Returning the 'Zephyr' Name to the Lincoln Lineup Would Be Pointless

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

After standing outside the party in the cold, hoping someone inside would hear its plaintive knocking, Lincoln Motor Company is now on the sales rebound.

The restyled MKX is a hit, we’re getting a better looking (and faster) MKZ, and the new Continental is on the way, but there’s also buzz about a another historic nameplate potentially making a comeback. That model is Zephyr — a name Ford Motor Company recently applied to trademark, though if it’s for use on a vehicle, it should probably reconsider.

Ford’s May filing, first noticed by Autoblog, states it wants to use the Zephyr name for use in “motor vehicles and parts and accessories therefor.”

Why is the automaker doing this? Well, Lincoln’s parent company could simply be looking to keep a historic name in the Ford fold, lest its heritage be sullied by use on a fire-prone hoverboard. Automakers do this all the time, and speculation always runs wild. Just over a week ago, the automaker filing the trademark was General Motors, and the name was Riviera.

Or, it could be planning to return the name to its lineup, which probably wouldn’t be a fantastic idea. At least, as far as sales are concerned.

Compared to Continental — an iconic name stamped onto Lincolns for more than half a century that was once synonymous with American luxury, the Zephyr doesn’t have the same name recognition.

The original V12-powered Zephyr ran from 1936 to 1942, part of the time as its own marque. Besides auto history buffs, the only people who remember that model are ones who remember voting for Truman. Ain’t many of them left.

For the first year of its lineage (2006), the MKZ was known as the Zephyr, until Lincoln decided that playing the alphanumeric game could bring the brand new relevance and an upscale flair. (Yes, there was also a British Ford with the name, as well as a Ford Fairmont-based Mercury model, but those less-than-stellar vehicles are also decades in the past).

Maybe Lincoln thinks names are cool again, or it feels that its models have been swallowed up and watered down by the overabundance of non-word model names. Or, it couldn’t care less about bringing back the name. Either way, Lincoln provided no word on the matter, besides a comment that this was just a normal part of business.

A final comment to drop into the Zephyr-related rumor mill: there’s only one defunct Lincoln model name that would have any real pull with today’s buying public, and that’s “Town Car.”

[Image: The Henry Ford/ Flickr]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • STS_Endeavour STS_Endeavour on Jun 05, 2016

    No need to go back to Zephyr at this point. Keep the Z - drop the MK. Keep numbers away from it, and Nissan US won't have much to complain about.

  • Sigivald Sigivald on Jun 06, 2016

    Yes, "Zephyr" is not a name to conjure with. But it beats "MKZ" for memorability and pronunciation. It's not a mistake, it's just not a Huge Automatic Win.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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