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 through 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 (Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, and Volvo) 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 (except Iran and Syria), China (except Hong Kong and Macau), and South Korea.

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 (1864). The company was financed by securing a $10 million contract to produce Liberty V12 aircraft engines ($237,818,182 in 2023 dollars) 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 $8 million ($145,622,266 in 2023 dollars[14]) 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 (forced to be increased by the court).

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 (led by Leland) forced Henry Ford from his second company, the Henry Ford Company; the company was reorganized as Cadillac (deriving its name from the founder of Detroit). 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 (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.

ILLUSTRATOR/ARTIST:

Stark (Winthrop Stark) Davis (1885 - 1950) was active/lived in California, Illinois, Massachusetts. Stark Davis is known for Wildlife-birds and figure painting, magazine illustration. Stark Davis was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1885.