# Why are cars referred to by their "mk" number in Europe, but not in USA?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-are-cars-referred-to-by-their-mk-number-in-europe-but-not-in-usa/197461>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [October 2, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-are-cars-referred-to-by-their-mk-number-in-europe-but-not-in-usa/197461 "2024-10-02T23:08:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 2024, 7:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-are-cars-referred-to-by-their-mk-number-in-europe-but-not-in-usa/197461/21 "2024-10-04T19:35:36Z")

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> [@Nevada\_545](#):
>
> ou could say “sixth generation” Corolla

Is that the same as saying “Corolla mk 6”?

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**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-are-cars-referred-to-by-their-mk-number-in-europe-but-not-in-usa/197461/22 "2024-10-04T23:06:50Z")

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Is it really that hard to just say the year of the vehicle?

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**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 2:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-are-cars-referred-to-by-their-mk-number-in-europe-but-not-in-usa/197461/23 "2024-10-05T02:00:10Z")

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> [@PvtPublic](#):
>
> Is it really that hard to just say the year of the vehicle?

Exactly, even with the 3rd gen Tacoma’s there are differences in some of the systems between 2016 to 2023…

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**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 7:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-are-cars-referred-to-by-their-mk-number-in-europe-but-not-in-usa/197461/24 "2024-10-05T19:12:09Z")

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> [@PvtPublic](#):
>
> Is it really that hard to just say the year of the vehicle?

No, in fact it is easier to just say the year. So if everything else is equal, just say the year and be done w/it I guess.

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**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 8:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-are-cars-referred-to-by-their-mk-number-in-europe-but-not-in-usa/197461/25 "2024-10-05T20:02:25Z")

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Gen/Mk is useful for discussing topics common to multiple years.

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