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 Motor Company
While Designer Editions were discontinued, the LSC (Luxury Sports Coupe) made its return as the flagship Mark VIII model. During the 1990s, the Mark VIII competed in the mid-size luxury coupe segment, which was in overall decline. Though positively received by critics and buyers, the Mark VIII was withdrawn after the 1998 model year, outliving the Thunderbird and Cougar by a year. As of the 2019 model year, the 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII is currently the final version of Lincoln Mark series.
As the division entered the 21st century, Lincoln began a period of major transition. In addition to ending production of the long-running Mark series, the Lincoln Navigator SUV had entered production, nearly unchallenged by European and Japanese manufacturers. As buyers of mid-size coupes in the luxury segments had shifted towards sports sedans, Lincoln developed an entry for the segment in the place of the Mark VIII. For 2000, Lincoln introduced the Lincoln LS mid-size sports sedan; coinciding with Premier Automotive Group (see below), the LS was developed alongside the Jaguar S-Type. Though the two vehicles shared a common chassis and related powertrain, no body panels were common between the two vehicles. The shortest Lincoln ever produced at the time, the LS was developed to compete with European and Japanese-produced counterparts, in line with the Cadillac Catera. While the Catera was imported from Germany (as a rebadged Opel Omega), the LS was produced alongside the Town Car and Continental in Wixom Assembly.