The History of Lincoln

The History of Lincoln

In our research and historic milestones of the automotive industry, we tend to concentrate on the big 3 and their stories of competitiveness and deal making ventures, but lurking in the background are the side deals and remnants of car companies that attempted to compete and either fell through the cracks by ways of failure or were consolidated into the larger automotive manufacturers.

 

One of those that nearly fell through the cracks was Lincoln. Lincoln was founded in 1917 by Henry M. Leland. Leland was an engineer and named the company and car after Abraham Lincoln, who was the first president that he was able to vote for. Due to the effects of WWI, Lincoln’s beginnings were primarily military contracts. Lincoln produced its first automobile in 1917 and it was called the Lincoln Model L. After the war, contracts came to a close and Lincoln re-tooled their factory to focus on cars. Their main thrust was to compete with other American luxury car makers.

 

Ironically, Henry Ford was essentially forced from the Henry Ford Company, one of his earlier companies that eventually became Cadillac in 1902. This financial war was spearheaded on the other side by Henry Leland. Cadillac was then purchased by General Motors in 1909. Who could have predicted that 20 years later Henry Ford would purchase Lincoln, who had filed bankruptcy with an $8 million debt. It had been the battle of the Henrys. To put the numbers into perspective, Lincoln produced 150 cars in 1922 and in 2016 Ford sold 2,614,697 vehicles in America alone.

Ford restructured Lincoln and they became a valid competitor against Cadillac, Packard, Pierce-Arrow, Duesenberg and other Luxury vehicles. Over the next two decades, you had made it if you were driving a Packard, Cadillac or Lincoln. Although only two American luxury cars made it through the automotive evolution to exist in our present time, Lincoln and Cadillac had several things in common and decades of competing against each other.

 

One of the most recognized body styles produced by Lincoln has been the Continental. Edsel Ford, Henry Ford’s son, was not happy with many of his dad’s designs and he wanted a European type car to play with while vacationing in Florida. The result was the Lincoln Continental that was introduced in 1940. That same year, the Lincoln Motor Company became an actual division of The Ford Motor Company.

 

Unfortunately, Edsel’s name is associated with failure due to the Edsel vehicle, but one car that evolved with the Continental name was the 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II, which many in the car industry say, is one of the most beautiful luxury cars of all time. Until the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was introduced, the Mark II was the highest priced American car on the market at $10,000.00.

 

In the 60’s the trademark was Lincoln’s famous convertibles and suicide doors. Lincoln has also been used by U.S. presidents. The Lincoln will also live in American history forever, being the car President Kennedy was killed in. Kennedy was killed while riding in a 1961 Lincoln Limousine, also dubbed code name X-100 by the secret service. This vehicle’s originally cost would have been $7,347.00, but it is said that the President’s car cost taxpayers approximated $200,000.00.

 

As the new millennium passed, Lincoln had its ups and downs with the car market changing, but maintained a market share and has evolved into a competitive luxury car of the times.

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