Editing Lincoln Motor Company (section)

===1950s===
As Lincoln entered the 1950s, Ford Motor Company sought to increase the differentiation between the Mercury and Lincoln model lines. For 1952, to add interest to the brand, Lincoln returned to model names for the first time since 1942, with the Lincoln Cosmopolitan becoming the standard Lincoln model, with the [[Lincoln Capri]] becoming the flagship model line. In a return to (small) pontoon rear fenders, Lincolns shared a body with the [[Mercury Monterey]]. Mechanically, Lincoln differed from Mercury, as the Ford truck V8 was replaced by the [[Lincoln Y-block V8 engine|Lincoln Y-block V8]] with a [[Hydramatic]] transmission. For the first time since the discontinuation of the Model K, Lincolns were produced with front-hinged rear doors.

For 1956, the shared Lincoln-Mercury body underwent a redesign for the final time, with Lincoln adopting elements from the [[Mercury XM-800]] and [[Lincoln Futura]] concept cars. Slotted above the Lincoln Capri, the [[Lincoln Premiere]] adapted features of the Continental Mark II, including its ducted air conditioning.

During 1956, Lincoln-Mercury was reorganized slightly, following the creation of the free-standing Edsel and Continental divisions, Lincoln-Mercury was changed to Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln (MEL), with Edsel slotted alongside/below Mercury and Continental above Lincoln, as the flagship of all of Ford Motor Company. By the end of 1959, Continental was integrated into Lincoln, and Edsel was withdrawn.

The Lincoln Motor Company Plant, built in Detroit, Michigan, by Henry Leland in 1917, was closed after 1952; subsequent Lincolns were produced alongside Mercury Montereys and Mercury Montclairs. For the 1957 model year, Ford opened [[Wixom Assembly Plant|Wixom Assembly]] in [[Wixom, Michigan]], as a facility to specialize in Lincoln production. From 1957 until 2007, the facility produced Lincoln vehicles nearly exclusively, along with the [[Ford GT]] and several generations of the [[Ford Thunderbird]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights="100px">
File:1950 Lincoln standard four-door sedan, Lime Rock.jpg|1950 Lincoln (sedan)
File:Lincoln Capri Sedan 1953.jpg|1953 Lincoln Capri
File:1955 Lincoln Capri (7867895468).jpg|1955 Lincoln Capri
File:Lincoln Premiere 1956.jpg|1956 Lincoln Premiere
File:1957 Lincoln Premiere 4 door Hardtop Landau (33112700972).jpg|1957 Lincoln Premiere Landau (4-door hardtop)
File:1959 Lincoln Premier 2-door hardtop.JPG|1959 Lincoln Premiere 
</gallery>

====Continental Division (1956–1959)====
{{main|Continental Mark II}}
[[File:1956_Continental_Mark_II_-_midnight_blue_-_fvr.jpg|thumb|1956 Continental Mark II]]
For the 1956 model year, Ford Motor Company created the Continental Division, slotted above Lincoln as the flagship marque of Ford Motor Company. At its launch, Continental introduced the Continental Mark II as its model line, intended as a successor to the 1940–1948 Lincoln Continental personal luxury car. Offered as a two-door hardtop coupe, the Mark II broke from a number of American styling precedents of the time. While fitted with whitewall tires, the exterior was fitted with minimal chrome trim on the body sides; tailfins were left off of the body completely. In place of the bumper-mounted spare tire of the original Lincoln Continental, the trunk lid of the Mark II showcased the design element, with a large imitation spare tire bulge (which fit over the actual spare tire inside the trunk). The Mark II was largely hand-built, with extensive quality testing done on each engine and transmission before leaving the factory.

In place of establishing a separate sales and service network for Continental, the Mark II was marketed through Lincoln (the Mark II used a Lincoln engine and transmission). At $10,000 in 1956 (equivalent to ${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|10,000|1956}}}} in {{inflation-year|US}}{{inflation-fn|US}}), the Mark II was the most expensive car produced by an American automaker at the time, rivaling the [[Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud]] in price.

On July 18, 1956, the Continental Division was integrated into Lincoln which continued to manage the Continental brand as a separate marque.<ref name="dammann4"/>{{rp|281}} During the 1957 model year, the Mark II was withdrawn, largely as a consequence of its hand-built construction; each unit was sold at a loss of over $1,000. Subsequently, the 1957 [[Cadillac Eldorado#Third generation (1957–1958)|Cadillac Eldorado Brougham]] overtook the Mark II as the most expensive American-produced vehicle.

For 1958, as part of a mandated $4000 reduction in price (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|4000|1958}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars {{inflation-fn|US}}), Continental adopted the body of Lincoln, expanding into multiple body styles for the Mark III (the nomenclature indicating the transition). Adding a feature of the [[Mercury Turnpike Cruiser]], Continental adopted a retractable rear window across every body style (including convertibles) with a reverse-slant rear roofline. For 1959, the Mark III was renamed the Mark IV, becoming the Mark V for 1960.<ref name="dammann4"/>{{rp|331,337,414, 582–583}}

In 1959, the Continental marque was formally brought to an end within Lincoln; for 1960, the Mark V was brought to production as the ''Lincoln Continental Mark V'', ending the model cycle alongside the standard Lincoln model line.

====Unibody vehicles====
[[File:1959 Lincoln Continental.JPG|thumb|1959 Continental Mark IV Town Car formal-roof sedan]]

For the 1958 model year, the Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln (M-E-L) division adapted new bodies across its vehicle lines. In addition to Mercury sharing its bodies with the premium [[Edsel]]s (prior to the latter's demise), Lincoln and Continental adopted a common body structure, shifting to unibody construction. With a 131-inch wheelbase, the new platform would be among the largest vehicles ever built by Ford Motor Company; they are the longest Lincolns ever built without [[5 mph bumper]]s, a [[Bumper (car)#First standards 1971|regulatory mandate]] which went into effect in September 1972.

As a replacement for the Y-block V8, Ford developed a {{convert|430|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} [[Ford MEL engine|"MEL"]] V8 as standard equipment for Lincolns (which was also available in Ford Thunderbirds and some Mercury vehicles).

For 1959, Continental developed Town Car and Limousine variants of the standard four-door sedan. In place of extending the wheelbase, the reverse-slant roofline was replaced by a formal notchback configuration, allowing the rear seat to be moved rearward several inches. Among the rarest Lincoln vehicles ever produced, the Town Car and Limousines were only offered painted in black.