Lincoln's first products were aircraft engines, not cars. Founder Henry Leland named the company after Abraham Lincoln, the first president he ever voted for.
- Country
-
United States - Active
- Since 1917
- Founded by
- Henry M. Leland
- Website
- Official website ↗
An engine maker named after a president
Lincoln’s first products didn’t have wheels. They had propellers. Henry Leland founded the Lincoln Motor Company in 1917 to build aircraft engines for the Allies in the First World War, and according to The Henry Ford museum it built roughly half of the Liberty V-12 engines made by the end of the war.
Leland was no newcomer. He had founded Cadillac in 1902 and resigned after General Motors took it over. For his new company he chose a name with personal meaning. According to Lincoln, he named it after Abraham Lincoln, the first president he had ever voted for, more than five decades earlier.
After the armistice, Leland and his son Wilfred turned the business into a luxury carmaker, and the first Lincoln cars came out in 1920. Timing was cruel. A postwar recession pushed the company into receivership, and on 4 February 1922 Henry Ford, encouraged by Clara and Edsel Ford, bought it for $8 million. The Lelands were gone within months. That same year a statue of Abraham Lincoln went up in front of the Detroit plant.
Edsel Ford ran Lincoln from shortly after the purchase until his death in 1943. His goal was simple: “Father made the most popular cars in the world; I want to make the best.”
A greyhound on the bonnet
Before there was a star, there was a dog. Lincoln says the Model L of the 1920s featured a leaping greyhound, chosen to represent speed, stamina and grace. The Henry Ford dates the greyhound’s adoption as the corporate mascot to 1925. The hood ornament was designed by Gorham Manufacturing Company, a silversmithing firm, and it topped Lincoln cars through the 1930s.
A star drawn overnight
The badge you see on every Lincoln today was not born at Lincoln at all. It came from the Continental Division, a separate part of Ford Motor Company. According to Ford archivist Jamie Myler, the four-point star badge was originally designed in 1955 for the 1956 Continental Mark II.
The Mark II design team was led by John Reinhart and Gordon Buehrig. Lincoln says former Ford stylist Robert Thomas designed the star overnight, and it won immediate, unanimous approval. It didn’t come from nowhere, though. The Henry Ford notes that the star evolved from a crest-style emblem Lincoln had adopted for the 1942 model year.
The Continental Division merged into Lincoln after two years, and its star became the symbol of the whole Lincoln line. Since then it has seen only minor adjustments. Lincoln’s own sources describe where the star came from, not what its four points stand for, so we won’t guess.
Zephyrs, Continentals and coach doors
Under Edsel Ford, Lincoln became a design brand as much as an engineering one. A few cars show how.
Landmark Lincolns, decade by decade
- 1920: First Lincoln cars. The Lelands’ first luxury models, built after the company switched from aircraft engines to cars.
- 1936: Zephyr. Lincoln’s first mid-priced car, with a streamlined body and an “alligator” hood. It made up more than 90 percent of Lincoln’s production that model year.
- 1939: Continental. Born from a custom car Edsel Ford had built after a trip to Europe in 1938. Lincoln says it helped establish the personal luxury segment in America.
- 1956: Continental Mark II. The car the four-point star was designed for. It reached showrooms in 1955.
- 1961: Continental. The model on which Lincoln debuted its coach doors.
- 2010: MKZ Hybrid. Lincoln’s first hybrid electric vehicle.
Lincoln is the luxury brand of Ford, which has owned it since 1922. Fittingly, the luxury brand Henry Ford bought was started by the man who had founded Cadillac. For more on how badges like the Lincoln star are created, see how car logos are designed.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Lincoln called Lincoln?
According to Lincoln, founder Henry Leland named the company after Abraham Lincoln, the first president he voted for.
When did Lincoln get its star logo?
The four-point star was designed in 1955 for the 1956 Continental Mark II, by former Ford stylist Robert Thomas. After the Continental Division merged into Lincoln, it became the emblem of the whole brand.
Why did Lincoln use a greyhound?
Lincoln says the leaping greyhound represented speed, stamina and grace. It was adopted as the company mascot in 1925 and used as a hood ornament through the 1930s.
Who owns Lincoln?
Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford bought Lincoln from Henry Leland on 4 February 1922 for $8 million.
From Liberty engines to the Lincoln star
- Founded
- 1917
- Founder
- Henry M. Leland
- Country
- United States
- Parent company
- Ford Motor Company
- Current emblem
- A four-point star, first designed in 1955 for the 1956 Continental Mark II
- Known for
- American luxury cars and the Continental
- Website
- Official website ↗
