Thread by @iowahawkblog

It's Lincoln Day at #DavesCarIDService, where we commemorate the reelection of Abraham Lincoln on November 8, 1864, the car brand named in his honor, and the rivalry story that connects them.

I am quite fond of both Honest Abe and Lincoln automobiles. My great-great-grandfather was a farmer who fought with the 8th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment 1864-65, and my daily driver is a Lincoln MKZ. Plus I own a 1932 Ford hot rod coupe, copper colored like a Lincoln penny, with a 1932 Lincoln penny imbedded in the shift knob. Not a Lincoln motor in it, but hey, it's still my hot rod Lincoln.

And I'm also very fond of meandering stories about the automobile industry, and the Lincoln story I'm about to recount is one of my favorites.

The rivalry I alluded to regarding Lincoln was between two of the true titans of the car industry: Henry Leland and Henry Ford. It's a rivalry that still exists today, nearly 125 years later.

Henry Leland was a Vermonter who was a 21 year old machinist and engineer at Colt firearms in 1864, and enthusiastically cast his first vote for Abe Lincoln in that election. When he founded Lincoln Motor Company in 1917 he explained this as the inspiration for the brand naming.

But in between, Henry Leland also founded Cadillac Motors in 1903, which he sold to the fledgling General Motors in 1909. He remained head honcho at Cadillac 1909-1917, working with Charles Kettering to develop the first electric starter in 1913.

But here's where the rivalry comes in: Cadillac was formed from the ashes of the Henry Ford Company. It was Henry Ford's second failed startup car company, and Leland was one of the appraisers brought in by Ford's creditors for its liquidation sale. Long story short, Leland ended up with much of Ford's machinery and tooling, which were used to make the first Cadillacs.

After those first two strikeouts, in 1903 Henry Ford hit a towering home run with the Ford Motor Company. It made him the richest man in the world, but that 1902 liquidation sale, and the success of Cadillac, really stuck in his craw, by cracky.

When the first 1921 Lincoln Model Ls debuted in late 1920 Model M. His later Cadillacs would become more opulent and luxurious, status symbols. In 1917 he was no spring chicken, 74 years old and being maneuvered out at GM, when he decided to form the new independent Lincoln Motor Company.

It was targeted as rival status brand to Cadillac, but the first Lincoln car wouldn't be made until late 1920. Leland financed the new company with a government contract to produce Liberty V12 aircraft engines during WW1; pic 2 shows him and his team with one of those mills.

When the first 1921 Lincoln Model Ls debuted in late 1920 they were dandies, a worthy rival to Cadillac. But it was hemmhoraging money and became insolvent in 1922. And thus, in 1922, Henry the Ford would have his vengeance on Henry the Leland. He swooped in, bought the company lock stock & barrel at a bargain basement prices.

Leland thought he and his son Wilfred would remain on board at Lincoln after the sale, but oh no no, said Ford. In pic 4, a bit of a Ford touchdown dance photo with Henry and Edsel Ford (on left) signing the Lincoln deal with Henry and Wilfred Leland on right.

Revenge is a dish best served cold, and resulted in Ford having a ready-made Cadillac competitor in the upscale status car market. Some of which are my favorites:

1932 Lincoln KB roadster (Edsel Ford driving)
1939 Lincoln Zephyr Continental (the first to have the Continental name)
1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II
1961 Lincoln Continental, with its still stunning slab side & suicide door design

Thus ends today's shaggy dog story, now on to the IDs! Got a swell old family photo with a mystery car therein? Tag it with #davescaridservice and I will do my utmost to figure out the make-model-year. Please heed the content guardrails, and keep this service a NO POLITICS ZONE.

"I hope there's a Lincoln in the ID requests today," I said to myself. Lo & behold, jackpot! A 1921-23 Lincoln L touring in fact; one of those first Lincolns and still in use ~15 years later. And how 'bout that Lincoln log cabin in this boffo snapshot?

Time for another... Toddlers! Perched! Precariously! On Rocks?

Behind little daisy-picking Mom is the gaping maw of a 1946-48 DeSoto, another brand name derived from American history. Yonder, a 1946 Pontiac.

Yeah "flight attendant" my ass. Clearly Mom was a USA secret agent in the Caribbean teaming with 007 to take down Dr. No. Fantastic Kodachrome image here; flanking the VW are a 1962 Dodge Dart (L) and a 57 Chevy Bel Air in front of a 1961-62 Ford Falcon.