Ford Motor Company used the Zetec name on a variety of Inline-4-cylinder automobile engines. It was coined to replace "Zeta" on a range of 1.6 L to 2.0 L multi-valve engines introduced in 1991 because Ford was threatened to be sued by Lancia who was the owner of the trademark. The company used the name widely in European advertising and later introduced it to the North American market with the Contour.
The Zetec name was so recognized that Ford decided to apply it to other high-tech four-cylinder engines. It is used across many engine types in Europe today even though the original Zeta design ended production in 2004. Ford also used the "Zetec" name for a trim level designation in certain markets. [WIKI]
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