Filed under: Green Culture, Hybrid, Lincoln, USA
VIDEO: Neil Young delivers state of the LincVolt address
When last we visited Neil Young's LincVolt project the car and crew had managed to survive some early road testing. That was at the beginning of June so you may be forgiven if you think that four months later the car should be ready to go with nothing standing between it and the open road but a good coat of wax. Obviously the mind of a rock genius has its own ideas about time and such and so there is yet work to be done before the car makes its road trip debut. However, that is not to say that there hasn't been any progress. There has been, and in a video address, Neil gives the world the latest news on the development of the car.
Among the highlights is the arrival of an old gas engine from Australia. Why they decided to ship a used engine all the way from Australia to perform as a range extender in the '59 Lincoln Continental was not revealed but they do address some of the red tape encountered in the shipping. Another piece of progress was made with Paul Perrone of Perrone Robotics installing all the sensors that will supply to the world via internet, every possible bit of data relevant to the LincVolt as it rolls down the highway such as current speed and altitude. Besides being able to see the road ahead, sound and vision of the interior will also be available on the LincVolt website which is set to undergo a dramatic change to bring you a mix of telemetry and rolling reality show. In the meantime, the site has a webcam to allow us all to see what's going on with the car now. Hit the jump for video of the state of the LincVolt address.
[Source: YouTube / LincVolt]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
pauln 3:43PM (9/29/2008)
Please stop giving Neil the (undeserved) attention he so desperately seeks. This thing is a joke; an old engine shipped from Australia!? A giant boat/monster of a car, with highly limited electric range. Neil, go back to doing what you do best, not making a fool of yourself. This is the worst kind of green-washing.
Reply
Bret 10:54AM (4/02/2009)
I know I am a little late here, but Pauln, you are a f****** idiot. Neil Young has ALWAYS been a champion for the working class. If you are doing anything to improve this world, (which I doubt you are; if being a whiny c*** improves society well then, I hope you get an award.) Please let us know. The reason for using a big heavy car is for research. Just imagine what it would do in a much smaller car. You being such a visionary, I am sure you have the world's problems solved already, don't you? Prick.
pauln 12:44PM (4/02/2009)
I'll try to avoid your intensity in responding to your diatribe. I know what I'm talking about; I'm a journalist who covers the EV scene very closely, and i understand the technology. If you really think Neil is doing "research", then you're deluded. Practical, affordable EV's are already in production (in China, to start with). Neil's "showboating" in a ridiculous old land barge is doing nothing to further the cause of EV's; it was already done in laboratories while he endlessly feeds his needy ego and his ridiculous car. At least I don't pretend to solve the world's problems; Neil certainly is.
gorr 8:19PM (9/29/2008)
Im confident in them because they have a link on their webpage to the mayer fuelcell and to the genepax water-car.
Reply
Ammocabby 2:25PM (9/30/2008)
Did these gentleman actually find an engine in Australia, take it to Wichita in order to put it in this vehicle? What's so green about that?
I love the concept, though. I wonder if this will one day be THE way to enable friends of oldtime vehicles to keep their cars on the road in an eco-friendly manner.
This subject is a fascinating one, but this video is an example of how to make a fascinating subject...boring.
Except for all the falderal of getting an engine to the US from Australia (weren't there ANY suitable engines available in all of Wichita?), this sounds like a cool idea.
Reply
Robert 10:55PM (11/05/2008)
The gas engine is an odd bit as there are new ones available of every size and type; mabye there's some curiosity value to the AU item.
The point is this is an electric car with real charm and presence, not one of those "I hate cars!" glorified golf carts. The car-hating audience has had electric conversions available for 30 years now and hasn't ponied up the $$ to actually buy them. Put a new drivetrain in a classic car and people will line up.
Say ... the car pictured here looks like a hardtop with the "breezeway" rear window (you could roll the whole back window down!), but the lincvolt project is said to be a convertible. Are they doing a pair of vehicles?
Reply