Lincoln Won't Use The Word 'Electric' For Electrified Vehicles

Dec. 03, 2018 4:05 PM ET by Jay Traugott / 6 Comments

The complete opposite name will be used instead.

The gorgeous new 2020 Lincoln Aviator has arrived, making its official debut last week at LA. Trust us, pictures alone don't do it justice. You need to see this one in the flesh. Underneath that sexy skin, among other things, is an electric motor that when paired to the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 generates a total of 450 hp and a semi bonkers 600 lb-ft of torque. Not bad at all for a plug-in hybrid.

But Lincoln isn't including acronyms like 'PHEV' or even the letter 'e' in its top trim Aviator. No, this Aviator has a far more dynamic trim name: Grand Touring. That's very much on purpose and according to Automotive News, Lincoln will begin adopting the Grand Touring moniker for all of its electrified variants in 2020.

"Quite simply, it came down to, what does it do? And what it does that it makes the vehicle more exciting to drive," said Lincoln marketing chief Robert Parker. "It's the purest definition of Grand Touring." Basically, Lincoln wants future Grand Touring trim owners to get over the stigma that electrified vehicles are bland. Sure, they're eco-friendly, but that alone is not a big enough selling factor for many potential customers. They have the money and the desire to have fun behind the wheel and Lincoln aims to please. "When we do the research, rejecters of the technology are afraid they're giving up power," Lincoln President Joy Falotico said. "We took that very seriously."

Remember, the Aviator Grand Touring has two driving modes, Pure EV and Preserve EV. The former only uses the electric motor while the second utilizes only the V6. Lincoln still has yet to disclose an official all-electric range figure, but the SUV's chief engineer, John Davis, believe it'll manage at least 31 miles of electric range.

"It's got the power to launch when you want, but it can also propel the vehicle very quietly and effortlessly," Parker added. "Everything just intersected nicely." But what was the key deciding factor that made Lincoln ditch the letter E and other green-related words? "Consumers may have liked the word but didn't know what it meant," Parker said. "If I have to go spend money to describe to customers what a new word means, I've taken money away from promoting Aviator."

In short, Lincoln executives hope the name Grand Touring will do for the brand what EcoBoost did for Ford's lineup of turbocharged engines: 'popularize something customers have not yet widely adopted,' is how Automotive News appropriately summarized.

Lincoln Won't Use The Word 'Electric' For Electrified Vehicles

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