The Lincoln Motor Company started in 1917 as an independent luxury manufacturer before the Ford Motor Company acquired it in 1922. Interestingly, Henry M. Leland, the same man who established Cadillac back in 1902 started the company. After selling the brand to General Motors, Leland decided to create one more automotive company, this time naming it after 16th U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln.
For the better part of the last 101 years, Lincoln was one of the best domestic luxury brands. They had to constantly battle with the Chrysler Imperial as well as Cadillac and Packard, as well as numerous foreign competitors. While some of the competition is long gone, Lincoln needs to find its place in the 21st century and reinvent its appeal for generations to come.
Used by many U.S. presidents, movie stars and celebrities, Lincolns always held a place in modern culture as symbols of success, power and prestige. While most people consider the Cadillac to be an over the top luxury automobile, Lincoln was always more restrained and elegant. And that makes it more suited for official purposes and government protocol. So here is a compilation of the 18 best Lincolns they ever produced. These are the cars that built the company image and remained in the enthusiast’s hearts ever since.
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Lincoln L-Series
In 1920, Lincoln presented the L-Series, which was the first model for the company. By the standards of the early ‘20s, the L-Series was an advanced automobile. It featured the 357 V8 engine, which delivered 90 HP, giving this model an exhilarating performance for the day. They produced the L-Series in open or closed sedans while many coachbuilders of the period used its chassis for own creations.
But the high engineering standards and extensive testing proved to be economically problematic for the company, so in 1922, Lincoln was bankrupt. Ford stepped in, buying the company and continuing building the L-Series all the way to 1930, and that just shows how good this car really was.