Lincoln Motor Company

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 (to nearly 1,000,000 square feet), with the components of the engine upgraded for increased reliability and performance.

At its introduction, the Lincoln Model L gained a reputation for conservative (to the point of outdated) design.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 (nearly 45% higher than in 1922). 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 (or other luxury vehicles) 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 (on a longer, lower chassis), 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 $4,000 (equivalent to $94,000 in 2025) 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 (and V-16).

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 (Cadillac) 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 (a design separate from the Model K).

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 ("Continental") 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 4 inches (102 mm), 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 (who ended production of the LaSalle and V16 in 1940), the Chrysler Imperial (reduced to 8-passenger sedans and limousines), 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 (within General Motors).

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 (dating to 1936) and (as of 2023) the use of a V12 engine in an American mass-produced automobile. After 5,322 were produced (as both a Lincoln-Zephyr and Lincoln), 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 (code-named the EL-series) 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 (from the Ford F-8 conventional truck). 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 (and low hood 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.

1950s

As Lincoln entered the 1950s, Ford Motor Company sought to increase the differentiation between the Mercury and Lincoln model lines. For 1952, to add interest to the brand, Lincoln returned to model names for the first time since 1942, with the Lincoln Cosmopolitan becoming the standard Lincoln model, with the Lincoln Capri becoming the flagship model line. In a return to (small) pontoon rear fenders, Lincolns shared a body with the Mercury Monterey. Mechanically, Lincoln differed from Mercury, as the Ford truck V8 was replaced by the Lincoln Y-block V8 with a Hydramatic transmission. For the first time since the discontinuation of the Model K, Lincolns were produced with front-hinged rear doors.

For 1956, the shared Lincoln-Mercury body underwent a redesign for the final time, with Lincoln adopting elements from the Mercury XM-800 and Lincoln Futura concept cars. Slotted above the Lincoln Capri, the Lincoln Premiere adapted features of the Continental Mark II, including its ducted air conditioning.

During 1956, Lincoln-Mercury was reorganized slightly, following the creation of the free-standing Edsel and Continental divisions, Lincoln-Mercury was changed to Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln (MEL), with Edsel slotted alongside/below Mercury and Continental above Lincoln, as the flagship of all of Ford Motor Company. By the end of 1959, Continental was integrated into Lincoln, and Edsel was withdrawn.

The Lincoln Motor Company Plant, built in Detroit, Michigan, by Henry Leland in 1917, was closed after 1952; subsequent Lincolns were produced alongside Mercury Montereys and Mercury Montclairs. For the 1957 model year, Ford opened Wixom Assembly in Wixom, Michigan, as a facility to specialize in Lincoln production. From 1957 until 2007, the facility produced Lincoln vehicles nearly exclusively, along with the Ford GT and several generations of the Ford Thunderbird.

Continental Division (1956–1959)

For the 1956 model year, Ford Motor Company created the Continental Division, slotted above Lincoln as the flagship marque of Ford Motor Company. At its launch, Continental introduced the Continental Mark II as its model line, intended as a successor to the 1940–1948 Lincoln Continental personal luxury car. Offered as a two-door hardtop coupe, the Mark II broke from a number of American styling precedents of the time. While fitted with whitewall tires, the exterior was fitted with minimal chrome trim on the body sides; tailfins were left off of the body completely. In place of the bumper-mounted spare tire of the original Lincoln Continental, the trunk lid of the Mark II showcased the design element, with a large imitation spare tire bulge (which fit over the actual spare tire inside the trunk). The Mark II was largely hand-built, with extensive quality testing done on each engine and transmission before leaving the factory.

In place of establishing a separate sales and service network for Continental, the Mark II was marketed through Lincoln (the Mark II used a Lincoln engine and transmission). At $10,000 (equivalent to $118,400 in 2025), the Mark II was the most expensive car produced by an American automaker at the time, rivaling the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud in price.

On July 18, 1956, the Continental Division was integrated into Lincoln which continued to manage the Continental brand as a separate marque. During the 1957 model year, the Mark II was withdrawn, largely as a consequence of its hand-built construction; each unit was sold at a loss of over $1,000 (equivalent to $11,800 in 2025). Subsequently, the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham overtook the Mark II as the most expensive American-produced vehicle.

For 1958, as part of a mandated $4,000 (equivalent to $44,600 in 2025) reduction in price, Continental adopted the body of Lincoln, expanding into multiple body styles for the Mark III (the nomenclature indicating the transition). Adding a feature of the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, Continental adopted a retractable rear window across every body style (including convertibles) with a reverse-slant rear roofline. For 1959, the Mark III was renamed the Mark IV, becoming the Mark V for 1960.

In 1959, the Continental marque was formally brought to an end within Lincoln; for 1960, the Mark V was brought to production as the Lincoln Continental Mark V, ending the model cycle alongside the standard Lincoln model line.

Unibody vehicles

For the 1958 model year, the Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln (M-E-L) division adapted new bodies across its vehicle lines. In addition to Mercury sharing its bodies with the premium Edsels (prior to the latter's demise), Lincoln and Continental adopted a common body structure, shifting to unibody construction. With a 131-inch wheelbase, the new platform would be among the largest vehicles ever built by Ford Motor Company; they are the longest Lincolns ever built without 5 mph bumpers, a regulatory mandate which went into effect in September 1972.

As a replacement for the Y-block V8, Ford developed a 430 cu in (7.0 L) "MEL" V8 as standard equipment for Lincolns (which was also available in Ford Thunderbirds and some Mercury vehicles).

For 1959, Continental developed Town Car and Limousine variants of the standard four-door sedan. In place of extending the wheelbase, the reverse-slant roofline was replaced by a formal notchback configuration, allowing the rear seat to be moved rearward several inches. Among the rarest Lincoln vehicles ever produced, the Town Car and Limousines were only offered painted in black.

1960s

From 1958 until 1960, Lincoln would lose over $60,000,000 (equivalent to $650,000,000 in 2025). Following the recession economy of the late 1950s (a factor that would play into the demise of Edsel), Ford Motor Company was forced to recoup the development costs of a vehicle platform that Lincoln shared with neither Ford nor Mercury (with the lone exception of the engine and transmission). By 1958, the future of Lincoln-Mercury was at risk, with Ford President Robert McNamara considering the reduction of Ford to its namesake brand. As a condition of allowing Lincoln to continue production, McNamara required the Lincoln model line to undergo a reduction in size.

For 1961, Lincoln consolidated its model lineup to a single model line, with the Lincoln Continental replacing the Lincoln Capri and Lincoln Premiere; as the Continental marque was withdrawn, the Mark V saw no successor. While only nominally lighter than the 1960 Lincoln, the 1961 Lincoln Continental adopted a smaller exterior footprint, shedding 15 inches in length and 8 inches of wheelbase. In an effort to streamline production, only four-door body styles were produced, with the Continental becoming the sole mass-produced four-door convertible sold in North America; to maximize rear-seat egress, Lincoln returned to the use of rear suicide doors.

In another requirement to ensure its survival, the model cycle of Lincoln was extended from three years to nine years. While largely dispensing with major yearly model changes, the decision established design consistency and shifting resources towards quality control. For the 1966 model year, to better compete with the Cadillac Coupe de Ville and the Imperial Crown/LeBaron Coupe, Lincoln added a two-door hardtop to the Continental model line. After the 1967 model year, Lincoln ended production of the Continental 4-door convertible. At 5,712 pounds, the 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible is the heaviest non-limousine car ever produced by Ford Motor Company; as of 2023, it is the final factory-produced four-door convertible sold in North America.

Continental Mark III

During the 1960s, Ford sought to develop a new flagship vehicle as a successor to the Continental Mark II. While the Lincoln Continental served as a close competitor to the Cadillac de Ville series and the Imperial, while Cadillac shifted the Cadillac Eldorado to the personal luxury segment in 1967, a segment that Ford exited in 1957 after the withdrawal of the Continental Mark II. As a response, in April 1968, the Continental Mark III was released as a 1969 model. While not officially a Lincoln, the Continental Mark III was marketed and serviced through the Lincoln-Mercury dealer network. Over a number of various names considered for the vehicle, Continental Mark III was chosen, as Henry Ford II thought the Continental Mark II did not have a proper successor (thus restarting the nomenclature).

Branding history

In 1927, Lincoln adopted a greyhound as a hood ornament, used into the 1930s. As a replacement for the greyhound, Lincoln adopted a knight's helmet hood ornament, used before World War II. On the front fascia, Lincoln adopted a coat of arms with a cross integrating the knight's helmet. The coat of arms continued use through 1956. The Lincoln Premier was introduced for 1956 featuring its own eight-point star which was adapted for all Lincoln models for 1957. From that time, Lincoln branded models used the eight-point star emblem until the end of the 1960 model year.

Introduced on the Continental Mark II for 1956, the boxed four-point "Continental star" emblem was used exclusively on Continental branded vehicles through 1960. When the Continental brand transitioned to become a sole Lincoln model line for 1961, the Lincoln eight-point star was discontinued as the "Continental star" took over for the Lincoln brand since there was only the Continental. The introduction of the 1977 Lincoln Versailles marks the first use of the "Continental star" emblem on a vehicle that was not branded a Continental. The emblem underwent various modifications in appearance over the years remaining nearly unchanged since 1980. Since 2018, an illuminated version of the front grille badge has been offered as an option.

Mark series (1968–1998)

Intended as a successor of the 1956–1957 Continental Mark II personal luxury car, the Continental Mark III was the first generation of the revived Continental Mark series. Marketed as personal luxury cars, the Mark series served as the flagship of the entire Ford Motor Company range. Though marketed and serviced through the Lincoln-Mercury dealer network, Mark series vehicles did not carry Lincoln badging (with the exception of the four-point star badge, itself inherited from the Continental Mark II), with Ford officially using Continental as the brand name (later used for 1981–1985 Mark-series VINs).

For 1986, the Continental Mark VII was renamed the Lincoln Mark VII in an effort to end nomenclature and advertising confusion over the model line. The successor 1993–1998 Mark VIII would use the Lincoln brand name throughout its entire production.

Along with serving as a flagship model line, the Mark series offered Designer Edition option packages for the 1976 Mark IV. In 1982, Lincoln introduced its first Designer Edition vehicle, offering a Cartier Edition Town Car, offering the option through 2003. The feature of design-coordinated interiors and exteriors made their return in 2017 with the introduction of its flagship Black Label trim series.

Slogans

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The Final Step Up (The Continentals, 1968–1971)

What a luxury car should be

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Smarter than luxury (2010)

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