blzrul Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Kind of unlikely, but it would be a great legacy. Considering so far all it's cost him is $120k and it could set the course for a measure of freedom from oil dependency. Who knows? Everyone thought the Wright brothers, Christopher Columbus and Galileo, among others, were nuts so perhaps this Jonathon Goodwin can succeed. ======from CNN=========== WICHITA, Kansas (AP) -- Neil Young, the rocker who provided some of the soundtrack to Vietnam-era protests, is trying to change the world again -- with his car. Neil Young wants to use his convertible as a template to make electric cars more mainstream. Young has teamed up with Johnathan Goodwin, a Wichita mechanic who has developed a national reputation for re-engineering the power units of big cars to get more horsepower but use less fuel. The two are looking to convert Young's 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible to operate on an electric battery. Ultimately, they said, they want the Continental to provide a model for the world's first affordable mass-produced electric-powered automobile. "Johnathan and this car are going to make history," Young told The Wichita Eagle. "We're going to change the world; we're going to create a car that will allow us to stop giving our wealth to other countries for petroleum." Young has poured about $120,000 so far into the project, Goodwin said. What's more, the prototype power system worked during a 12-mile test drive of the car last week -- albeit with a few glitches. Don't Miss In Depth: Fueling America Electric cars hoping for a spark "She was awesome," Young said of the battery-operated car. "Her acceleration was incredible, she moved with hardly a sound; it was so quiet we could hear the wind through the tags of other cars." The drive almost ended in disaster when Goodwin, who controls acceleration with a knob in the back seat, twisted it the wrong way while approaching an entrance ramp and the vehicle lurched toward the rear of another car. Young, in the passenger seat, was able to hit the brakes in time. "Still needs work," said Goodwin, 37. Young, 62, said he came across taped interviews of Goodwin eight months ago on the Internet, including a segment for the MTV show "Pimp My Ride." Goodwin's clientele includes California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had Goodwin work on his Hummer. Young said he set out wanting his car to be able to use biodiesel, but later asked Goodwin whether they could instead power it with batteries and use it as a template to make electric cars more mainstream. "The technology to make a practical and affordable electric car has been around for a long time," Goodwin said. "There are all sorts of ways of doing it and all sorts of ways to work out how to make it work on a national scale." For Young, the project may finally complete a mission he set for himself with his music. "You know, I thought long ago you could change the world by writing songs," he said. "But you can't change the world by writing songs. Oh, you can inspire a few people, get some of them to change their thinking about something. But you can't change the world by writing songs. "But we could change it with this car." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 "You know, I thought long ago you could change the world by writing songs," he said. "But you can't change the world by writing songs. Oh, you can inspire a few people, get some of them to change their thinking about something. But you can't change the world by writing songs. "But we could change it with this car." I hippy sees the light. Sort of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 How's his battery powered Caddy gonna do around his home and not in flat Wichita? He lives in the Santa Cruz mountains near La Honda, CA, above Stanford. The roads there are twisty and steep. What will happen when the power goes out at his house? I had a boss that lived a few miles down the road from his spread. The power would go out a lot at her house up in the hills in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Young has poured about $120,000 so far into the project, Goodwin said. Well that's practical. Way to stick up for the little people, Neil! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 How does the car generate electricity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 How does the car generate electricity? By burning oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Or, we could just drill our own oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HereComesTheReignAgain Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Is there any chance Neil could be electrocuted while driving this car...Aim form the big puddles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blzrul Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Well that's practical. Way to stick up for the little people, Neil! That's for the research and trials. As if corporate America isn't going to come up with it and make it affordable to "the little people". You of all people should know better. If someone truly figured out how to run a car on tap water the govt would figure out a way to either regulate or tax it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SD Jarhead Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 That's for the research and trials. As if corporate America isn't going to come up with it and make it affordable to "the little people". You of all people should know better. If someone truly figured out how to run a car on tap water the govt would figure out a way to either regulate or tax it. I thought that was your party platform...you make it sound like taxes and regulation is a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 I thought that was your party platform...you make it sound like taxes and regulation is a bad thing. Amazing isn't it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blzrul Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 I thought that was your party platform...you make it sound like taxes and regulation is a bad thing. It depends on what is taxed and how. For the 40-50k I pay in taxes annually I get roads, cops, firefighters, stoplights and metro bus system when and where I need them. I have to share them with others, but they're there when I need them. On my own I couldn't afford it. In this case we have a guy putting his own money into R&D for something that can be shared globally to solve a huge problem. Unfortunely our BIG GOVERNMENT (grown bigger under GOP, which is YOUR party) will find a way to insure that some corporation takes it and makes it unaffordable by the people who need it most....and then when it does "trickle down" (the mantra of your party, which really translates to "the crumbs from the rich man's table") there will be regulations and taxes. Here is another interesting article. This vehicle is on the road, and it costs $1 for it to go 40 miles. Note that it can go up to 90 mph with acceptable acceleration. And it's been doing this for YEARS. The inventor merely wants to license the technology, yet no-one is biting yet. Why not, one would have to wonder? Could it be that the BIG OIL interests have not yet figured out a way to get their piece of this? Of course not. If everyone owned a car that plugged into a standard wall outlet, where would their obscene profits go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meazza Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 It depends on what is taxed and how. For the 40-50k I pay in taxes annually I get roads, cops, firefighters, stoplights and metro bus system when and where I need them. I have to share them with others, but they're there when I need them. On my own I couldn't afford it. In this case we have a guy putting his own money into R&D for something that can be shared globally to solve a huge problem. Unfortunely our BIG GOVERNMENT (grown bigger under GOP, which is YOUR party) will find a way to insure that some corporation takes it and makes it unaffordable by the people who need it most....and then when it does "trickle down" (the mantra of your party, which really translates to "the crumbs from the rich man's table") there will be regulations and taxes. Here is another interesting article. This vehicle is on the road, and it costs $1 for it to go 40 miles. Note that it can go up to 90 mph with acceptable acceleration. And it's been doing this for YEARS. The inventor merely wants to license the technology, yet no-one is biting yet. Why not, one would have to wonder? Could it be that the BIG OIL interests have not yet figured out a way to get their piece of this? Of course not. If everyone owned a car that plugged into a standard wall outlet, where would their obscene profits go? Actually wouldn't corporations find a way to produce it and make it more cost-effective over time so that even us common folk in Kanata could buy one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blzrul Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Actually wouldn't corporations find a way to produce it and make it more cost-effective over time so that even us common folk in Kanata could buy one? one would hope so but that won't drive their profits and that's really all they care about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 one would hope so but that won't drive their profits and that's really all they care about Imagine that, a for profit corporation caring about profits. Care to enlighten us what government cares about? At least with corporations, there's no ambiguity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meazza Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 one would hope so but that won't drive their profits and that's really all they care about I'm sure a CEO of any company would get a round of applause as he announces to his shareholders, "I'm not doing this for profit, I'm doing this for the people!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blzrul Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Imagine that, a for profit corporation caring about profits. Care to enlighten us what government cares about? At least with corporations, there's no ambiguity. Don't address that to ME, address it to the person who originally made the statement about corporations wanting to make it reasonably priced and within reach of the average Joe. Clearly that's not gonna happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meazza Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Don't address that to ME, address it to the person who originally made the statement about corporations wanting to make it reasonably priced and within reach of the average Joe. Clearly that's not gonna happen. Eventually with competition, that does happen. See technology for the last 2000 years. Of course, initially R&D costs are high and those need to be covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 How's his electric caddy gonna do on the hills by his home? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Don't address that to ME, address it to the person who originally made the statement about corporations wanting to make it reasonably priced and within reach of the average Joe. Clearly that's not gonna happen. Profits are usually maximized when the product is affordable to a wider range of people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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