History of the Lincoln Motor Company

Lincoln Motor Company has a long and storied history as a luxury automotive manufacturer. Lincoln was founded by Henry M. Leland in 1917 and was acquired by Ford Motor Company in 1922 but operated as a separate entity until 1940. The company was named after Abraham Lincoln, former president of the United States, who was a role model for Leland and for whom he voted in the U.S. presidential election of 1864.

In the 1930s, Ford's Lincoln division introduced its popular Lincoln Zephyr model, which was inspired by the Burlington Zephyr, a streamlined, diesel-powered express train. The Lincoln Continental, which architect Frank Lloyd Wright reportedly described as "the most beautiful car ever made," launched in 1939 and was a flagship model for decades. In 1940, the Lincoln Company became the Lincoln Division of the Ford Motor Company.

The Lincoln Division was a leading producer of luxury vehicles throughout the rest of the 20th century. The Lincoln Division introduced its first full size SUV, the Lincoln Navigator, in 1998 and was a first mover in the luxury SUV market. The Lincoln MK-Series vehicles also launched in 2006 and have been the path for new and innovative styling and engineering. The Lincoln Division relaunched as the Lincoln Motor Company in December 2012.

The Lincoln Motor Company is proud to reintroduce the Lincoln Continental to our vehicle lineup, celebrating our history of elegance and luxury coupled with modern day technology and engineering.