Neil Young To Get 100 MPG In His Late 50s Lincoln

Aside from being one of the most prolific and interesting musical figures of the last 50 years, a one-time part owner of Lionel Trains and an outspoken supporter of Biodiesel, Farm Aid, Blu-Ray DVD format, and his own Bridge School Benefit, Neil Young is working on converting his 19 foot long late 1950s Lincoln Continental into a fuel efficient auto that could net 100 MPG.

The car is a 1959 Lincoln Continental MK IV convertible that Neil has re-named "Linc Volt," as he works with alternative fuel and auto companies to covert the huge 2.5 ton gas guzzler into a fuel efficient vehicle. I guess the Smart Car is not large enough for Young!

One of the companies Young is working with has entered the The Automotive X Prize, a competition for 100 MPG vehicles. The team will drive Linc Volt in a qualifying race in 2009. The final race from California to Washington D.C. will take place in 2010.

The Linc Volt Web site has all the background, and these great quotes:

Neil Young's Linc Volt project is inspiring in that it takes a behemoth, gas guzzling automobile, and turns it into an economical hybrid electric car.

They [Neil] came to see Larry Dye at Electric Wheels in Salem, Oregon to help transform yesterday's American dream... into tomorrow's. Imagine a gas guzzler like a late 50's Lincoln blasting down the road without using a drop of conventional fuel, sparing bio diesel that's required to recharge the batteries. It sure doesn't add up to a car that could easily cost seventy dollars to fill when it is empty.

Finally, the four wheel electric that people have been asking for for so long has arrived and progress continues in all directions. Neil Young's Linc Volt conversion helps move us through the evolution of this new frontier in transportation.

A couple of cool videos here: