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 Continental
In 1961, as Lincoln redesigned its model line, the Continental went from being the flagship Lincoln to the only model line sold by the division (for the next 16 years). In the mid-1960s, Ford made a decision to develop a new successor to the Mark II, naming it the Continental Mark III, effectively beginning the Mark series. As with the Mark II and the 1958-1960 Continentals, it was sold, marketed, and serviced by Lincoln, though not officially badged as such. As part of the launch, the existence of the 1958 Continental Mark III that shared its name was heavily downplayed; a second nickname to this generation is dubbed the "forgotten Marks"