Too close for comfort? Honda sues Ford for Alphabet Soup Name-a-like

[notacarguy]

In latest alphabet soup scuffle, Honda's Acura says Lincoln moniker is too much like its own

Christine Tierney / The Detroit News

W ith only 26 letters in the alphabet, automakers are starting to quarrel over who owns which ones.

In the latest skirmish, Honda Motor Co. is suing Ford Motor Co. on the grounds that the new Lincoln MKX sport-utility vehicle sounds too much like its own premium Acura SUV, the MDX.

Honda is asking Ford not to use the name MKX or any name that too closely resembles MDX in the suit filed Wednesdayin federal court in Los Angeles.

"Our goal is to protect the Acura MDX name by ensuring that there's no consumer confusion between that and the new Lincoln MKX name," said Mike Spencer, a spokesman for Acura in Torrance, Calif.

Ford was not immediately available for comment.

Such disputes are growing commonplace as more automakers switch to the use of letters instead of proper names to identify their models.

For decades, Germany's premium marques BMW and Mercedes-Benz have used combinations of letters and numbers to identify their model lines. BMW debuted its AM4 in 1932.

Now nameplates such as General Motor Corp.'s Cadillac are doing the same, in part to put greater emphasis on the brand name.

Last March, Nissan Motor Co. filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Audi, accusing Volkswagen AG's premium brand of poaching the letter Q for its new Q7 and Q5 SUVs.

Nissan said it had used Q as the first letter identifying its premium Infiniti vehicles such as the Q45 since 1989 and had registered the slogan "the new Q" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The case was settled out of court in October and the terms kept confidential.

Acura expects a similar outcome. "We anticipate the matter will be resolved out of court," Spencer said.

Ford expects to start selling the MKX, a car-based SUV which it also calls the Mark X, later this year to bolster its flagging Lincoln brand.

Source: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...73233868922224

[AmericanRevolution]

Ugg... this is only gonna get more and more ugly.

And from that view of those 2 pics, they're both ugly. lol The cars that is.

[Xcursionliveson]

Originally Posted by AmericanRevolution

Ugg... this is only gonna get more and more ugly.

And from that view of those 2 pics, they're both ugly. lol The cars that is.

Yeah i have to say the Acura is ugly but i am very disappointed how the MKX is....it looks like another flop

[chad4835]

The two being similar did not even register until reading this article, but now that they pointed it out it seems they are close. I had not thought about the "Q" with Infiniti but wonder what the settlement was because the Q7 was in Detroit.

[griswold44]

They probably can't even use Mark X considering it's a Toyota in Japan.

[DuSpinnst]

Originally Posted by griswold44

They probably can't even use Mark X considering it's a Toyota in Japan.

Depends, Ford has had the Mark Series a long time, they may be able to claim that Mark X is the tenth iteration in the series.

I expect this to go no where. If a buyer gets confused between an Acura and a Lincoln well then they are just retarded.

[Vlissengen]

All the more reason why I loathe alphanumeric names for automobiles. It's stupid, really.

[asim]

All these letters confuse people that know very little about cars!

[slowpoke]

H/A does have the history of three letter'ed X names.

NSX
MDX
TSX
SSX (what the S2000 was before they changed their minds)
CSX

[GM_Fanatic]

I wish they would of just stuck with Aviator, it fits perfect with Navigator and Zephyr and it doesn't sound "me-too". IMO that was a huge mistake on Fords part. Of course they are going to fight to keep MKX after it already got all the media attention at NAIAS.

[BrickTamland]

They should stick with 'Aviator.' Alphanumeric names have no meaning and are not appropriate for cars with long histories like Lincoln. And don't expect people do buy into 'Mark X.' More than once I have had to correct myself for saying 'M-K-X.'

This is off topic, but the Acura MDX is still a good looking vehicle for being five years old. The MKX is good looking, too.

[toronado10]

Originally Posted by slowpoke

H/A does have the history of three letter'ed X names.

NSX
MDX
TSX
SSX (what the S2000 was before they changed their minds)
CSX

Plus the rebadged Isuzu Trooper : the SLX

[OzoneGTX]

How bout we make real names mandatory for all US cars and save ourselves the trouble.

[FoMoCo Fan]

It's not too late to switch it back to "Aviator" and "Continental"

[betron02]

i think ford should stay with the name Aviator

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