Neil Young modding his '59 Lincoln vert into a 100mpg biodiesel plug-in hybrid

[MetroMPG]

This rocks. (Pardon the pun.)

Neil Young is turning his 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV, a 19-foot, two-ton behemoth, into the "Linc-Volt" - a biodiesel plug-in hybrid.

Car looks like this (except it's a 2 door convertible).




To celebrate the project, he will take the car on a road trip from Cali to Detroit and back to raise awareness about technological options that can be used by the auto industry. He's making a documentary about the issues, the conversion, and the trip.


Young watches as the ICE is pulled.

When finished, the car is expected to get 100 mpg, and go 0-60 in 6 seconds (though not at the same time).

• Gas guzzlers get new lives -- as tire-smoking hybrids
  http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/11/20/green.hummers/

• Neil Young, John Goodwin talk about 100 MPG, biodiesel, plug-in 1960 Lincoln Continental
  http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/11...iesel-plug-in/

[MetroMPG]

CNN video, riding around in the car with Neil...

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/sho...oing.green.cnn

[Lazarus]

This is pretty typical. The car manufactures tell us it's impossible to have a car get 35 MPG before 2025. If you want a high mileage car you'll have to build it yourself.

Pretty cool video

[MetroMPG]

Some more news about ecomodding Neil Young's beast:

UQM is going to be supplying the massively powerful (150kw!) electric drive system.

Keep in mind that electric and ICE power ratings are quite different. The electric is rated at continuous power, while ICE ratings report peak power. UQM's 150kw (201hp) drive system can supply several times that amount of power for short periods (like accelerating a giant Lincoln to 60 mph in 6 seconds.)

“By drawing on entrepreneurial companies’ advanced technology and good old American ingenuity, we intend to transform one of the largest and heaviest gas-guzzling vehicles of our generation into a highly energy-efficient vehicle, and demonstrate to the American public that we can repower the American dream by demanding environmentally friendly vehicles now,” Young said in a statement released by UQM Tuesday.

The car will be a series bio-d hybrid.

To put the power of the motor into perspective...

UQM introduced its 150kw propulsion system last June, and the first buyer was Mobile Energy Solutions of Golden, which is using it to power a fuel cell hybrid electric bus.

Source: Local company powers Neil Young’s car - Singer purchases electric propulsion motor by UQM Technologies for 1959 Continental

[AndrewJ]

pity he had to convert a 59. I much prefer the 64 hardtop with suicide doors.




But hey, any press for EV's, hybrids and the like is good press right?

[Frank Lee]

Color me skeptical. VEEEEERY skeptical.

[AndrewJ]

Yeah, I read the article on the guy doing the conversion, he seems to pull his numbers out of his....hindquarters.

Not totally out of his @$$, but I noticed he's esentially running the bio-d engine off a bio-d/Hydrogen mix to get a more complete burn of the diesel, and more power (doubling the power and efficency if you believe the guy).
But he's only quoting FE numbers in MPG. So he's doubling the efficency of the bio-d.
No mention of all that hydrogen he'll be burning.

The same guy is converting the Hummer to run bio-d/hydrogen through a turbine as a series hybrid. He says it'll do 0-60 in ridiculous and "conservatively" get 60mpg.

[Ryland]

even if he only gets 50mpg, he'll be doing it in a way that draws attention to what can be done with a vehicle that would normaly get what, 10mpg? it will remind people what can be done, and make them ask why they can't have something simaler.
I of course assume that it will be a plug in hybrid to help get that kind of mileage, I was looking at what is avalible for Lithuim batteries for electric cars, and the price is really coming down, granted it would still cost me around $6,000 for a lithuim battery pack for my citicar, but it would last 80,000-100,000 miles (40-50 miles at a charge), or about the same as gasoline for a car that gets 40mpg, and they save alot of weight compared to lead acid.

altho it's not alwas the best idea to just toss money at an idea, I envy people who have enough money that they can aford to, and wouldn't mind working for those people if it helps to advance what we see as being possible.

[Frank Lee]

Putting bogus numbers out there can do irrepairable damage to one's credibility even if the project does have merit.