Acura squares off in court with Lincoln over use of "M"oniker
Honda Motor Company filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Ford Motor Company, stating that the name for Lincoln's newest
SUV, the MKX, sounds too close to the brand's Acura MDX SUV. Said Mike Spencer, spokesperson for Honda’s
luxury line on the company's Los Angeles federal court filing: “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.”
This is not
the first time automakers have battled over the use of letters to identify their vehicles. Last year, Nissan filed a
trademark infringement suit against Audi, hoping to stop the German company from using the letter “Q” in
its new SUV line. The company has utilized 'Q' in its alphanumeric naming scheme since 1989. The issue was settled out
of court. Ford has yet to issue a response to the third-largest Japanese automaker’s suit.
All of this begs the question, is the alphanumericization of American motoring really a worthwhile endeavor, or is it simply misplaced marketing effort? Autoblog's own Chris Paukert weighed in on the subject a while back here.
[Source: The Detroit News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
whofan 8:10PM (1/28/2006)
Why don`t BMW take Honda to court? BMW has the M3.
Grow up Honda!
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Brent Schmidt 8:33PM (1/28/2006)
Didn't Saturn/GM try to sue Toyota over Scion saying it sounded too much like the Ion?
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Hammer 8:50PM (1/28/2006)
LINCOLN SCEWS HONDA.
I love the fact Lincoln has basically stolen Acuras' name plate. Serves them(asians) write for stealing the Germans' name plates years ago. Lexus L-S400/Mercedes S400, Infiniti M/BMW M, Acura TL/Jaguar XJ...they are the original rip off artists! OH HEY, THE MKX LOOKS TEN TIMES BETTER THAN THE MDX.
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AR 9:06PM (1/28/2006)
And I love the fact that Acura is prospering while Lincoln continues to struggle in the marketplace.
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nonobeez 9:10PM (1/28/2006)
I agree with hammers... Japaneese are the original ripoffs. I hear the 240z heads work on maserati's engines.... looks like a daytona ferarri. the list goes on and on...
Which Jap car looks like the mustang?
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Tim UF 9:14PM (1/28/2006)
so, i dont know if anyone else noticed this, but the name mkx is an evolution of a classical lincoln name, the mark VII, or the Mark LT.
now its just MKX (mark X). i think they can make a decent arguement in court, but they'll end up using MarkX i hope anyway, since its more lincoln than the letter-name. (the lincoln LS never really sold, remember)
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whofan 9:29PM (1/28/2006)
Lincoln had the "Mark" name on their vehicles for a long time.
What we see here is the abbreviated "Mark 10" ,MKX.
Asian brands ripped so much off they don`t even know whats theirs.
If anybody did the screwing, it wasn`t Lincoln.
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starlightmica 9:38PM (1/28/2006)
Ford & Toyota had a tiff a few years back - Toyota wanted to call the successor to the T100 the T150, but Ford blocked this as it was too close to F150, hence the Toyota Tundra.
In retaliation, Toyota nixed the Lincoln LS6 and LS8, stating this was too close to the LS 400, and the Lincoln is simply called the LS.
Of course, the Tundra get upsized for the Chicago show next month, whereas the LS gets the ax later this year.
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Eric Nelson 9:52PM (1/28/2006)
Like anyone would ever mix up A Lincoln for a lousey Honda.
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Robert 10:18PM (1/28/2006)
If it's not an actual name where is the trademark? All this is is an alphabet soup. I'll always disparage Acura for dropping the perfect "Legend" name.
Also, if they must go the alphanumeric route they'd do better to follow the Europeans more closely. Mercedes C,E,S, but even better BMW 3,5,7-series and Audi A3,A4,A6,A8 give a clear progression of the size and luxury of their sedans. Lexus has a jumble of letters that only an auto fan cares to keep straight. Cadillac has doomed itself to the same fate. Ask a random person what the difference is between an SRX and an XLR and get ready for a befuddled look. For better or worse ask the same person about a Corvette, Mustang, Taurus, or even Pinto and you should get a better response.
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laserwizard 10:18PM (1/28/2006)
Lincoln thanks Honda. No one would have noticed the MkX (which sounds like Mark X) if it hadn't been for Honda.
I do have to warn Honda. Unlike Honda lawyers which haven't had much more practice than changing their briefs, Ford litigators are very experienced. I cannot wait to see Honda try to go against some of the best corporate lawyers since Satan's minions.
Party on, Honda. Your sweat on your brow is so unbecoming.
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paul 10:24PM (1/28/2006)
What a waste of money in legal fees this is going to be for both companies. I hope the court throws out the case. cars looks completely different, there cannot be confusion when we're talking about tens of thousands of dollars. would a reasonable person walk into a lincoln dealership out of confusion?
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Nick 10:29PM (1/28/2006)
What's in a name? I think buyers are going to compare the vehicles themselves, not the name, when they look at buying. I don't think that one letter is going to sway people this way or that. Honda/Acura people are going to buy the MDX and not even look at the Lincoln MKX, and vice versa.
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Eric L. 10:33PM (1/28/2006)
Actually MKX isn't for "Mark 10" - the "X" stands for "crossover." Same reason why Acura has the MD"X."
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DJ 10:40PM (1/28/2006)
Hmmm, I seem to recall that the "MKX" moniker is owned by Jaguar. I also recall that Jaguar is owned by.....uhhhh, FORD. Either Honda has so many lawyers, it doesn't know what to do with them or those lawyers are just trying to generate billable hours with frivolous lawsuits. Either way, they'll earn their keep when Ford files it's countersuit...which it'll win in a slamdunk!
Besides that, any company that dumps one of the BEST automotive names ever, the Legend, deserves to have their asses handed to them in court.
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v8 10:42PM (1/28/2006)
Or the Mercury XR-7 and Mazda RX-7 of the late 70s/early 80s?
That was before their relationship, wasn't it?
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Lithous 10:48PM (1/28/2006)
"And I love the fact that Acura is prospering while Lincoln continues to struggle in the marketplace."
Yes, because you are a non-American, American hater, we've already established that in another blog post.
I'm a proud American AR, what country are you a proud (or unproud) citizen of?
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Juan 11:05PM (1/28/2006)
Well, this seems pointless. I say the court throw the case out and call it a day.
And Acura should be ashamed of dropping the Legend name. It was and still is the best name in auto history. Over in Japan the name is still used on what we know as the RL. Oh well, maybe they'll bring it back in the future. Or not...
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Ophrey 12:04AM (1/29/2006)
#17
Lithous your a weenie
cry cry cry anti americanism blah blah blah everyone other then you is an import fanboy. Your just pissed off because your fav car companies are playing a losing game. We live in a world economy there is no "AMERICAN" made anymore all parts come from all over the world, its not about nationalistic pride its all about corporations and the one you just so happen to like a failing miserably. Deal with it.
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Autoreader 12:38AM (1/29/2006)
Wow. When did all the white trash start reading autoblog?
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