STILL ROCKIN’ THE ELECTRIC CAR

There is a lot of longing in some of the best Neil Young songs. (Examples: “Searching for a heart of gold…” and “With your chrome heart shinin’ in the sun/Long may you run…” and “The king is gone but he’s not forgotten…” and “Got a man of the people/Says keep hope alive/Got fuel to burn/Got roads to drive…”)

There is longing in the electric car project Young is funding, too. Longing for a car with the comfort and style and soul of the big old boats as well as the fuel efficiency of tomorrow’s electric cars.

Young found a mechanic, John Goodwin, in Wichita, Kansas, who promised to fulfill Young's longing by converting one of the rocker’s 1959 Lincolns into an all-electric vehicle.

The project is progressing. Young talks about winning the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, a $10-million award for the best vehicle that gets 100 miles per gallon or better by 2009. He also says he knows it isn’t really about winning a prize.

Neil Young, co-founder and financier, electric car company Linc Volt: “We’re not in the race against other contestants; we’re in a race against time…We’re not in this to win the X Prize. I am focused on a goal, and it’s an audacious goal: to eliminate roadside refuelling.”

Most rock bands have taken steps to reduce their carbon footprints. Young is working to reduce the world’s carbon footprint.

September 2008 update. From lincvolt via YouTube.

Changing Attitudes on vehicles and driving
November 5, 2008 (Wheelbase Commuications via Wheels)
and
Neil Young Starts Electric Car Conversion Company
Brock Thiessen, November 5, 2008 (Exclaim News)

WHO
Neil Young, singer/songwriter and electric car entrepreneur; John Goodwin, electric vehicle engineer

WHAT
- Young’s a State of the Linc Volt address detailed his company’s progress at converting a 1959 Lincoln Continental into an electric vehicle.

Talkin’ her out for a cruise. From lincvolt via YouTube.

WHEN
- Young and Goodwin reportedly almost destroyed the car in its first test run in June.
- “Linc Volt,” Young’s film about the electric car conversion project, is in production at Shakey Pictures with no release date yet.

WHERE
Development of the Linc Volt is at Goodwin’s garage in Wichita, Kansas

WHY
- Young is funding the conversion primarily to inspire others to do retrofits.
- Young and Goodwin pulled together a team to turn the 20-foot-long, 5,000-pound 1959 Lincoln Continental into an electric vehicle.
- In the process of making the conversion, the number of lithium-ion batteries has been reduced and the team has added an on-board gasoline-powered generator, technology similar to that designed for GM’s Chevrolet Volt, that recharges the batteries during driving.
- The car also has sensors that wirelessly deliver real time stats on the car’s operations via the Internet.

click to enlarge

QUOTES
- Young’s purpose: “[To] repower the American Dream”
- Neil Young, still searching for the heart of gold: "All we're doing is showing that you can run a car like this at 100 miles per gallon or more…Our main focus is on developing the technology. We can tell people how to do it. Or we can do it for you."