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Neil Young: Detroit's Dinosaurs Can Go Electric

Rocker makes the case for drivers going big and going green

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 21, 2008 8:27 AM CST

(Newser) – Motorists considering electric cars can hang on to their Cadillac dreams as well, writes Neil Young at the Huffington Post. Barack Obama's plan to get a million electric vehicles on American roads within a decade is possible—and the cars don't need to be tiny or even have new designs, writes the rock legend, pointing to his own converted 1959 Lincoln Continental as proof.

Detroit can do without that $25 billion in retooling loans, Young argues—it can make electric cars from existing designs with the tools it already has. The auto industry is treating big vehicles like dinosaurs, writes Young, when the behemoths could actually create more power than they use if hooked up to a highly efficient self-charging system. "Big may be an unexpected Green alternative," Young concludes.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

[Quotes (2)]

Neil Young performs during Farm Aid 2008 in Mansfield, Mass., Sept. 20, 2008. (AP Photo/Lisa Poole)

Neil Young, left, shows James Gosling, the father of Java technology, the Linc Volt, a classic 1959 Lincoln Continental Mk IV re-powered with a new series-hybrid system that runs on electricity. (Photo: Business Wire)

Neil Young poses for a picture in New York, Wednesday, July 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Neil Young's converted 1959 Lincoln Continental. (Flickr)

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Neil Young talks to David Letterman about his electric car, a 1959 Lincoln Continental electric conversion. (SurfCitySolar)

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The momentum of the Electric Vehicle Age will stem from enhanced performance, smoothness of acceleration, quietness, and superior control. People just don't know how cool these cars are. - Neil Young

We don't need new tooling to start building electric cars now. We need kits to adapt what we are currently making to today's demands. We need new thinking from new leaders and we need new perspectives from unions. - Neil Young

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Neil Young: Detroit's Dinosaurs Can Go Electric