Lincoln Motor Company
Lincoln Motor Company was founded in 1917 by Henry M. Leland, naming it after Abraham Lincoln; in 1922, Lincoln was acquired by Ford. Following World War II, Ford formed the Lincoln-Mercury Division, pairing Lincoln with its mid-range Mercury brand through 2010. In 2012, Ford rebranded the Lincoln division under its original name, Lincoln Motor Company. Originally founded as a freestanding division above Lincoln, Continental was integrated within Lincoln in 1959. The Continental-branded Mark Series was marketed through Lincoln starting in 1968, adapting the Lincoln name in 1986. The Lincoln star emblem is derived from a badge first used on the 1956 Continental Mark II.
Lincoln Premiere
These were the first Lincolns produced at the new Wixom plant, and were made on a unibody platform, Lincoln's first since the Lincoln-Zephyr. While advertising brochures made the case that Continental was still a separate make, the car shared its body with that year's Lincoln. The Lincoln Premiere was placed between the Lincoln Capri and Continental in trim level, with a traditional roof treatment instead of the Continental's extravagant reverse-angle power rear "breezeway" window that retracted behind the back seat. Lincoln lost over $60 million during 1958-1960, reflecting the enormous expense of developing the largest unibody car produced to date and poor consumer reception. The 1958 full-size Lincoln sold poorly in all models, compounded by the economic recession in the U.S.