Well, that only took 10 years. In an interview with Automotive News, a Ford top executive has acknowledged that Lincoln’s MK-based naming structure is confusing and that the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the Continental name’s revival may have the company rethinking its naming policy. From our point of view, MKC, MKT, MKZ, MKS, and MKX are tough to tell apart, and we’d welcome the shift. It’s also quite noteworthy, because the industry as a whole is still tumbling down the rabbit hole of meaningless and often mind-boggling nomenclature.
Compare Lincoln’s past nameplates—such as Zephyr, Town Car, Aviator, and Navigator (oh wait, Lincoln still uses that one)—to MK-whatever and it’s no contest. When Lincoln first introduced its MK naming scheme in 2006, the models were to be referred to phonetically as “Mark X,” “Mark Z,” “Mark T,” and so on. That idea seemingly collapsed in on itself within weeks of the announcement, resulting in Lincoln’s current “em-kay” setup.
The fact that Lincoln seems to making definitive steps toward anything sensical has us excited at the comments that Joe Hinrichs, Ford Motor Company’s president of the Americas, made to Automotive News. He told the outlet “Without divulging the future . . . we’re very excited about the Continental name and the attention it’s gotten,” before adding that “another way Lincoln could distinguish itself is to leverage its heritage. So I’ll leave it at that.”
We contacted Lincoln and were told that Hinrichs’s comments may not indicate that Lincoln actually will revert back to its historical names, only that the brand is “leaving the door open for future product.” It sounds as if any name considerations will be taken on a model-by-model basis, not brand-wide, as the Lincoln rep said that it likely wouldn’t be “a one-size-fits-all strategy.”
One aspect of a potential nomenclature shift that we particularly like is that it isn’t as rigid as, say, Cadillac’s, which buckets vehicles into CT- and XT- designations depending on body style (only the mega-selling Escalade was granted an exemption). And having a real, evocative name on at least two cars in the lineup—Continental and Navigator—builds on the momentum following Lincoln’s rebranding itself as the “Lincoln Motor Company.” Stir in Lincoln’s pampering new Black Label ownership experience and vehicle-customization program, and the brand may be on its way to changing its reputation as simply a purveyor of nice Fords.
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