A Turning Point for Lincvolt
Judging from the most recent posting on the Lincvolt Blog, it would seem that Lincvolt may have reached more than just "a turning point" as the post is titled.
Well we're at a turning point now. Time has passed and things have changed. We've done lots of things, tried many ideas. Some even seemed to succeed, like natural gas as a fuel.
We'll let others judge just what Johnny Magic and the Lincvolt crew are up to now.
It's hard to say whether this is just another fork in the road for the star crossed project or something more profound. Last year, Neil Young pulled the plug on the X-Prize competition in order to focus on achieving the project's goals.
Then Neil began to auction his Harley motorcycle, guitars and cars on eBay to raise funds for the LV project.
Now we seem to have a fundamental question about the project's technical direction.
"There's a fork in the road ahead
I don't which way I'm gonna turn
There's a fork in the road ahead"
8 Comments:
As you suggest Thrasher, it isn't clear what will happen next with LincVolt. I do hope Neil sees the project through to the end, even if it doesn't quite meet the very high standards he initially set out to achieve.
He has already proven that enormous cars can be altered to produce significantly less carbon emmisions, which is an important message since it seems many Americans feel they shouldn't have to give up their large cars for the sake of the environment!
By seeing and understanding the LincVolt project, hopefully people will learn that you can have a large and/or old car without harming the environment, if you are willing to make the change (and/or be the rain).
Well done Neil and the team.
Thos.
Thrasher:
I wanted to let you and everyone know that Elliot Roberts was at the Lincoln Center premiere of Neil Young Trunk Show last Friday night, and he told us that Neil is busy working on the LincVolt film.
He also told us that Neil is writing and recording, although he could not give any further details.
Also, Neil Young Trunk Show opens nationwide at Landmark Theaters on March 19, and the DVD is to be released April 19. Of course, everything is subject to change; but it was thrilling to hear it.
The movie went way beyond anything I could ask or think, and I was there at one of the NYC shows (December 16)!!!!
I LOVE this movie!!!!
All my love to Neil, Mr. Demme, and Elliot for producing such a masterpiece!!!!
Thanks, too, Thrasher, for always providing somewhere to come home to.
Marian M.
Neil writing and recording? That's what I like to hear!
Nick
Perfect Neil, and TW -
Announcement of the Trunk showings schedule with Neil shown standing in the engine cab.
Artform anyone?
"Do you know who you are?"
Please, the Horse !
I've always found the LincVolt project to be counter-intuitive and uninspiring. What is Neil trying to prove? That, if you dump hundreds of thousands of dollars into an old car, that you can make it energy efficient? Um, okay. Is the message, as Thos. says, "that you can have a large and/or old car without harming the environment"? Yes, I suppose, if you throw six-figure sums into the upkeep of it. Why don't you just buy a new hybrid that I'm sure is a lot better ride and quite efficient. Has the technology "developed" by the LincVolt guys (using an old car that nobody else has) actually been incorporated by anyone else on any scale whatsoever? Not that I'm aware of. Major distraction for The Great One.
-Big Old Rig
It's hard to believe after all his research into fuel efficiency that Neil still doesn't know that flying is much more wasteful than driving a gas-powered car, even full plane vs. single driver. Add passengers to the car and the difference becomes much more dramatic.
Trains are certainly most efficient. And I completely agree that electric is cleanest and that's the way Lincvolt should go. I've always thought that, and I hope he does decide to go electric. But planes, Neil, planes are a great big loser, even more so because their pollution spews directly into the much more fragile upper atmosphere, where their effects are amplified.
Maybe the blinders are because flying obviously supports Neil's earnings and itch to travel. But Neil, please don't be spreading the misconception that flying is greener than driving. We're all in this together.
Big Old Rig - you're right, Neil has thrown an awful lot of money at LincVolt, probably more than any of us will ever have! - clearly I'm not suggesting we should do the same to our vehicles!
However, that's because Neil has been sponsoring research into cutting-edge technologies, which, if they were to be mass-produced, would surely become much cheaper for the average consumer.
He's doing the hard bit, which I suspect involves more failure than success at times, but I think his intentions are noble and that, if he is succesful, many will benefit.
Thos.
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