The Lincoln Motor Company was founded in 1917 by Henry M. Leland, the same man who a few years earlier had founded Cadillac. The company built aircraft engines for World War I. Later they started producing cars, had financial problems and were acquired by Ford. Lincoln became a luxury brand for Ford as Cadillac was for GM. From 1-1945, Lincoln was merged with Mercury to form Lincoln-Mercury. Today, Lincoln operates under its original name, Lincoln Motor Company.