Ford Renames Upcoming Taurus Replacement from Futura to Fusion

Don't Get Domestic Fusion Confusion with Euro Version

When Lincoln unveiled its new Zephyr midsize sedan at the New York International Auto Show in April, automotive media attending the

Ford learned from the mistakes made when launching the Futura (now Fusion) sedan and made sure it had the naming rights to the Lincoln Zephyr before they debuted it. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

debut could be overheard chuckling about whether the luxury marque had secured the rights to the name. Why? As it seems Lincoln's parent, Ford Motor Co., embarrassingly forgot to get naming rights for the upcoming Futura sedan, the Taurus replacement expected to be released late 2005 as a 2006 model.

Ford announced the Futura name in March of 2003 during the New York International Auto Show, but in April a federal court ruled that Philadelphia-based automotive parts store chain

Dropping the disputed Futura name, the Taurus replacement will be dubbed Fusion when it arrives in 2005. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada)

Pep Boys had a stronger claim to the name. Pep Boys sells a brand of tires named Futura.

But the error would have been more easily forgivable if it was the automaker's first time to fudge up the naming of a new model. Ford's pivotal halo vehicle, the GT, was to be named the GT40 before the trademark owner put up his price to an unreasonable level, and this was a year prior to the Futura incident.

So far Lincoln hasn't announced a change in the upcoming Zephyr name, but recently Ford has released the future name for its Taurus replacement. The new model will be dubbed Fusion when it arrives in 2005, according to The Detroit News. The daily newspaper says Ford has been informing dealers of the name change before making a public announcement this week.