Think you're better than Neil Young? Uncle Neil would like to give you a chance to best the video he shot inside the Lincvolt car through a video contest that uses a song from his new record, Fork in the Road. The song is "Johnny Magic," which includes the line, "She goes a long way on domestic green fuel, 100 miles per gallon is the Continental rule." The green car theme is strong with this one.

Young's team will accept entries until May 15 and will then open the videos up to a week of internet voting. The winner will get a LincVolt jacket. Find the official rules here, and make sure you don't put your video up on YouTube. Apparently, Young's record label, Reprise, is involved in a tiff with YouTube over equal compensation issues (read more on the Neil Young Times). You can see Young's original video for "Johnny Magic" here.

[Source: Neil Young via EcoRazzi]

"She goes a long way on domestic green fuel, 100 miles per gallon is the Continental rule."

That's one of the lines in "Johnny Magic," a song from Neil Young's upcoming album, Fork in the Road, which will be released April 7th. Johnny refers to Young's partner-in-green John Goodwin, the main mechanic behind the LincVolt project. Young has just released a video for "Johnny Magic" that was apparently shot inside of the car. Like the rest of Fork, Young sings the praises of fuel efficiency and making smart transportation choices in the song.

For another version of the video (same audio, different look - this time with a dog included) check out Young's post over at HuffPo. In that post, Young writes that "This is a song about people and heroes and change. Life in America. [...] Featuring Shakey Pictures' new 'economy look' to go with the times!" Watch the video after the jump.

[Source: Shakey Pictures via Ecorazzi]

When I went to see Neil Young tear up some of his classic songs last month in Detroit, I noticed a particularly appropriate song to write a post about: "Fuel Line." It's not a great song, but it is apparently the start of something bigger: a concept album about cars not powered by gasoline. With the LincVolt progressing from single-vehicle conversion to full-on public offering, Uncle Neil has had time to write a series of songs about eco-friendly cars. Pitchfork has uncovered song titles for the "Fork in the Road" album like "Cough Up the Bucks," "Hit the Road," and "Get Around." The album should be out this spring, and if you were hoping for that Neil Young Archives release, these songs are taking precedence over that project. Sorry.

To get a taste of the songs on the album, Young has released a video of the title track. The visuals are nothing more than Neil Young singing into a camera while wearing earplugs connected to an apple. An ironic stab at the iPod or just Uncle Neil doing his own thing? Decide for yourself by watching the video after the jump


[Source: Pitchfork via Jalopnik]

Last weekend, I went to see Neil Young in Detroit and knew I needed to write at least a little bit about Young's paean to the LincVolt (and plug-in cars in general), a new song called "Fuel Line."

Pretty much every review of Young's current tour mentions "Fuel Line." It's true that the song has "awkward lyrics about electric cars," and that Young "appeared to lose a few fans along the way as he experimented with" the new song (along with one called "Sea Change"). The Chicago Tribune said that: "Another fresh tune, 'Fuel Line,' was written from the perspective of an electric car, the kind of gimmick that might've found its way onto one of Young's less distinguished 1980s album." Sadly, as much as I'm in favor of EVs, "Fuel Line" (with its "Fill 'er up!" chorus) was just a bit out of place in a set that was mostly hits like "Rocking in the Free World" and "Love and Only Love." Still, the LincVolt is more than a vanity project for Uncle Neil. It's now also part of his song catalog.

Thus far, I can't find a site that's streaming the song, in studio or bootleg form, for you to listen to. If anyone out there has got a link to share, please do so.

Neil Young suggests that we "turn the page" in the drama that is the Detroit 3's history of producing automobiles by cutting out all internal combustion engines. The rock star says that the automakers "should only get [a bailout] if they agree to stop building autos that contribute to global warming now." That's a tough one. How does Young suggest that the American auto companies put an instant end to cars powered by fossil fuels? Keep building the same cars and trucks that are currently being assembled, minus the drivetrain. Interesting... cars that can't power themselves coming from Detroit - Young calls them Transition Rollers. What next? Each of the Detroit automakers would need to convert one factory to "repower" the rollers to "self charging electric vehicles."

Mr. Young's idea is novel to say the least, but entirely impractical. As Young himself has proven with his Linc Volt electric car, it is possible to create electric vehicles that are powered by motors and batteries, but there are simply not enough batteries around to power every new car sold. Plus, Young's idea of a "self charging" electric car needs a little work, as no such thing currently exists with known technology - including with on-demand hydrogen. We happen to be proponents of alternative powertrains, but we also understand that such a drastic switch in our automotive manufacturing is impossible.

[Source: Huffington Post via Autofiends]

We were just recently telling you about how Neil Young and his LincVolt project crew want to begin making similarly-powered vehicles for other people and now that we've learned more about what makes his '59 Lincoln go, we're back to fill you in. From what we can glean from the information now available, it seems the powertrain consists of a rotary engine from a Mazda RX7 running on compressed natural gas (CNG) which powers a generator that, in turn, powers the car's batteries. The batteries power the motor from UQM. At least, that's how it works for now.

Listening to conversation recorded at last week's Dreamforce conference where the car and crew made an appearance, one can hear Young's partner, Johnathan Goodwin, say, in explaining how they we expand on their currently claimed 50 mpg performance, "...we have other technology on there that will get us past our 100 mpg point..." Oh, really? More listening reveals that Goodwin is working on a small turbine which will be fueled by hydrogen. The hydrogen is to be derived from water via electrolysis with, we suppose, electricity generated from..., well, we're not sure. The Lincoln is definitely a big car but we suspect there may not be enough room under the hood for both a rotary engine and a turbine. In any case, the claims made of achieving "over-unity" (more energy put out than that put in) with this set-up were too absurd to continue listening further and we turned our attention back to the new neat-o stuff on this car that actually works. Hit the jump for more details as well as video of the LincVolt cruising to a concert in California.

[Source: LincVolt.com / Youtube]

It seems that Neil Young is looking to convert more classic Detroit iron from gas-guzzling V8-powered "hogs" to electric powered "swans." Young's quest has already begun, with the rock star converting his own 5,000-pound 1959 Lincoln into an electric vehicle known as the Linc Volt. That car has seen its internal combustion engine yanked in favor of an electric motor from UQM Technologies. We're a bit sketchy on exactly what else is currently being done to the original Linc Volt, and we'll write another post about our findings in a bit. In the meantime, we've discovered that Young has reportedly started a new company called Linc Volt Technologies with the goal of performing more EV conversions.

According to Mr. Young, "Our main focus is on developing the technology. We can tell people how to do it. Or, we can do it for you." Marc Benioff, a friend of Young's, is set to be the newly-created company's first customer, getting his Ford F-150 truck converted to electric. A documentary film of the Linc Volt's conversion is currently being filmed.

[Source: SF Gate]

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]

From time to time we get questions about the status of Neil Young's Linc-Volt project, the transformation, nay, transmogrification of the rock icon's gas guzzling '59 Lincoln Continental into a sweet serial-electric hybrid by John Goodwin. There have been a few teasers and the odd announcement made but now, thanks to shoe-leather reporting by The Wichita Eagle, we are happy to disclose to you that the Linc Volt lives! Though not completed, Young and Goodwin were able to take it for a successful 12 mile spin under, what sounds like, electric power. Young described the car as quiet and powerful, though apparently as there is no accelerator pedal or power steering yet, and Goodwin was applying the juice via a knob located somewhere in the back seat, the short trip almost ended in disaster. As they approached an entrance ramp, the knob was twisted the wrong way and they found themselves hurtling toward the backside of another vehicle. Fortunately, Neil still has good reflexes and he reached over with his foot from the passenger side to stomp down hard on the brake. Disaster averted.

No completion date was mentioned in the article or accompanying video but hopefully it will be finished soon. The pair are planning on making a road trip to Washington, DC and across California as part of a promotional tour. The trip should generate lots of press as well as footage for a documentary being filmed about the project. It will also give Goodwin the chance to actually listen to Neil Young's music, which he admits, he still hasn't heard. It will also give the oddball pair an opportunity to discuss future plans to extend the scope of their venture.

[Source: The Wichita Eagle]