Henry M. Leland Spent his younger years working in the factories of several well-known firearms manufacturers learning first-hand the technique of parts interchangeability, a method he employed so successfully in the auto industry. After a series of ventures that ran from inventing the mechanical hair clipper to manufacturing engines, Leland in 1902 reorganized the Henry Ford Company, which became the Cadillac Motor Car Company. While with Cadillac, Leland was responsible for the company’s introduction of such innovations as standardized parts, electric starting, and automatic ignition advance. Leland left Cadillac in 1917, and some years later organized the Lincoln Motor Car Company, which was purchased by Ford in 1922.