Lincoln Motor Company
Lincoln Motor Company, or simply Lincoln, is the luxury vehicle division of American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company. Marketed among the top luxury vehicle brands in the United States, Lincoln is positioned closely against its General Motors counterpart Cadillac. Starting with the 2021 model year, the brand solely offers SUV and crossover vehicles.
The division helped to establish the personal luxury car segment with the 1940 Lincoln Continental.
Lincoln Motor Company was founded in 1917 by Henry M. Leland, naming it after Abraham Lincoln. In February 1922, the company was acquired by Ford, its parent company to this day. Following World War II, Ford formed the Lincoln-Mercury Division, pairing Lincoln with its mid-range Mercury brand; the pairing lasted until the 2010 closure of Mercury. At the end of 2012, Lincoln reverted to its original name, Lincoln Motor Company. Following the divestiture of Premier Automotive Group and the closure of Mercury, Lincoln remains the sole luxury nameplate of Ford Motor Company.
Originally founded as a freestanding division above Lincoln, Continental was integrated within Lincoln in 1959. For 1969, the Continental-branded Mark series was marketed through Lincoln, adopting the Lincoln name for 1986. The Lincoln four-point star emblem is derived from a badge introduced on the 1956 Continental Mark II; the current version was introduced in 1980.
The current product range of Lincoln consists of luxury crossovers and sport-utility vehicles. Throughout its entire prior existence Lincoln also produced luxury car-based vehicles for limousine and livery use; several examples have served as official state limousines for Presidents of the United States. Today, this niche is filled from its crossover and SUV lineup.
In 2017, Lincoln sold 188,383 vehicles globally. Outside of North America, Lincoln vehicles are officially sold in the Middle East, China, and South Korea.
History
Early years (1917–1930)
The Lincoln Motor Company was founded in August 1917 by Henry Leland and his son Wilfred. Among the founders of Cadillac, Leland had sold Cadillac to General Motors in 1909; staying on as an executive, he left in 1917 over a dispute with GM President William Durant regarding war production.Leland named Lincoln Motor Company after Abraham Lincoln, stating that Lincoln was the first President for whom he ever voted. The company was financed by securing a contract to produce Liberty V12 aircraft engines for use during World War I. The Lelands broke ground on the Lincoln Motor Company Plant in Detroit. Lincoln Motor Company acted as the final assembly point for the engines, with the company securing parts from other manufacturers; cylinders were produced by Ford, with other parts sourced from Buick, Cadillac, Marmon, and Packard.
In total, Lincoln Motor Company would assemble 6,500 Liberty V12 engines by the end of World War I concluding production; by the end of the war, Lincoln would employ 6,000 workers.
On January 26, 1920, Lincoln Motor Company was reorganized as an automobile manufacturer, retooling its Detroit factory to produce automobiles. On September 16, 1920, Lincoln Motor Company produced its first automobile, the Lincoln Model L.
Lincoln Motor Company had struggled with the transition from military to automobile production, with some customers having to wait nearly a year for their vehicles to be completed from the time of purchase. By 1922, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy and was placed in receivership.
Under the influence of Edsel Ford, Lincoln Motor Company was purchased by Henry Ford for on February 4, 1922. While Lincoln was valued at $16 million, a $5 million bid by Ford was the sole bid received for the company.
Purchase by Ford Motor Company
Following the purchase of Lincoln Motor Company by Ford Motor Company, Henry and Wilfred Leland remained at the company, with Edsel Ford given responsibility over it. While Ford had sought to expand its model range beyond the Ford Model T, the purchase of Lincoln held a degree of personal value, as the owners of Lincoln developed an automobile company from one that Henry Ford had been forced from. In 1902, a group of investors forced Henry Ford from his second company, the Henry Ford Company; the company was reorganized as Cadillac. With the exception of the engine, the 1903 Ford Model A and the 1903 Cadillac Model A share nearly the same design.Prior to the introduction of the Model T, Ford designed several higher-priced vehicles, including the 1904 Ford Model B, the 1905 Ford Model F, and the 1906 Ford Model K. Following its organization in 1908, General Motors began a rapid expansion of its automotive brands; by 1920, GM would outnumber Ford five to one. The purchase of Lincoln created a stand-alone luxury vehicle brand for Ford as Cadillac did for GM.
Within the first few months, relations between Ford Motor Company and Lincoln management began to break down; on June 10, 1922, the Lelands were forced to resign. As Edsel Ford began to take a senior role in the management of Lincoln, multiple changes were made to both the Model L and its production. The Lincoln factory was redesigned and expanded, with the components of the engine upgraded for increased reliability and performance.
At its introduction, the Lincoln Model L gained a reputation for conservative design. As a response, Edsel Ford introduced the Model L for 1923 in a custom-bodied form directly from Lincoln; in line with a Duesenberg or a Rolls-Royce, customers could also purchase a Model L with coachbuilt bodywork.
For 1923, Lincoln produced 7,875 cars. After struggling to deliver cars before 1922, Lincoln was operating at a profit by the end of 1923.
In 1924, a Lincoln Model L became the first state limousine used by a U.S. President on an official basis, supplied for Calvin Coolidge.
By 1930, Lincoln had succeeded in only a decade in what its chief competitors had taken 30 years to accomplish. Serving as a direct competitor to Cadillac, the Model L had become equal to vehicles from established American brands including Duesenberg, Marmon, Packard, Peerless, and Pierce-Arrow.
1930s
During the production of the Model L, Lincoln did not adopt the common American automotive industry practice of yearly model changes. While the company had made minor revisions and upgrades to the model line to the chassis and powertrain, the body was largely left alone over its 10-year production, a business model shared with the Ford Model T. Lincoln found that customer interest was accommodated by the purchase of multiple Lincolns in different body styles; as many Lincolns were custom-bodied from the factory or coachbuilt, yearly styling changes would not properly accommodate its customer base.For the 1931 model year, the Model L was replaced by the Lincoln Model K. An all-new design, the Model K introduced upgrades to the carburetor, brakes, and suspension. Competing against the Cadillac 355, Chrysler Imperial, Duesenberg Model J, and Packard Eight, the Model K offered both factory-designed bodies and coachbuilt designs.
For 1932, Lincoln introduced its first "multi-cylinder" engine, introducing a V12 engine for the Model K. The next year, the V8 was retired, making Lincoln the first manufacturer in the world to produce vehicles exclusively with V12 engines.
For 1935, Lincoln was positioned upward in price. While limiting sales, the move increased profitability per vehicle; at over for a factory body, the Model K competed against the Rolls-Royce Phantom II, Renault Reinastella, Duesenberg Model J, Mercedes-Benz Typ3 630 and the Cadillac V-12.
Largely overshadowed by the Lincoln-Zephyr, the final Model K was assembled during 1939. The company has since not developed a direct successor to the Model K line.
Lincoln-Zephyr (1936)
During the 1930s, Lincoln expanded to two model lines for the first time. Coinciding with the shift in market position for the Model K, Edsel Ford introduced the Lincoln-Zephyr as a sub-marque within Lincoln for 1936. Designed as a competitor for the LaSalle and Chrysler Airflow, the Lincoln-Zephyr was priced between Ford and the Model K.The Lincoln-Zephyr was the first Ford Motor Company vehicle to use unibody construction; while designed with a prow-style front-fascia, the model line was sleeker than the Chrysler Airflow. In contrast to its competitors, the Lincoln-Zephyr was powered by a V12 engine.
The model line was a success in the marketplace, selling over 15,000 units in its first year, amounting to a nine-fold increase over the previous model year.
Lincoln Continental (1939)
In the late 1930s, Edsel Ford began to consider American cars too boxy. In late 1938, to develop a European-style car for his next Florida vacation, he commissioned Ford Chief Stylist E. T. Gregorie to design a unique body design, using a 1939 Lincoln Zephyr Convertible Coupe chassis. After sectioning the body, the running boards were deleted and a spare tire was mounted behind the trunk lid.Upon his use of the one-off vehicle in Florida in 1939, Edsel Ford attracted a high amount of interest from potential buyers, often referring to its "European" or "Continental" exterior design. From the latter term, the one-off vehicle became known as the Lincoln Continental. For 1940 production, 404 vehicles were produced, with the first vehicle received by Mickey Rooney.
1940s
Following the Great Depression, a number of American luxury car manufacturers were either forced into closure or reorganization; by 1940, alongside Lincoln, the American luxury-car segment largely consisted of Cadillac, the Chrysler Imperial, and Packard. To further secure the future for Lincoln, on April 30, 1940, Ford Motor Company reorganized Lincoln Motor Company as the Lincoln Division of Ford Motor Company. While previously operating as an autonomous entity, as a division, Lincoln structurally became similar to its major competitor Cadillac.As part of the change, several changes were made to the Lincoln model line. Following the positive feedback of the 1939 Lincoln Continental one-off convertible built for Edsel Ford, the Lincoln Continental was introduced as a Lincoln-Zephyr production model for 1940. For 1941, Lincoln revised its branding; the hyphen was removed from Lincoln-Zephyr, making it a Lincoln. As a replacement for the expensive Model K, an extended-wheelbase Lincoln Custom variant of the Lincoln Zephyr was developed. Following the development of proper tooling, the Lincoln Continental began production on the assembly line, replacing hand-built construction.
After the entry of the United States into World War II, as with all U.S. auto manufacturers, Lincoln ended automobile production as Ford Motor Company concentrated on wartime manufacturing. Following the conclusion of the war in 1945, the structure of Lincoln within Ford changed again, as the Lincoln-Mercury Division was created, pairing Mercury and Lincoln together; from 1945 to the 2010 closure of Mercury, the two divisions were paired together within Ford.
For 1946, Lincoln returned to production, ending the use of the Zephyr name. Code-named the H-series, non-Continental Lincolns were identified by their body style. Using slightly updated exteriors from 1942, the 1946 Lincolns continued the use of the Zephyr chassis. 1948 marked the final year of the Zephyr chassis and the use of a V12 engine in an American mass-produced automobile. After 5,322 were produced, Lincoln ended production of the Continental.
For 1949, all three Ford Motor Company divisions debuted their first postwar designs. Sharing its body structure with the Mercury Eight, the redesigned Lincoln model line marked the first use of a V8 in a Lincoln since 1932. An all-new V12 intended for Lincoln was stillborn in development, leading the division to adapt a Ford flathead V8. As with the previous Lincoln Continental, the 1949 Lincoln dispensed with running boards completely, moving on to abandon pontoon styling entirely, with a straight fender line from headlamp to taillamp. In a carryover from Zephyr-based Lincolns, the 1949 Lincolns retained rear-hinged passenger doors. As a flagship model of Lincoln, the Lincoln Cosmopolitan was styled with its own rear roofline.