More Car Name Nonsense

No sooner do I take Lincoln to task for burdening its new compact sedan with the Zephyr moniker than FoMoCo decides to eliminate names for its Lincoln line. In an apparent belief that the move will position the marque upmarket, Lincoln will adopt alphanumeric designations for its vehicles. For instance, the Aviator sport-ute, whose name bears a pleasantly homophonic resemblance to its big brother, Navigator, and its cousin, Explorer, while managing to evoke a more highbrow image (flight over ground-pounding), will now be dubbed the MKX.

Who wants to say that they drive an MKX? Who will even remember that?

Aha. That is the point. Lincoln is apparently pouting that customers remember names like "Town Car," "Continental" or "Navigator," without referencing the Lincoln brand. The solution is diabolically simple: render the model name so meaningless and indistinct that the auto-buying public will have no choice but to refer to "Lincoln." Too bad the best thing Lincoln's product line had going for it was its names.

Except Zephyr.

And Lincoln's keeping that one.