For the past year, Lincoln has been on a rebranding kick, getting rid of names for its cars in favor of letter designations beginning with MK. It had three of its recently MK-branded cars on display at the New York Auto Show. The Lincoln Zephyr, which launched last year, got its name pulled in favor of MKZ for the 2007 model year. A small SUV, the Aviator, had been set to launch, when Lincoln swapped its name for MKX. A new full-size sport-luxury sedan, the MKS, seems to have been given its letter designation before a formal name was applied. Lincoln may be onto something here, as names tend to get associated with a decade and become dated. How could an El Camino be anything but a car from the 1970s? Of course, Lincoln sells so many Town Cars and Navigators that it won't mess with its branding anytime soon.

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