Honda Sues Ford Over Lincoln MKX

skittleslegend · 01-27-2006, 01:23 PM

Now before you guys cry lame, it makes sense from a business perspective:

In the latest skirmish over alphabetic product naming, Honda has filed a lawsuit against Ford alleging the new Lincoln MKX sport-utility vehicle sounds too much like its Acura MDX. Honda is asking Ford not to use the name MKX or any name that too closely resembles MDX. “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. Lincoln recently introduced the alphabetic naming scheme in an effort to align itself with the naming conventions of many premium European and Asian automakers. Both companies say they expect to settle the dispute out of court. Because the name MKX means “Mark X,” we suspect Ford will simply change the way it writes the name. In November, Nissan dropped its lawsuit against Audi, which sought to prevent the German automaker from using the Q7 name.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/01/...r-lincoln-mkx/

***Celcius*** · 01-27-2006, 01:46 PM

Sounds like business semantics to me.

I think Mark X sounds better anyways. I mean, if it's the X, then it must be one times better than the Mark IX, and nine times better than the Mark I! If I buy an MKX, I'm just buying a bunch of random letters. I don't even like the letter K that much. :/

**CameronJr9** · 01-27-2006, 02:51 PM

^^ HAHA! Good point. I think Mark X sounds better. They have an established brand with the name Mark. I'd keep that and just add the X.

Of course, then the Civil Liberties groups will complain and sue them because it's too close to Malcolm X. Lincoln will never win!

aki · 01-27-2006, 08:50 PM

Makes sense. Actually the RX is prob what they were lookin at, since that's Lexus' best selling line. But I'm sure they can like with Mk X

CivicsRdBest · 01-27-2006, 09:32 PM

Mark X, two sylables, MKX, 3 sylables. I don't know whats easier to remember... hmmm, something that makes sense? or more random number/letter combo's!

I seriously think some names should just stay names. I mean, its weird enough becuase every other new car is part of the modern alphabet soup. CTS, RSX, TSX, STS, XLR, xA, xB and the tC...

skittleslegend · 01-28-2006, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CameronJr9

^^ HAHA! Good point. I think Mark X sounds better. They have an established brand with the name Mark. I'd keep that and just add the X.

Of course, then the Civil Liberties groups will complain and sue them because it's too close to Malcolm X. Lincoln will never win!

lmao....nah, I think they'd be close to Karl Marx. Lincoln will lead the way in socialism and politics.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aki

Makes sense. Actually the RX is prob what they were lookin at, since that's Lexus' best selling line. But I'm sure they can like with Mk X

Actually, I think they may be aiming for Acura. Buick is aimed at Lexus. Nissan had a lawsuit against GM for something that was related to the Q-series of vehicles. I think GM had a Q7 concept or something. That lawsuit was dropped later though. It's all about marketing and intellectual properties. There are plenty of names and 26 letters of the alphabet. I think it's an infringement, but that's my honest .02.

civicboy · 01-28-2006, 01:50 AM

When Honda sues Ford, it only makes Ford look this much worse! I'm surprized that Honda isn't sueing Hyundai either. If you look at the Hyundai Sonata it looks alot like the Accord.

skittleslegend · 01-28-2006, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by civicboy

When Honda sues Ford, it only makes Ford look this much worse! I'm surprized that Honda isn't sueing Hyundai either. If you look at the Hyundai Sonata it looks alot like the Accord.

Hyundai's on a serious warpath. Since they've aquired Kia, they've improved quality, reliability and sales ten-fold.

CivicWithNav · 01-28-2006, 02:45 AM

Sonata's rear end does resemble an Accord but it also has it's own distict styling...

accords tail light narrows down towards the end as oppose to the Sonata's tail light enlarges towards the end, and with the dual exhaust, blacked out rear valence, it gives the car MEAN look which I like

Hyundai sales in 99 was about 90000 units... in 2005, almost 500,000 units

should ring a bell LoL

skittleslegend · 01-28-2006, 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CivicWithNav

Sonata's rear end does resemble an Accord but it also has it's own distict styling... accords tail light narrows down towards the end as oppose to the Sonata's tail light enlarges towards the end, and with the dual exhaust, blacked out rear valence, it gives the car MEAN look which I like

Hyundai sales in 99 was about 90000 units... in 2005, almost 500,000 units

should ring a bell LoL

They're essentially the same thing...looks like they straight-up jacked the whole rear end, trunk line and all.

Told ya'll Hyundai was on the come up... :) Until the redesign of the Camry, the Sonata ranks behind the Accord. But it's a pretty damn close second...NOBODY saw it coming either. Toyota and Honda'll have to step their game up big time and fast.

***Jrfish007*** · 01-28-2006, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skittleslegend

They're essentially the same thing...looks like they straight-up jacked the whole rear end, trunk line and all.

Told ya'll Hyundai was on the come up... :) Until the redesign of the Camry, the Sonata ranks behind the Accord. But it's a pretty damn close second...NOBODY saw it coming either. Toyota and Honda'll have to step their game up big time and fast.

The last three models on that car have been jacked form somewhere. My question is why the Accord? I mean the two models ago looked like a Benz, the previous one look like a Jag and now an Accord. Honda must be more luxory than I thought.

jandree22 · 01-28-2006, 12:49 PM

The Sonata/Accord thing is a pathetically desperate attempt on Hyundai's end, to increase sales by associating it with a car known to have a quality reuptation.

That being said, it worked.

jonthomas242 · 01-28-2006, 01:09 PM

I run into a lot of elderly people asking me if my car is a Hyundai? I correct their pronunciation and they go on saying Hyundai anyway. I can see why Hyundai would do that.

skittleslegend · 01-28-2006, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jrfish007

The last three models on that car have been jacked form somewhere. My question is why the Accord? I mean the two models ago looked like a Benz, the previous one look like a Jag and now an Accord. Honda must be more luxory than I thought.

Practicality is my guess. As a consumer, I'd rather drive a Hyundai that looks like an Accord, vs. something that looks like a Benz or Jag. When people stop and ask what kinda car it is, it'd be easier to tell them it's a Hyundai (that looks like an Accord) vs. it's a Hyundai (that I'm posing as a Benz...lol)

***Jrfish007*** · 01-30-2006, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skittleslegend

Practicality is my guess. As a consumer, I'd rather drive a Hyundai that looks like an Accord, vs. something that looks like a Benz or Jag. When people stop and ask what kinda car it is, it'd be easier to tell them it's a Hyundai (that looks like an Accord) vs. it's a Hyundai (that I'm posing as a Benz...lol)

lol... that's true

01-27-2006, 01:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
skittleslegend Senior Member Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Stowe, Vermont Age: 23 Posts: 7,833 iTrader: 1 / 100%	Honda Sues Ford Over Lincoln MKX Now before you guys cry lame, it makes sense from a business perspective: In the latest skirmish over alphabetic product naming, Honda has filed a lawsuit against Ford alleging the new Lincoln MKX sport-utility vehicle sounds too much like its Acura MDX. Honda is asking Ford not to use the name MKX or any name that too closely resembles MDX. “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. Lincoln recently introduced the alphabetic naming scheme in an effort to align itself with the naming conventions of many premium European and Asian automakers. Both companies say they expect to settle the dispute out of court. Because the name MKX means “Mark X,” we suspect Ford will simply change the way it writes the name. In November, Nissan dropped its lawsuit against Audi, which sought to prevent the German automaker from using the Q7 name. http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/01/...r-lincoln-mkx/

01-27-2006, 01:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
*Celcius* www.yospeed.com Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Anaheim, CA Age: 23 Posts: 4,415 David Yonehara iTrader: 17 / 100%	Sounds like business semantics to me. I think Mark X sounds better anyways. I mean, if it's the X, then it must be one times better than the Mark IX, and nine times better than the Mark I! If I buy an MKX, I'm just buying a bunch of random letters. I don't even like the letter K that much. :/ __________________

01-27-2006, 02:51 PM	#3 (permalink)
CameronJr9 Crazy Yellow Puppet Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Age: 28 Posts: 25,430 Back and Forth Forever iTrader: 6 / 100%	^^ HAHA! Good point. I think Mark X sounds better. They have an established brand with the name Mark. I'd keep that and just add the X. Of course, then the Civil Liberties groups will complain and sue them because it's too close to Malcolm X. Lincoln will never win! __________________

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01-27-2006, 08:50 PM	#4 (permalink)
aki Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: tehインターウェブ Age: 29 Posts: 4,318 Resident Si Sedan Hater iTrader: 4 / 100%	Makes sense. Actually the RX is prob what they were lookin at, since that's Lexus' best selling line. But I'm sure they can like with Mk X

01-27-2006, 09:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
CivicsRdBest Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Age: 23 Posts: 98 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Mark X, two sylables, MKX, 3 sylables. I don't know whats easier to remember... hmmm, something that makes sense? or more random number/letter combo's! I seriously think some names should just stay names. I mean, its weird enough becuase every other new car is part of the modern alphabet soup. CTS, RSX, TSX, STS, XLR, xA, xB and the tC...

01-28-2006, 01:50 AM	#7 (permalink)
civicboy Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Austin, TX Age: 25 Posts: 141 iTrader: 0 / 0%	When Honda sues Ford, it only makes Ford look this much worse! I'm surprized that Honda isn't sueing Hyundai either. If you look at the Hyundai Sonata it looks alot like the Accord.

01-28-2006, 02:45 AM	#9 (permalink)
CivicWithNav Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Woodstock MD Posts: 2,575 iTrader: 13 / 100%	Sonata's rear end does resemble an Accord but it also has it's own distict styling... accords tail light narrows down towards the end as oppose to the Sonata's tail light enlarges towards the end, and with the dual exhaust, blacked out rear valence, it gives the car MEAN look which I like Hyundai sales in 99 was about 90000 units... in 2005, almost 500,000 units should ring a bell LoL

01-28-2006, 12:49 PM	#12 (permalink)
jandree22 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Hershey, PA Age: 25 Posts: 330 iTrader: 0 / 0%	The Sonata/Accord thing is a pathetically desperate attempt on Hyundai's end, to increase sales by associating it with a car known to have a quality reuptation. That being said, it worked.

01-28-2006, 01:09 PM	#13 (permalink)
jonthomas242 Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL Kansas, AL Age: 30 Posts: 42 iTrader: 0 / 0%	I run into a lot of elderly people asking me if my car is a Hyundai? I correct their pronunciation and they go on saying Hyundai anyway. I can see why Hyundai would do that.