diff --git a/e2e/components/icon/icon.e2e.ts b/e2e/components/icon/icon.e2e.ts
index 4d5648ac5d8d..9894a2fd9a3b 100644
--- a/e2e/components/icon/icon.e2e.ts
+++ b/e2e/components/icon/icon.e2e.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@ describe('icon', () => {
 
     it('should have the correct class when used', () => {
       testIcon.getAttribute('class').then((attr: string) => {
-        expect(attr).toEqual('md-24 material-icons');
+        expect(attr).toContain('md-24');
+        expect(attr).toContain('material-icons');
       });
     });
 
diff --git a/e2e/components/menu/menu-page.ts b/e2e/components/menu/menu-page.ts
index 7e25d774004c..97fe77271352 100644
--- a/e2e/components/menu/menu-page.ts
+++ b/e2e/components/menu/menu-page.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ export class MenuPage {
     browser.get('/menu');
   }
 
-  menu() { return element(by.css('.md-menu')); }
+  menu() { return element(by.css('.md-menu-panel')); }
 
   start() { return element(by.id('start')); }
 
@@ -28,11 +28,11 @@ export class MenuPage {
 
   combinedTrigger() { return element(by.id('combined-t')); }
 
-  beforeMenu() { return element(by.css('.md-menu.before')); }
+  beforeMenu() { return element(by.css('.md-menu-panel.before')); }
 
-  aboveMenu() { return element(by.css('.md-menu.above')); }
+  aboveMenu() { return element(by.css('.md-menu-panel.above')); }
 
-  combinedMenu() { return element(by.css('.md-menu.combined')); }
+  combinedMenu() { return element(by.css('.md-menu-panel.combined')); }
 
   // TODO(kara): move to common testing utility
   pressKey(key: any): void {
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ export class MenuPage {
   }
 
   expectMenuPresent(expected: boolean) {
-    return browser.isElementPresent(by.css('.md-menu')).then((isPresent) => {
+    return browser.isElementPresent(by.css('.md-menu-panel')).then(isPresent => {
       expect(isPresent).toBe(expected);
     });
   }
diff --git a/e2e/components/menu/menu.e2e.ts b/e2e/components/menu/menu.e2e.ts
index b247bc113ef8..4ba0402554de 100644
--- a/e2e/components/menu/menu.e2e.ts
+++ b/e2e/components/menu/menu.e2e.ts
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ describe('menu', () => {
   it('should mirror classes on host to menu template in overlay', () => {
     page.trigger().click();
     page.menu().getAttribute('class').then((classes) => {
-      expect(classes).toEqual('md-menu custom');
+      expect(classes).toEqual('md-menu-panel custom');
     });
   });
 
diff --git a/src/lib/core/compatibility/style-compatibility.ts b/src/lib/core/compatibility/style-compatibility.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..4db50e4f2a59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/core/compatibility/style-compatibility.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import {NgModule, ModuleWithProviders, Directive, Renderer, ElementRef} from '@angular/core';
+
+
+/** Selector that matches all elements that may have style collisions with material1. */
+export const ELEMENTS_SELECTOR = `
+  md-card,
+  md-card-actions,
+  md-card-content,
+  md-card-footer,
+  md-card-header,
+  md-card-subtitle,
+  md-card-title,
+  md-card-title-group,
+  md-checkbox,
+  md-dialog-container,
+  md-divider,
+  md-grid-list,
+  md-grid-tile,
+  md-grid-tile-footer,
+  md-grid-tile-header,
+  md-hint,
+  md-icon,
+  md-ink-bar,
+  md-input,
+  md-list,
+  md-list-item,
+  md-menu,
+  md-nav-list,
+  md-placeholder,
+  md-progress-bar,
+  md-progress-circle,
+  md-radio-button,
+  md-radio-group,
+  md-select,
+  md-sidenav,
+  md-slider,
+  md-spinner,
+  md-tab,
+  md-toolbar
+`;
+
+/**
+ * Directive to apply to all material2 components that use the same element name as a
+ * component in material2. It does two things:
+ * 1) Adds the css class "md2" to the host element so that material1 can use this class with a
+ *    :not() in order to avoid affecting material2 elements.
+ * 2) Adds a css class to the element that is identical to the element's tag. E.g., the element
+ *    `<md-card>` would be given a css class `md-card`. This is done so that material2 can style
+ *    only these classes instead of defining element rules that would affect material1 components.
+ */
+@Directive({
+  selector: ELEMENTS_SELECTOR,
+})
+export class StyleCompatibility {
+  constructor(renderer: Renderer, elementRef: ElementRef) {
+    const element = elementRef.nativeElement as Node;
+    renderer.setElementClass(element, 'md2', true);
+    renderer.setElementClass(element, element.nodeName.toLowerCase(), true);
+  }
+}
+
+
+@NgModule({
+  declarations: [StyleCompatibility],
+  exports: [StyleCompatibility],
+})
+export class StyleCompatibilityModule {
+  static forRoot(): ModuleWithProviders {
+    return {
+      ngModule: StyleCompatibilityModule,
+      providers: [],
+    };
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/core/core.ts b/src/lib/core/core.ts
index ec467525210b..21bdb492d739 100644
--- a/src/lib/core/core.ts
+++ b/src/lib/core/core.ts
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ export {ComponentType} from './overlay/generic-component-type';
 // Keybindings
 export * from './keyboard/keycodes';
 
+export * from './compatibility/style-compatibility';
+
 // Animation
 export * from './animation/animation';
 
diff --git a/src/lib/menu/_menu-theme.scss b/src/lib/menu/_menu-theme.scss
index feb32dc56fe0..28930e22e900 100644
--- a/src/lib/menu/_menu-theme.scss
+++ b/src/lib/menu/_menu-theme.scss
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
   $background: map-get($theme, background);
   $foreground: map-get($theme, foreground);
 
-  .md-menu {
+  .md-menu-panel {
     background: md-color($background, 'card');
   }
 
diff --git a/src/lib/menu/menu.html b/src/lib/menu/menu.html
index b6a2d1a26bd0..bb6d522a79d7 100644
--- a/src/lib/menu/menu.html
+++ b/src/lib/menu/menu.html
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 <template>
-  <div class="md-menu" [ngClass]="_classList" (click)="_emitCloseEvent()" (keydown)="_handleKeydown($event)">
+  <div class="md-menu-panel" [ngClass]="_classList"
+      (click)="_emitCloseEvent()" (keydown)="_handleKeydown($event)">
     <ng-content></ng-content>
   </div>
 </template>
-<div class="md-menu-click-catcher" *ngIf="_showClickCatcher" (click)="_emitCloseEvent()"></div>
\ No newline at end of file
+<div class="md-menu-click-catcher" *ngIf="_showClickCatcher" (click)="_emitCloseEvent()"></div>
diff --git a/src/lib/menu/menu.scss b/src/lib/menu/menu.scss
index a1eaca0fdaa1..c939bd12a0dc 100644
--- a/src/lib/menu/menu.scss
+++ b/src/lib/menu/menu.scss
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ $md-menu-font-size: 16px !default;
 $md-menu-side-padding: 16px !default;
 $md-menu-vertical-padding: 8px !default;
 
-.md-menu {
+.md-menu-panel {
   @include md-elevation(2);
   min-width: $md-menu-overlay-min-width;
   max-width: $md-menu-overlay-max-width;
diff --git a/src/lib/menu/menu.spec.ts b/src/lib/menu/menu.spec.ts
index 1bdf9b2e1977..baa0bb8accaa 100644
--- a/src/lib/menu/menu.spec.ts
+++ b/src/lib/menu/menu.spec.ts
@@ -18,13 +18,13 @@ describe('MdMenu', () => {
   it('should open the menu as an idempotent operation', () => {
     let fixture = TestBed.createComponent(SimpleMenu);
     fixture.detectChanges();
-    let menu = fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('.md-menu'));
+    let menu = fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('.md-menu-panel'));
     expect(menu).toBe(null);
     expect(() => {
       fixture.componentInstance.trigger.openMenu();
       fixture.componentInstance.trigger.openMenu();
 
-      menu = fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('.md-menu'));
+      menu = fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('.md-menu-panel'));
       expect(menu.nativeElement.innerHTML.trim()).toEqual('Content');
     }).not.toThrowError();
   });
diff --git a/src/lib/module.ts b/src/lib/module.ts
index cab0221ba967..754226b7f0c6 100644
--- a/src/lib/module.ts
+++ b/src/lib/module.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
   PortalModule,
   OverlayModule,
   A11yModule,
+  StyleCompatibilityModule,
 } from './core/index';
 
 import {MdButtonToggleModule} from './button-toggle/index';
@@ -58,6 +59,7 @@ const MATERIAL_MODULES = [
   PortalModule,
   RtlModule,
   A11yModule,
+  StyleCompatibilityModule,
 ];
 
 @NgModule({
@@ -90,6 +92,7 @@ const MATERIAL_MODULES = [
     MdSnackBarModule.forRoot(),
     MdTooltipModule.forRoot(),
     OverlayModule.forRoot(),
+    StyleCompatibilityModule.forRoot(),
   ],
   exports: MATERIAL_MODULES,
 })