway for years. At least MKZ, S, N, C is somewhat unique and, really, it's not THAT hard to remember them all. I mean, I'd prefer that to BMW or Audi rip-off names like MK3, MK4X, MK5, etc... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 I'm on the fence about going back to the names because it conjures up bad memories of 'Old Folks Car'. That said, I feel torn because I think they screwed up the MK names but going back to Town Car (I know about the MKT livery), Continential (I see Chris Walken and 'Champangyea')? Un-uh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Totally agree on the Town Car and the lack of a "hole" in the lineup. If anything, Mercury was (trying) to occupy too narrow a niche and pricing point. I may be the only one here who likes the MK naming scheme. It has a heritage to point to with it, and people were abbreviating Mark as that anyway for years. At least MKZ, S, N, C is somewhat unique and, really, it's not THAT hard to remember them all. I mean, I'd prefer that to BMW or Audi rip-off names like MK3, MK4X, MK5, etc... The thing is I see the M-B, AUDI and BMW nameing scheme and it makes sense to me. Lincoln doesn't IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintlaz1 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 oh jesus, not this again! this topic never dies. It just is what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taurus SHO Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 I heard a rumor from a fairly connected source that the Continental name is coming back. How long ago did you hear that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iiari Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 The thing is I see the M-B, AUDI and BMW nameing scheme and it makes sense to me. Lincoln doesn't IMHO. Really? The only thing that makes sense any more is that as the cars get bigger the numbers go up (wait, that's not true anymore, as BMW's sedan is a 3 and the coupe a 4). Once upon a time, Euro makers' names had relationships to engine displacements and that doesn't exist anymore. MB has such an alphabet soup at this point that I have trouble keeping all of the GL's and SL's and SC's and E-coupes (which are really C based) clear. I stopped trying a while ago and just starting thinking of them by type and size, which I think is the point overall. MB wants you to think you're buying a MB, not a E or a C. Similarly, Lincoln wants you to think about buying a Lincoln, not a Continental. I remember my late Uncle loved his Lincoln Town Cars, but he loved *Town Cars* and didn't care about anything else Lincoln. Not Marks, or Continentals. He was loyal to the line, not the brand. That is brand suicide in 2013... Re: Continental rumorHow long ago did you hear that? The recent Automotive News article said the next MKS was rumored to be called Continental (see the most recent media thread post). I personally hope not. See above... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fou_bleu Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I see only two solutions - continuing with the MK-series or using brand-new names. Personally, LiMoCo has spent the time and money on the MK-series, so stick with it and make it work (MKE for electric car, MKR for performance etc.) Personally, I think MKZ should have been reserved for the flagship Lincoln (as in 'zenith'). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 (edited) I am willing to bet that any flag ship or halo Lincoln may have a tip to the past with a forward looking name as well... Continental MK I There was NEVER a Mark I......remember, the original was the Continental Mark II...there never was a Mark I.....it all started with Mark II, then Mark III, Mark IV and so on..... Edited August 24, 2013 by twintornados Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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