Lincoln Motor Company
The Lincoln Motor Company was founded in August 1917 by Henry Leland and his son Wilfred. Among the founders of Cadillac, Leland had sold the company to General Motors in 1909, remaining on as an executive until 1917, when he left over a dispute with GM President William Durant. Naming Lincoln Motor Company after Abraham Lincoln, the first President for whom he ever voted (1864), Leland financed the company by securing a $10 million contract to build Liberty V12 aircraft engines, breaking ground on the Lincoln Motor Company Plant. To build the Liberty engines, Lincoln sourced parts from other manufacturers; along with cylinders produced by Ford, other parts were sourced from Buick, Cadillac, Marmon, and Packard. In total, 6,500 Liberty V12 engines were produced by Lincoln before the end of World War I ceased wartime production.
Lincoln Motor Company
Following the introduction of the Mark VIII (see below), for 1995, the Lincoln Continental underwent a redesign, introducing a new version of the Ford Taurus chassis. Retaining the use of front-wheel drive, to better compete with Japanese-produced luxury sedans, the Continental was equipped with a 4.6L V8 engine (shared with the Mark VIII, tuned for front-wheel drive). 1998 marked a significant transition for the Lincoln model line. The Continental underwent a mid-cycle redesign, adding updated electronics and side airbags (the first time for a Lincoln). After a nine-year model model run, the Town Car underwent a major redesign of its exterior and interior, with the Panther chassis given a redesigned rear suspension. Partially influenced by the 1995 Continental and Lincoln Mark VIII, the exterior of the 1998 Town Car shifted to a far more rounded body, becoming the tallest Lincoln in 40 years. In contrast to the Mark VIII entering its final year of production, for 1998, Lincoln debuted the Lincoln Navigator full-size SUV. The first all-new Lincoln nameplate since the Lincoln Versailles, the Navigator shared its body with the Ford Expedition, competing against the Range Rover, Mercedes-Benz M-Class and Lexus LX450, the full-size Navigator offered additional cargo and towing capability unavailable in smaller luxury-oriented SUVs. Following the success of the Navigator in the marketplace, 1998 marked the first year Lincoln outsold Cadillac (by over 4,500 vehicles). As a response to the Navigator, Cadillac introduced the Cadillac Escalade, a rebadged GMC Yukon Denali (itself a Chevrolet Tahoe variant).
After a nine-year production run (matching the Mark IV and Mark V combined), the Lincoln Mark VII was replaced by the Lincoln Mark VIII, remaining a variant of the Ford Thunderbird/Mercury Cougar. This was the first generation of the Mark series originally branded as a Lincoln. Further emphasis was placed on handling, with the Mark VIII (and Thunderbird/Cougar) becoming the only American-produced four-seat cars of the time with rear-wheel drive and four-wheel independent suspension. While the Mark VIII adopted the coupe profile of its predecessor, in an effort to modernize its styling, much of the body was radically streamlined (relegating the spare-tire hump to vestigial status). In massive contrast from its 1970s predecessors, the Mark VIII was given a cockpit-style interior, with all controls oriented towards the driver. In various forms, elements of the Mark VIII would be featured in other Lincoln models (the 1995 Lincoln Continental and the 1995 Town Car interior), and other Ford Motor Company products (the interior of the Ford Windstar minivan).