ABCs of why car names are now letters and numbers

Last November, Mark Fields, Ford's executive vice president, took the stage at the L.A. Auto Show. He was there, he told the standing-room-only audience, "to show you our new flagship sedan, the Lincoln MKX."

Oops. He quickly corrected himself, because he wasn't introducing the MKX, a luxury SUV, but the MKS, a luxury sedan. The gaffe wasn't surprising, considering that Lincoln also produces the MKZ, and has concept cars called the MKR and MKT.

If a guy like Fields can trip up, imagine the ordinary motorist checking out the 2008 offerings from Cadillac: CTS, DTS, XLR, STS, XRS, XLR, ESV and EXT.

Or from Lexus: LS, GS, ES, IS, SC, LX, GX and RX.

Or Volvo: S40, S60, S80, V50, V70, XC70, XC90, C30 and C70.

Where are the Gremlins of yesteryear? Or the El Dorados, for that matter?

They are history. The industry is on a strict diet of alphabet soup with a numerical garnish. Alphanumeric nameplates were on 135 vehicles in the 2007 model year, compared to 80 a decade ago, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Answers to your FAQs

Manufacturers claim alphanumerics enhance a brand's status and make cars more marketable internationally.

"The poor consumers can't keep anything straight anymore," says Teresa Pavian, a professor of marketing at the University of Utah's Eccles School of Business, and an expert on alphanumeric branding. "I don't know what these names are supposed to mean."

Blame BMW and Mercedes, which set the bar for naming luxury cars with their decades-old alphanumeric nameplates: BMW, with the 3-series, 5-series and 7-series; Mercedes with the C-, E- and S-class.

When Japanese automakers launched luxury lines, they had what Karl Brauer, editor of Edmunds, calls "Euro-envy," and were eager to associate themselves with the German reputation for quality. Thus Lexus, with its two-letter names, and Infiniti, with letters and numbers. Acura, which launched with proper names, eventually followed the trend, dumping Integra and Legend.

With many of the best names already trademarked, companies say letters and numbers are easier to secure from a legal standpoint.

(However, carmakers are discovering that even letters and numbers can provoke lawyers. Ford's Jim Cain points out that when the company released the Lincoln MKX SUV two years ago, it got angry calls from Acura, which produces the MDX, also a luxury SUV. Acura didn't sue.)

Meanwhile, the trend toward marketing a car in every country under the same name made going nameless appealing, especially what with the embarrassing stories of seemingly pleasing names that, when translated into, say, Mandarin, are baroque insults to the car buyer's dead grandmother.

"Companies have grown frustrated with the traditional process of naming," says Jason Baer, director of verbal identity at Interbrand, which has helped Nissan, Chrysler, Subaru and Ford come up with nameplates. "Alphanumerics transcend cultural and legal barriers."

A few names remain

Letters and numbers keep spreading, adopted by the likes of Lincoln and Cadillac, which produced its last DeVille in 2005 (it became the DTS), and now has alphabetized almost all of its lineup, except for the very popular Escalade SUV, a name the company says won't change. Lincoln, likewise, won't alter the name of its popular Navigator SUV.

And it's not just luxury cars. Mazda's fleet has been winnowed down to the Tribute and the legendary Miata — but the latter is technically the MX-5 Miata. Toyota's Scion line never had names, favoring instead monikers such as Xa and Xc.

In the perfect word, letters and numbers serve as cues to buyers, telling them where a model sits on the price continuum — a BMW 3 Series car is less costly than a 5 Series — or what category of vehicle it is, such as with Mercedes' M-Class (sports utility vehicles) and its S-Class (luxury sedans).

The world is not perfect. Many alphanumerics have no meaning and make for a mystifying game of Scrabble. "The confusion factor is huge," says Bob Martin of automotive consultant Car Lab. "There's no potential for differentiation."

"People want meaning"

Cadillac's product director, John Howell, says he's concerned about that problem. The brand is conducting studies in the U.S., Europe and China to come up with a more orderly system for naming.

"It started to get to the point where it wasn't very pure," says Howell. "People want meaning, or a sense of hierarchy, in their car names."

But with a few nostalgic exceptions in retro models — the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Charger — carmakers don't seem to have plans to move back to good old-fashioned names.

An Acura spokesman says the company will "never go back to Legend or Integra," and even genre-inspiring Mercedes has moved to 13 different class designations, including the CL (which isn't a C-class) and the SLK (which isn't an S-class).

That's a shame, says Jack Nerad, an analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "The right name can really lend something to a vehicle. Mustang works. But I doubt anyone will look back with nostalgia at an XTR."