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History of Lincoln Motor Cars / Automobiles |
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- The Lincoln car company was founded in 1917 by Henry M Leland and his son. In 1902 he was one of the co-founders of Cadillac, which subsequently became one of Lincoln's main competitors.
- In 1922 Lincoln was acquired by the Ford Motor Company.
- Between 1920 and 1930 the company produced the Lincoln L-series. In 1931 the K-series was introduced, which had a 6.3 litre engine based on the V8 fitted to the L-series.
- Whilst production ceased in 1939, a special Model K convertible was built in 1942 for President Franklin D Roosevelt.
- The Zephyr model was introduced in November 1935, originally as a 2 or 4 door sedan. A convertible coupe was introduced in 1938.
- In 1936 the company sold 22,000 cars of which 15,000 were the Zephyr. Production ceased in 1942.
- In 1932 Lincoln started designing a car that became known as the Continential.
- The first Continental car was produced in early 1939 as a one-off for Henry Ford’s son, Edsel (who was then President of the Ford Motor Company).
- The car was such a hit with his friends that Edsel had more hand-built, both as sedans and convertibles. Twenty four were built that year, followed by four hundred in 1940.
- The Continental’s design was based around the Zephyr, with important changes which included the model’s trademark - the externally-mounted covered spare tire.
- The first post-war Continential that was produced from 1946 to 1948 was basically the same as the 1942 model, with an altered front grille and a heavier bumper; 3,334 were made.
- In 1946 Lincoln sold 13,496 cars.
- Between 1939 and 2002 there have been nine generations of the Continential.
- The car President John Kennedy was travelling in when he was assassinated in 1963 was custom built from a 1961 4-door Continental and code named the SS-100-X.
- Between 1949 and 1960 Lincoln introduced the Lincoln Sport (1949-51), the 5.5 litre Cosmopolitan (1949-54), Lido (1950-51), the Capri (1952-59), which was one of the first cars with an automatic headlight dimmer, Custom (1955) and the Premiere (1956-60).
- The 2-door luxury coupe Lincoln Mark Series was produced from 1956 to 1998, with a 4-door sedan Mark Vl available from 1980 to 1983.
- The Lincoln Town Car was introduced in 1981, although the name first appeared on a 1922 custom built Lincoln for Henry Ford.
- The name was also used for the Continental sedan from 1959 to 1980, before becoming a model in its own right.
- Measuring nearly 18 feet (5.49 meters), the Town Car was the largest American made car in 2006.
- The Lincoln LS (Luxury Sport) was produced from 2002 to 2006 and nearly 263,000 were made. The first versions were referred to as LS6 and S8 depending on the V6 or V8 engine choice. Manual transmission was also offered as an option.
- Between 2003 and 2005 the company also produced the mid-sized, luxury Lincoln Aviator SUV.
- Models avalable in 2007 include the Town Car, Mark LT, MKX, MKZ and Navigator.
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