 However, Edsel Ford died in 1943, and following the war Ford corporate felt the light car project would pull sales from the full size Ford.Additionally, Henry Ford II felt that Gregorie’s planned 1949 Ford, which shared the same character lines as the Light Ford, was too large for its market, as was Gregorie’s proposed 1949 Mercury.To that end, the planned Ford and Mercury lines were pushed to Mercury and Lincoln, and a contest held to design a Ford that would at once smaller than the Mercury, but larger than the Light Ford.