Honda recently filed a trademark application for the word "Rubicon," which left everyone in the CarBuzz office stumped. Has Honda forgotten the existence of the Jeep Wrangler, because this trademark application would be on par with Honda filing a "GR Sport" trademark for the new Prelude? Or has it gone the Chinese route and decided that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?
Obviously, this required some online investigation and to our great surprise, Honda does actually own the rights to the name Rubicon. It's filed under Class 12, which is primarily for names of vehicles. The first trademark application dates back to 2000, which is a full two years before Jeep pasted that famous badge to the front fender of a Wrangler. How has this gone unnoticed for so long?
The Trims Are The Same, But For Completely Different Vehicles
Jeep
As most of you know, the Rubicon name appears on the most hardcore versions of the Wrangler and Gladiator. The trim-specific kit includes Jeep's most hardcore part-time 4WD system (Rock-Trac with a 4:1 transfer case), 33-inch off-road tires, Dana axles, an electronically disconnecting sway bar, and, most important of all, front and rear differential locks. It's arguably the most competent off-roader you can buy straight off the factory floor, especially if you opt for the optional 35-inch tire package.
According to Honda's application, the Rubicon nomenclature it applied for is specifically for ATVs, side-by-sides, and parts and fittings for ATVs. This recent patent application is nothing more than Honda protecting a trademark it filed for first.
The History Of The Rubicon Badge
Jeep
The name "Rubicon" predates both Honda and Jeep's badges, though the latter has closer and longer ties to the famous Rubicon Trail. According to Jeep's official records, the McKinney-Rubicon Springs Road was established for stagecoaches. It was used to access hotels in Wentworth Springs and Rubicon Springs from the 1890s until the 1920s. The first time it was used for a Jeep gathering was 1953, when roughly 150 friends got together to tackle this unique and tricky granite path. It would take Jeep another 50 years to actually use the name of the toughest off-road trail as a marketing tool.
Jeep and the Rubicon Trail are so linked that people used to believe that trail-rated meant a vehicle had to complete the infamous trail. That's actually a myth. Trail-rated tests used to be conducted at an independent Nevada Automotive Test Center, but these days it's just a set of five in-house guidelines a car has to adhere to.
Honda
Honda spotted the marketing opportunity before Jeep got there, which is slightly embarrassing. The first recorded use of the "Rubicon" name on a Honda dates back to the 2001 FourTrax Foreman Rubicon. It was a revolutionary four-valve liquid-cooled 500cc single-cylinder four-stroke ATV with an automatic transmission and a torque-sensing front differential. It's still on sale today, and you can get one for just over $10,000 with destination charges included.
It's quite an accomplished piece of kit, using a 518cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke engine, mated to a dual-clutch transmission. You also get electric power steering, front and rear preload-adjustable suspension, and an "ultra comfortable seat."
Honda Has Reused Famous ATV Names Before
Honda
When you read the words Honda Odyssey, you're probably thinking of a minivan, right? The famous people carrier made its debut in 1995 and has been a staple of the brand ever since. The fifth-generation model arrived in 2018, and it's one of only four Hondas still available with a naturally aspirated V6 engine. But before this famous van arrived to comfortably and reliably ferry families around for millions of miles, there was another, way more interesting Odyssey.
The first Odyssey was introduced in 1977. It was basically some scaffolding with four wheels and a 350cc air-cooled 2-stroke engine bolted to the rear, with a seat mounted in front of it. It sounded like a lot of fun, and it was. But it was an innocent bystander of too much fun being a bad thing. Three-wheel ATVs were banned in the USA in 1988 after a series of serious crashes. As it turns out, a single wheel at the front is not stable at all, which is why Polaris and Morgan put them at the rear. What does this have to do with a four-wheel off-road go-kart?
Honda
Honda was still allowed to produce the Odyssey, but it was expensive for a toy, and the banning of three-wheelers didn't help either. The Odyssey was a lot more stable than Honda's three-wheelers, but the reputational damage was done.
Is Jeep Going To Sue Honda?
No. As we mentioned earlier, Honda was granted the trademark back in 2000, and it has been keeping it alive ever since. And the first Wrangler Rubicon wasn't even a trim like it is today, but rather an optional package that included most of the stuff that's standard on a Rubicon these days. There's also zero chance that Jeep hasn't known about Honda's Rubicon trim all these years, which means there's a simple explanation for all of this.
Honda
There's no chance one will be mistaken for the other. Although both are hardcore off-road trims, a customer is not going to buy a FourTrax Foreman Rubicon online expecting a Wrangler to arrive. And, if we're being brutally honest, the name belonged to the Rubicon Springs resort, which popped up in the 1860s, predating both modern Rubicons by more than a century.
Source:USPTO
