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Following the industry trend towards alphanumeric nomenclature, Lincoln has announced that it as well will be
moving to the alphabet soup technique as it prepares to launch its new crossover (a replacement for the Aviator SUV) as
the MKX. Nah, that doesn't sound anything like the Acura MDX now, does it? For the time being, the Zephyr will retain
its airy name, but the future of the Navigator name is in doubt.
I'm not sure what the driving factor behind this change is, but I'm not a fan of such names considering that the near-lux and luxury markets are already so crowded with pseudoacronyms. I think that one of Cadillac's few mistakes during its recent resurgence was failing to capitalize on the strengths of its many historic model designations (come on - the XLR is the perfect modern-day interpretation of the Eldorado), and I'd hate to see Lincoln go down the same path. Needless to say, the success of Acura and Lexus will not be replicated simply by adapting the same naming strategy.
I'm not sure what the driving factor behind this change is, but I'm not a fan of such names considering that the near-lux and luxury markets are already so crowded with pseudoacronyms. I think that one of Cadillac's few mistakes during its recent resurgence was failing to capitalize on the strengths of its many historic model designations (come on - the XLR is the perfect modern-day interpretation of the Eldorado), and I'd hate to see Lincoln go down the same path. Needless to say, the success of Acura and Lexus will not be replicated simply by adapting the same naming strategy.
