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lincoln’s 100th anniversary
1963 Lincoln Continental convertible. >Courtesy Ford Motor Company
The 100th anniversary of a historic merger and a car that refuses to die
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Juan A. Hernández, The Weekly Journal
On Feb. 4, 1922, Henry Ford, with encouragement from his wife Clara and his son Edsel, purchased The Lincoln Motor Company from distinguished inventor and automotive engineer Henry Leland for $8 million. The transaction set in motion the creation of an iconic American luxury brand.
“Father made the most popular cars in the world; I want to make the best,” Edsel Ford is credited to having said once. The quote will later become synonymous with the company’s success.
It took Ford a little less than 20 years to achieve his goal. In 1940 the Lincoln Zephyr Continental was introduced to the public to a chorus of rave reviews. Renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright considered it “the most beautiful car in the world” and bought two of them. The first 25 Zephyr Continentals had rolled out of the factory before 1939 ended but were designated 1940 models.
The ‘40 Zephyr Continental, with its streamlined profile and iconic hood and grill, debuted as a personal-use vehicle, instantly becoming a design classic, and quickly established the personal luxury car segment in America. In its first production year 404 Continentals were produced, 350 Cabriolets and 54 Coupes. Each car was essentially hand built using Lincoln Zephyr branded trim pieces with the upholstery a combination of leather and whipcord. The cars featured a Model H V-12 engine and prices began at $2,640 for either the Cabriolet or the Coupe.
European Influence
According to Ford Motor Company’s website, the inspiration of the Continental began with a trip by Edsel and Eleanor Ford to Europe in 1938. Edsel was impressed by the design and elegance of the European automobiles he saw. When he returned from the trip,
In fact, he challenged Eugene Gregorie, whose expertise up until 1932 had been designing yachts, to In its first work with him to create a new production year and stylish Lincoln. 404 Continentals The car became a passion point were produced, 350 for Ford as he stopped by the Cabriolets and 54 design studio daily to monitor the Coupes, and prices progress and offer suggestions. began at $2,640 for “He had the vision. I did the either model. work of translating his vision into workable designs,” Gregorie would later say about Ford’s passion.
A Prickly Merger
But, while much of the success the company experienced early on is credited to the influence of Edsel Ford, who served as president of Lincoln from shortly after acquisition to his death in 1943, the transaction itself and the relation between the Fords and the Lelands was “rocky” at best.
Edsel Ford President, Ford Motor Company (1919-1943)
Leland founded the Lincoln Motor Company in 1917 with a $10 million wartime contract to build the V12 Liberty aircraft engine. After the war, the company was reorganized and the company plant was retooled to manufacture luxury automobiles. After the first Lincoln, the Model L, debuted in 1920, the company quickly became insolvent and put under receivership. Leland’s business was bought out by Henry Ford after he was the sole bidder in the process. Ford, who had first offered $5 million for the Lincoln Company, ended up acquiring it for $8 million because the bankruptcy judge would not accept the original bid for a well-equipped company whose assets were conservatively estimated at $16 million, according to “Ford: The Men and the Machine” by Robert Lacey.
In 2003, Richard Bak stated in “Henry and Edsel: The Creation of the Ford Empire,” Ford had deliberately low-balled his offer as revenge against Leland’s role in the creation of Cadillac.
Leland and his son Wilfred continued to run the company briefly after the sale, believing they would still have full control to run the company as they saw fit. But Ford had other plans for the Lincoln Motor Company.
By June 1922, the Lelands had been shown out of the factory they had created.
1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II. >Courtesy Ford Motor Company
A Classic Since The Beginning
The Continentals have been considered modern classics since their inception. Originally considered a personal luxury car, as their design has evolved Continentals have become the stuff of legend.
Movie stars and world renowned performers drove Continentals. In the 1950s Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley drove Mark IIs. Super star Elizabeth Taylor had her own Mark II, courtesy of Warner Brothers Studios for her role in the movie classic Giant (1956).
Even presidents were driven around in Lincoln Continentals. When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 1963, he was riding in an unarmored 1961 Lincoln Continental. Astonishingly, the infamous model was not retired and Lincoln Continentals remained on presidential duty until they were retired in 1984.
After such an outstanding history, it is a contradiction of sorts that Ford had stopped manufacturing the Lincoln Continental cars and are now solely dedicated to the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) segment. The last Lincoln Continental rolled off Ford’s Flat Rock assembly plant on October 30, 2020. Still, it must be pointed that in 1948 –only eight years after its inception– the Continental was killed-off, only to make a comeback in 1956 as a second-generation. It was retired once more in 2002, and again it reincarnated in 2017 after a 15year hiatus. So, after 80 years of history, ten generations and at least two reincarnations anyone can question: have we seen the last of the Lincoln Continental?
