Neil Young made a big deal about having a 1959 Lincoln convertible converted to a hybrid drivetrain. We were so skeeved out by the project we didn’t even report on it. The whole thing reached a level of smarmy that we couldn’t tolerate. Well, there was a slight downside to the project. The downside was the $1,000,000 of estimated damage caused by a fire directly linked to the vehicle in a warehouse full of Young’s possessions. 

Young said the he was committed to having the car reconstructed and that the fire was “not the fault of the car”. We agree, it was the fault of a dumb idea designed and executed by human beings. We’d argue that murders aren’t the fault of the gun, and that train wrecks are not the fault of the trains either.

Had he simply swapped in a standard modern drivetrain, well reconstructed classic drivetrain, a diesel, a kerosene burning turbine, a nitro burning hemi, four weed whacker engines, a Wankel rotary engine, or an LS1 he wouldn’t have had the fire that undoubtedly released more toxins, poisons, and bad crap into the air than a parking garage of idling 1959 Lincolns would. 

We’re not reveling in the man’s misfortune, but it certainly is a touch ironic, right?

This certainly isn’t the type of news GM wants to be at the forefront when their Chevy Volt is only a short time away from release and it, like the Lincoln will use wall charging.

If Young has the car rebuilt, you can count on us not to cover it (unless it goes all Car-B-Que again).  

Source — The Associated Press — CA Warehouse Began With Neill Young’s Car