Neil Young, yes that Neil Young, has a new gig and it has nothing to do with music. The Linc Volt project aims to "Repower the American Dream", by proving that a zero-emission, electric vehicle is possible, economical and easy to implement. To that end Young and his team have been adapting Neil's 1959 Lincoln Continental, using already existing technologies, into a self-charging electric vehicle, running on natural gas and getting 100mpg! They're already up to 65mpg - remember a Lincoln Continental is a 2.5 ton vehicle.
By showing that todays cars can be adapted using clean technology Neil and crew are trying to show the way forward for the auto industry as a whole. As Neil recently said on the Huffington Post, "It is time to change and our problems can facilitate our solutions. We can no longer afford to continue down Detroit's old road. The people have spoken. They do not want gas guzzlers (although they still like big cars and trucks). It is possible to build large long-range vehicles that are very efficient. People will buy those vehicles because they represent real change and a solution that we can live with."
And the innovation doesn't just stop with the car. Linc Volt has teamed up with SalesForce to set up a new site at lincvolt.force.com which uses SalesForce technology to build community around the project. Site visitors can submit ideas and vote on other user's ideas - the most popular of which will get incorporated into the project (if possible). Visitors can also share photos of themselves and their cars - cars they'd like to Linc Volt when the project is finalized. In a sense, Neil and crew are crowd-sourcing innovation. It's a great move, especially in what they would like to turn into a grassroots movement.
You can see the car and hear Neil talk about it at this SalesForce event here. It's a bit infomercial-like, but the technology is fascinating and the car is absolutely a work of art.
For more on the Linc Volt project, read our feature "Motorhead Messiah" from 2007.
--
By Jared Seltzer, Founding Partner of Rad Campaign
Related Stories: | Topics:Innovation, Technology, Design, Ethonomics, web 2.0, web design, web Development, salesforce, internet marketing, Neil Young, Linc Volt, Neil Young, Lincoln Continental, Science and Technology, Technology |
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
Recent Comments | 9 Total
December 1, 2008 at 4:28pm by Ariel Ferreira
Awesome!! Kudos for Jonathan, Neil, Uli, and LA. I've been following Goodwin for a while, and his ability to design engineer out of the box is extraordinary. I am excited to read about true innovators in the auto industry with strong go-forward plans.
I like the web 2.0 website - the 4th that I know of now in the auto sector! OScar was first (though production/sales may not be planned, not sure), then Local Motors, and recently Splitwheel.
What better way to serve our customers than to ASK them what they want, and then give it to them?
Welcome to the fold!
Ariel
Local Motors
www.local-motors.com
December 2, 2008 at 11:45am by Donald Kellogg
Lots of good things are possible given enough time and money. The trick is turning a one-off project like this into a production reality. Just ask Tesla. GM has accomplished this with the Hybrid Tahoe and Silverado. We'll see if anyone's buying.
BTW: Been a Neil Young fan for 40 years. Keep rockin'!
December 2, 2008 at 5:43pm by Michael Whitlow
Genuinely American idea! I am a great fan of my Volvo XC90 and feel guilty driving it. I've asked Detroit for more than the Volt (as Mr. Young reflects in his blog also). This may be an answer to my dreams. I think about all those dads of my growing up days who helped their children get their hands dirty under the hood, and I thank God that the spirit of whatcanbe is still alive in the LincVolt team. This is helping me hope for something that doesn't have to come from the multi-billion-dollar R&D minds of big auto and brings back those memories of changing out the two-barrel for the four-barrel carb...
December 8, 2008 at 4:31pm by Fred Collopy
This is exciting. I have been giving thought to how new design paradigms could change the nature of the automobile industry to produce the kind of "virtuous cycle" of innovation that has produced continuous improvements in the price-performance of computers for four decades. I just posted some thoughts on "Moore's laws" of the auto industry: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/fred-collopy/manage-designing-0
September 1, 2009 at 11:38pm by Barry Simkins
The first record album I ever bought was 'Buffalo Springfield'; been a Neil Young fan ever since. It's great to see him doing his part to encourage innovation now that it is so badly needed.
I invented a revolutionary transmission called the SIVAT that is featured on our SIMKINETICS YouTube site as a proof-of-principle prototype made for bicycles. It is scalable & perfectly adaptable for cars & trucks with a shaft drive too. This transmission can enable tiny, fuel-efficient IC engines to provide high power on demand, especially in conjunction with safe, medium velocity flywheels. It would also make wind turbine generators more reliable & efficient. It appears to be the only high torque Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT) that can be automatic in operation, while saving running gear from damage from torque shocks & power overloads. The SIVAT is the culmination of my 25 year odyssey to create a really great, useful transmission that can save energy in various ways.
Neil, I hope you read this! Please watch the video & review the comments. I have several novel, but practical ideas for how the SIVAT can revolutionize our uses of energy; these ideas have been met with surprised fascination by several other engineers and other bright people who think about the need for better fuel efficiency down through the chain from energy sources to our applications.
What we need is investment and exposure to show people how the SIVAT will squeeze more 'go' out of less fuel and electricity. We want to create a hybrid vehicle prototype that demonstrates the potential of this invention, and we have a rather well worked out Business Plan that outlines how to do this and what results can be expected.
Since I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I'd be more than happy to drive to Woodside & meet you, Neil, and to show you this prototype. Your encouragement and attention would cause us to be 'expecting to fly'!
With respectful regards,
Barry Simkins
SIMKINETICS
September 1, 2009 at 11:38pm by Barry Simkins
The first record album I ever bought was 'Buffalo Springfield'; been a Neil Young fan ever since. It's great to see him doing his part to encourage innovation now that it is so badly needed.
I invented a revolutionary transmission called the SIVAT that is featured on our SIMKINETICS YouTube site as a proof-of-principle prototype made for bicycles. It is scalable & perfectly adaptable for cars & trucks with a shaft drive too. This transmission can enable tiny, fuel-efficient IC engines to provide high power on demand, especially in conjunction with safe, medium velocity flywheels. It would also make wind turbine generators more reliable & efficient. It appears to be the only high torque Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT) that can be automatic in operation, while saving running gear from damage from torque shocks & power overloads. The SIVAT is the culmination of my 25 year odyssey to create a really great, useful transmission that can save energy in various ways.
Neil, I hope you read this! Please watch the video & review the comments. I have several novel, but practical ideas for how the SIVAT can revolutionize our uses of energy; these ideas have been met with surprised fascination by several other engineers and other bright people who think about the need for better fuel efficiency down through the chain from energy sources to our applications.
What we need is investment and exposure to show people how the SIVAT will squeeze more 'go' out of less fuel and electricity. We want to create a hybrid vehicle prototype that demonstrates the potential of this invention, and we have a rather well worked out Business Plan that outlines how to do this and what results can be expected.
Since I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I'd be more than happy to drive to Woodside & meet you, Neil, and to show you this prototype. Your encouragement and attention would cause us to be 'expecting to fly'!
With respectful regards,
Barry Simkins
SIMKINETICS
September 1, 2009 at 11:44pm by Barry Simkins
Sorry about the redundency. the 'submit' button seemed to not work, so I punched it twice!
Barry
October 16, 2009 at 1:08pm by Gabbos Gabbs
file search
November 3, 2009 at 11:50am by andrew zverev
cs4 keygen