One sure way to get a glimpse of future product names in any industry is to study U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filings. Since our last trademark report, some new names have been registered. In this installment, Lincoln registers the alphabet, the Avenger is confirmed, Mercedes loses a name, a new GM slogan, a long wheelbase Cadillac DTS, a new Infinti engine and more…
“Lincoln MKR”
Lincoln has added another moniker to its stable of possible car names. The latest edition (filed April 24th) is “Lincoln MKR.” Currently, Lincoln’s “MK” trademarks include MKS, MKX, and MKZ — all of which are in use — plus MKSW, MKV, MKF, MKE, MKC, MKN, and MKA.
“Life. Liberty. And The Pursuit.”
On April 28th, General Motors filed for the slogan “Life. Liberty. And The Pursuit.” We’re not sure what this will be used for, but in our last report we successfully uncovered Saturn’s “Like Always. Like Never Before.â€? slogan before it was used.
Dodge “Avenger” a certainty
If ever there was doubt about the name Dodge’s next family sedan, this filing should clarify things. Dodge is widely expected to call its version of the 2007 Chrysler Sebring the “Dodge Avenger.” On April 13th, it officially registered the name.
Mercedes naming uncertainty
With each model update, Mercedes has been rolling out updated V8 and AMG engine offerings. The new AMG models use the ‘63′ engine (CLS 63, E 63, etc), while the new V8 models use the ‘550′ extension. The first sign of a discrepancy popped up when the new CLS was introduced as the “CLS 500” despite having the same engine as the E 550 and S 550. Now, the patent office lists the name “E 550″ as “abandoned” as of May 16. It appears Ford owns the name “E-550″ and was probably not willing to give it up. Will Mercedes roll back to the ‘500′ designation? Time will tell…
“CLC-Class”
Mercedes on May 9th filed for the name CLC-Class. Is another niche vehicle in the works? A two-door CLS, perhaps? (And no, that wouldn’t be a CL-Class since the CLS-Class costs much less).
Cadillac “DTS-L”?
On April 27th, GM registered the name DTS-L. A competitor to the Chrysler 300C Long Wheelbase, perhaps?
Infiniti “FX50″?
Nissan registered the name “FX50″ for its Infiniti brand on April 19th. Currently, the range-topping FX model is called the FX45. Will a new 5.0 liter powerplant replace the current 4.5 liter engine? Better still, what other cars might such a powerplant end up in? We know where we’d love to see it.
05/25, 2:43 PM
posted by:
BlaRo
When I first read “Lincoln MKR” the first thing that popped into my mind was:…”Merkur”. That, or “Maker”. I know, they’re going for the “Mark” name, but to me it still sounds terrible.
I’ve got nothing to say about anything else, frankly.
05/25, 3:43 PM
posted by:
Thom
While I will admit that “Zephyr” is not exactly a great name, I think it is ridiculous that they named it that for one year, and are now going to an alphabet naming scheme. I am so sick of letters as a “name” when it is not at all, and I am sick especially of “x”
Why is every other car makers icluding an “x” in a name somewhere? It is stupid. Come up with good names, and stick with them.
05/25, 4:02 PM
posted by:
Anonymous
I think the europeans and japanese should just stick to the letters and numbers. Names for cars is the more american thing. Lincoln and Cadillac is just lost now. Not so much cadillac, but lincoln hah, ways to go.
05/25, 4:04 PM
posted by:
Kevin
how much bigger can a DTS get?
05/25, 4:13 PM
posted by:
Bolt VanHung
“Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit.”…. I was just thinking that the Canadian Pontiac version of the Cobalt is called the Pursuit. Perhaps Pontiac has decieded to use this name in the States as well?
05/25, 4:31 PM
posted by:
Howard Send
Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit is interesting, since Pursuit was the name of the Pontiac-ized Cobalt Copue in Canada, now renamed G5-Pursuit and coming to the US as Pontiac G5.
Infiniti’s new VQ V6 variant is said to make “well over 300″ horsepower.” That sort of cuts down on the impressiveness of the 315 hp 4.5 liter V8 in the M45 and FX45, so the FX50 jump is logical.
Oh and by the way, I hate the Lincoln naming system. People get confused even when MB and BMW do it. No one will remember Lincoln’s letters. Zephyr, Aviator, Continental were so much better. Currently on sale in the US:
CTS-DTS-XLR-SRX-STs-C230/C280/C350/C55AMG-E350/E500/E55AMG-ML350/ML500-SL550-S550-CLS500/CLS55AMG/CLS65-SLK280/SLK350/SLK55AMG-CL500/CL600/CL55AMG/CL65AMG-CLK350/CLK500/CLK55AMG-A8-A6/S6/RS6-A4/S4/RS4-A3-325i/325xi/330i/330xi/328i/335i/M3-525i/530i/550i/M5-750i/750Li/760i/760Li-650i/650ci/M6-X5-X3-Z4-G35-M35/M35x/M45-Q45-FX35/FX45-QX45-LS430/LS500/LS600h-ES350-RX350/RX400h-GS300/GS300AWD/GS430/GS450h-IS250/IS250AWD/IS350-LX430-GX430-SC430-RL-TL-TSX-MDX-NSX-RDX-300/300C-500-XJ8/XJR-XType-SType-XK8/XKR-F430-612-575-I230-I350-SX4-G5-G6.
Oh yeah, the MKR. That stands out.
05/25, 5:03 PM
posted by:
Michael Spadaro
The fact that Ford owns the name “E550″ probably explains why there is no mention of the 2007 E-class on mbusa.com, the Mercedes website.
05/25, 5:26 PM
posted by:
kmoney
Wow. You missed the CTS-V, STS-V, and XLR-V. Along with:
Mercedes: ML55AMG, ML65 AMG, S430, S500.
Infiniti: The “QX45″ is supposed to be “QX56″.
Audi: Q7, S8
Lexus: GX470, LX470
Subaru: STI
VW: GTI, R32,
Maybach: 57, 57S, 62
Hummer: H1, H2, H3
Aston Martin: DB9, V8
Chevy: HHR, SSR, S10
Dodge: SRT4
Ford: GT, F150, F250, F350, F550, GT500
Mazda: 3, 5, 6, MX-5, RX-8, CX-7, MPV
Nissan: 350Z
Pontiac: GTO
Porsche: 911, Carerra S, Carerra 4, Carerra 4S, Carerra GT, GT2, GT3
Saab: 9-3, 9-5, 9-7X
Toyota: Rav4
Volvo: C70, C40, S40, S60, S80, S60R, V50, V70
Honda: CR-V, S2000
Acura: CL, all Type-S’s
Land Rover: LR3, LR2 (just released)
Saleen: S7,
Jaguar: S-Type R, XJ8L, Super V8
Chrysler: PT Cruiser, all SRT’s (within Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep)
Hyundai: XG series
Geez, how could you make such an obvious mistake?
05/25, 6:23 PM
posted by:
MM
I hope the MKR is the name for a new V8 powered, RWD luxury coupe that Lincoln has in the works.
05/25, 7:13 PM
posted by:
Thing2
I hope Lincoln stops using the boring design language they use on their production cars and incorporates they’re really attractive and classy concept designs.
05/25, 8:30 PM
posted by:
BAMF
Howard Send, kmoney, thats the funniest **** ever… lol
I’m excited about a new 5 liter from infiniti, and i really hope to see it in the next g coupe as well
05/26, 12:38 AM
posted by:
kmoney
And you thought I was finished:
Mercedes: S600, S55 AMG, S65 AMG, SL600, SL65 AMG, SL55 AMG
05/26, 1:06 AM
posted by:
Edward
My dream car will always be a 3000GT VR-4.
05/26, 1:53 AM
posted by:
Edward
But, for the record of current cars, you guys forgot the MR-2.
This car naming convention is really getting on my nerves. What ever happened to NAMES. I’m tired of seeing carmakers jump on the lettering bandwagon.
Lincoln, if you’re going to bring back the mark. BRING BACK THE MARK. HIDs in ‘97. Faster activating (neon, I think) lights for the brakes. ‘Cobra’ engine in the LSC. Granted there was some need for improvement, you had a great thing going.
12/28, 5:29 AM
posted by:
jhikuwsx
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