It would be the ideal combination upon which to build the foundation of a luxury automaker.  Coalesce upper echelon engineering with sophisticated elegant styling and Lincoln would very rapidly create a prestigious, well-deserved reputation for itself.  Credit two men: Henry Leland and Edsel Ford.

    Henry Leland had founded the Cadillac Motor Car Company, turning out his first automobile in 1903. In 1908 his dedication to high quality engineering led him to invent the concept of interchangeable parts.  During his years at Cadillac, it won several engineering awards, due to Leland’s commitment to the highest of engineering standards.  In 1909, he sold the company to General Motors, but remained on to run it.  Being a great patriot, Leland wanted to build Liberty aero engines during World War I, so he asked GM that Cadillac might be able to do this.  He was refused, so he left and founded his own company to build these engines.  His favorite President had been Abraham Lincoln.  Thus, in 1917, at the age of 74, Leland founded the Lincoln Motor Company.  After the war, in 1919, Leland needed a use for his factory.  What better purpose than to resume the building of automobiles?  So was born the second of America’s greatest luxury cars.  Cadillac and Lincoln were founded by the same man.  When Leland announced that he was going return to the manufacture of cars, he immediately received orders for a thousand, based solely on his reputation for quality.

     He had his first model on the road by 1921.  Fifteen different body styles were available on wheelbases of 130 and 136 inches, weighing from about 4000 to 4600lbs.  Powered by a V8 engine of 358ci, it was rated at 81 horsepower.  It was comparable in size and price to a Cadillac though had a larger, more powerful engine.   Its acquisition took the annual income of a well-to-do person, being priced anywhere from $4600-$6600.  But economic conditions at the time were not favorable to an expensive car like the Lincoln.  And while it was built with the greatest of care and quality, Henry’s forte was not styling.  Combine a stogy appearance with the tight economic times and the new Lincoln did not sell well.  Enter the Ford family.

     The financial condition of Lincoln required Henry Leland to sell his beloved motor car company at a fire-sale price.  Henry Ford was always interested in a bargain and Lincoln would allow him to produce cars at both ends of the spectrum.  His son Edsel was a connoisseur of the finer things in life and this would give him an outlet for his interests.  Thus a deal was struck and in February, 1922, Lincoln passed into the hands of the Ford Motor Company.  Over the next many years Edsel would add the refined, elegant styling that would make Lincoln one of the premier motor cars in the world.
 

               1921 Model L                                                                            1929 Model L

     In 1922 horsepower was increased to 90.  In 1923 the 130in. wheelbase was dropped leaving only the 136in. version. By 1925 Edsel’s hand was clearly evident.  Minor styling changes had transformed the Model L into a truly attractive car.  In the mid-‘20’s Edsel took the initiative to be the first luxury car builder to make custom bodied cars directly available in catalogue form from the automaker itself.  Extensive involvement with the custom body manufacturers also resulted in further styling improvements.  By 1925 the most expensive Lincoln was $7200, truly a princely sum, even for the Roaring Twenties.

    But elegance and luxury were not the only attributes upon which Lincoln was building a lofty reputation.  It’s rugged durability and powerful engine made it a favorite with police departments.   And of course, soon to follow, with gangsters as well.
 

    Lincoln would round out the model run of the L in 1930 having created for itself, in just 10 short years, a reputation which Cadillac, Pierce-Arrow, and Packard had been working on for almost 30.  They would begin the darkest days of the Depression with the new Model K in 1931 and would secure a solid future with the introduction of the futuristic Zephyr in 1936.