Lincoln

Henry M Leland co-founded Cadillac in 1902, and in 1908 it was acquired by General Motors. Henry and his son Wilfred left Cadillac in 1917 and set up the Lincoln Motor Co to build aero engines, turning to luxury cars after the war ended. The venture was unsuccessful, and went into receivership, where the assets were bought by the Ford Motor Co in 1922. Edsel Ford (Henry's son) took charge, and in the 1920s produced the V8-engined L-series, which had elegant bodies by all the leading coachbuilders. In 1931 the Lincoln K was launched, followed in 1932 by the V12-engined KB. As the market for luxury cars shrank, in 1935 Edsel launched the smaller Zephyr, which rapidly took 70% of Lincoln sales. Production ceased in 1942, in wartime. Edsel had a one-off Lincoln built in 1939 called the Continental. Orders flowed in, so it was put into limited production. In 1946 it reappeared in slightly modified form, replaced by a new Continental in 1948. Other postwar models included the Lincoln Sport, Cosmopolitan, Lido, Capri, Custom, Premiere and the two-door Lincoln Continental Mark II, made until 1960. A new Continental with sleek lines and less chromework created a sensation in 1961, and more Continental 'Marks' followed, ten generations in all. The SS-100-X was a Presidential parade car based on a 1961 four-door Continental, with optional hardtop. In 1963, without its hardtop fitted, it was in Dallas carrying President John F Kennedy when he was assassinated. The sedan version of the Continental was called the Town Car, which became a separate model in 1981; two decades later it was the longest US car, at 18 feet long. In 2002 the popular Lincoln LS (Luxury Sport) was launched, followed by the Aviator SUV, the LT, the MK series and the Navigator.