Neil Young's 1959 Lincoln

FROM GAS GUZZLER TO GREEN MACHINE:
NEIL YOUNG TURNS HIS ’59 LINCOLN INTO AN ECO-FRIENDLY RIDE

By Shaun Smith
Assistant Publisher

Over the past year, Neil Young has worked extensively to modify his 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV from a gasoline-powered vehicle into a battery-powered cruiser. And, at just 9-miles-per-gallon, this concept is easy to understand in an economy as fluid as ours.

Young asked Jonathan Goodwin to help him with the project. Goodwin has had numerous cars featured on MTV’s Pimp My Ride series.

Now, one year later, this green machine can get around 80 miles per gallon! Their goal is to reach 100, and when they do, Young wants to race cross country against other green machines. Clearly, this is making a statement in the classic car hobby and grabbing a lot of attention.

Young has a collection of antiques and classics located at his California home. Young claims that he wants to make a statement about the energy crisis at hand and enforce the idea that this is a project that anyone who has a garage can work on.

Here’s how it works: a generator is powered by tiny ethanol-fueled engine powers that charge the batteries located in the trunk of the car. This, then, fuels the car’s electric motor, giving the car the power to move forward.

The engine is a 150 kilo-watt electric motor that produces 500hp and can reach speeds of 160mph.

The project is taking place in a garage in Wichita, KS. Young and Goodwin have plans to modify other existing hot rods into eco-friendly cruisers. Young looks forward to attracting the attention of one of the big auto manufacturers in hopes of sending them a message about cleaning up our environment.

See full article in Auto/Truck Round-Up Monthly's May Issue (no. 228) or visit http://www.auto-roundup.com/ for details.