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The Henry Ford Company was formed in 1901 from the ashes of the Detroit Automobile Company. Henry Ford left in 1902 over a dispute with his bankers, but he was able to take his name as well. Henry Leland was brought in by the investors and the company was reorganizes as the Cadillac Automobile Co. the 1903 Cadillac was based on Henry Ford’s designs except the engine was of a Leland design. Cadillac was sold to General Motors in 1909 Leland. staid on as an executive but resigned in 1917 after a dispute with William Durant. Leland went on to form the Lincoln Motor Co. to build Liberty aircraft engines. After WWI they retooled to build luxury automobiles and by 1922 was bankrupted. At the urging of Edsel Ford, The senior Ford purchased the Lincoln Motor Co. Leland originally ran the venture but gradually the Fords took over the operation.
Lincolns of the 1920s and early 1930s were magnificent automobiles but the depression hurt sales. In 1936 they introduced the less expensive V12 Lincoln Zephyr and their sales 9 fold Introduced in 1940 was the Zephyr Lincoln Continental
After WWII production resumed but the name Zephyr was drooped. In 1949 there were 2 brand new Lincolns, the Cosmopolitan and the smaller EL series an all new Lincoln appeared for 1952. By then Ford was looking to expand into the uber luxury marked in 1956 Introduced the Continental Mark II at almost a $10,000 price tag, a huge amount at that time. It was gone after 2 years but reappeared 1968 with the Mark III in Ford has never been able to find the right spot for Lincoln, Often giving Cadillac serious competition and some times a footnote. With the sell off of Jaguar and Volvo, they are once again looking to put Lincoln as an equal with other luxury marques
1937 Lincoln Zephyr From Brooklin
A nice car, but not up the standard of a Lincoln’s premium models
1937 Lincoln model K From Brooklin
This was Lincoln’s premium model
1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan From Brooklin
This was their first all new postwar car
1956 Lincoln Continental From Brooklin
This was Henry Ford II’s unsuccessful entry into the ultra luxury market.
They cost $10,000, three quarters the price of the contemporary Rolls Royce
1961 Lincoln Continental From Franklin Mint
It was originally designed to be a Ford Thunderbird, but the people at Lincoln-Mercury co-opted the design for the Lincoln. This car likely saved Lincoln from extinction.
An interesting note is, while the Lincoln Automobile is named after the 16th President Abe Lincoln traveled in a Studebaker carriage.
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