LINCVOLT DESIGNED WITHOUT A BAILOUT!      The loans in the following article seem to heavily favor the car makers with no stipulations for true progress for vehicle development beyond the weak standards that were recently approved for fuel economy and required timing.       The lack of progressive thought (from the car makers or from the government!) will kill the US automobile industry at this rate without public demand - LincVolt is part of that educational process. God's speed and good luck - we're all counting on you.       -- Your friend from D-town   $25-BILLION LOAN JUST THE FIRST STEP FOR REBUILDING CARMAKERS by Justin Hyde, Detroit Free Press September 28, 2008      WASHINGTON -- When a senator at a recent hearing asked General Motors Corp. Chairman Rick Wagoner whether she should wait for the price of the Chevrolet Volt to go down before buying one, Wagoner had a ready answer: "The good news is we're going to subsidize your purchase."       So will the American taxpayer.       With the approval of $25 billion in low-interest loans Saturday, the U.S. auto industry has won the help it urgently needs to rework its vehicles.       But the loans are one of several government aids -- from research funds to consumer tax credits -- that automakers will increasingly rely on to build the technology they need to survive.       The industry and its supporters say rising fuel economy standards, the drive to reduce consumption of foreign oil and increasing efforts by foreign countries to boost their industries will require ever closer ties between Detroit and Washington.       "For them to do what they need to do, we're going to have to have a major government commitment," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. "We have to change the way we look at industry in America."       The $25 billion in direct federal loans, the largest federal aid ever offered to the U.S. auto industry, won final approval from Congress after a three-month industry blitz that included visits by top executives and some peeks at future technology, such as Chrysler LLC's electric-vehicle concepts that were revealed publicly this week.       Industry officials say the loans will help them retool factories to build more efficient models, such as the Chevrolet Volt. Wall Street firms have estimated that the loans could also sharply reduce the cash needs of GM in 2009, and at Chrysler to a lesser degree. Michigan lawmakers have pledged to seek an additional $25 billion after the elections, citing the industry's financial woes.       "This is an important first step to providing access to capital for important investments in the future at a time when the capital markets are distressed," Ford Motor Co. officials said in a statement.       No rules yet       Detroit automakers will burn through billons of dollars in cash this year because of a downturn expected to last through 2010.       Under the loan program, automakers and suppliers could borrow at interest rates close to what the U.S. Treasury does -- roughly 5% -- rather than the 15% they would have to pay on financial markets. On a loan of $1 billion, that's a savings of $100 million.       While lawmakers added requirements to the loans to speed the process of handing out funds, the U.S. Department of Energy warned this week the process could take up to 18 months after the bill is signed, which Michigan representatives have vowed to correct.       Perhaps no other vehicle symbolizes Washington's role in the auto industry better than the Volt, the extended-range electric vehicle that GM plans to launch in 2010.       While the rules for the loans have yet to be written, GM's $336 million cost to retool the Poletown plant where the Volt is to be built seems to meet all possible criteria for a low-interest federal loan.       Better mileage       The law will require models to get 25% better fuel economy than their direct competitors in order to qualify -- a bar that GM and other automakers said would be tough for many new vehicles to clear.       The law also says preference for the loans should be given to older plants and those at least 20 years old, even if they're closed. GM's new engine plant in Flint announced this week would likely not qualify, but other Flint-area plants might.       Detroit's automakers' first forays into hybrid vehicles were spurred by the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, a 1990s program that spent $1.3 billion on research.       The U.S. Department of Energy spent $213 million in fiscal 2007 on basic vehicle research, and both of the Volt's possible battery suppliers have received small research grants funded in part by the DOE.       Research spending       And while Congress passed the auto industry's loans, it was still struggling to approve a tax credit of up to $7,500 for plug-in hybrid vehicles -- which the Volt and its expected $40,000 price tag would qualify for -- and $300 million for advanced battery research.       The government's research spending pales in comparison to the $16 billion that GM, Ford and Chrysler will spend developing new products this year despite their weak balance sheets.       But the automakers tend to focus their spending on immediate needs, such as new models, rather than basic science that could lead to breakthroughs several years from now.       Automakers and the UAW contend the United States has been falling behind other countries in vehicle and battery research. Germany has pledged to spend 1.1 billion euros ($1.6 billion) over the next 10 years on advanced vehicle technologies, while Japan announced last year it would spend $215 million on battery research.       "If there's going to be this technology in the United States, there's got to be some public funding," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.       The industry's prospects for additional aid appear brighter regardless of who's in the White House come January. But the helping hand also may come with additional requirements, and should the industry fall short in its energy-saving plans, Washington will have little sympathy.       "We certainly look forward to working with Congress on continuing this effort ... to drive technology forward, and just as importantly, to have the capacity in this country to produce and deploy those kinds of technologies," said John Bozella, Chrysler's chief lobbyist. GREEN THE BAILOUT by Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times September 27, 2008      Many things make me weep about the current economic crisis, but none more than this brief economic history: In the 19th century, America had a railroad boom, bubble and bust. Some people made money; many lost money. But even when that bubble burst, it left America with an infrastructure of railroads that made transcontinental travel and shipping dramatically easier and cheaper.       The late 20th century saw an Internet boom, bubble and bust. Some people made money; many people lost money, but that dot-com bubble left us with an Internet highway system that helped Microsoft, I.B.M. and Google to spearhead the I.T. revolution.       The early 21st century saw a boom, bubble and now a bust around financial services. But I fear all it will leave behind are a bunch of empty Florida condos that never should have been built, used private jets that the wealthy can no longer afford and dead derivative contracts that no one can understand.       Worse, we borrowed the money for this bubble from China, and now we have to pay it back -- with interest and without any lasting benefit.       Yes, this bailout is necessary. This is a credit crisis, and credit crises involve a breakdown in confidence that leads to no one lending to anyone. You don't fool around with a credit crisis. You have to overwhelm it with capital. Unfortunately, some people who don't deserve it will be rescued. But, more importantly, those who had nothing to do with it will be spared devastation. You have to save the system.       But that is not the point of this column. The point is, we don't just need a bailout. We need a buildup. We need to get back to making stuff, based on real engineering not just financial engineering. We need to get back to a world where people are able to realize the American Dream -- a house with a yard -- because they have built something with their hands, not because they got a "liar loan" from an underregulated bank with no money down and nothing to pay for two years. The American Dream is an aspiration, not an entitlement.       When I need reminding of the real foundations of the American Dream, I talk to my Indian-American immigrant friends who have come here to start new companies -- friends like K.R. Sridhar, the founder of Bloom Energy. He e-mailed me a pep talk in the midst of this financial crisis -- a note about the difference between surviving and thriving.       "Infants and the elderly who are disabled obsess about survival," said Sridhar. "As a nation, if we just focus on survival, the demise of our leadership is imminent. We are thrivers. Thrivers are constantly looking for new opportunities to seize and lead and be No. 1." That is what America is about.       But we have lost focus on that. Our economy is like a car, added Sridhar, and the financial institutions are the transmission system that keeps the wheels turning and the car moving forward. Real production of goods that create absolute value and jobs, though, are the engine.       "I cannot help but ponder about how quickly we are ready to act on fixing the transmission, by pumping in almost one trillion dollars in a fortnight," said Sridhar. "On the other hand, the engine, which is slowly dying, is not even getting an oil change or a tuneup with the same urgency, let alone a trillion dollars to get ourselves a new engine. Just imagine what a trillion-dollar investment would return to the economy, including the 'transmission,' if we committed at that level to green jobs and technologies."       Indeed, when this bailout is over, we need the next president -- this one is wasted -- to launch an E.T., energy technology, revolution with the same urgency as this bailout. Otherwise, all we will have done is bought ourselves a respite, but not a future. The exciting thing about the energy technology revolution is that it spans the whole economy -- from green-collar construction jobs to high-tech solar panel designing jobs. It could lift so many boats.       In a green economy, we would rely less on credit from foreigners "and more on creativity from Americans," argued Van Jones, president of Green for All, and author of the forthcoming "The Green Collar Economy." "It's time to stop borrowing and start building. America's No. 1 resource is not oil or mortgages. Our No. 1 resource is our people. Let's put people back to work -- retrofitting and repowering America. ... You can't base a national economy on credit cards. But you can base it on solar panels, wind turbines, smart biofuels and a massive program to weatherize every building and home in America."       The Bush team says that if this bailout is done right, it should make the government money. Great. Let's hope so, and let's commit right now that any bailout profits will be invested in infrastructure -- smart transmission grids or mass transit -- for a green revolution. Let's "green the bailout," as Jones says, and help ensure that the American Dream doesn't ever shrink back to just that -- a dream. PUMPING HYDROGEN by Jad Mouawad, New York Times September 23, 2008      ON a strip of Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, a futuristic experiment posing as an ordinary fuel station may be bringing the world one step closer to the hydrogen age.       From the moment engineers started dreaming about hydrogen as an alternative to oil, they faced a nagging question: What should come first -- the fuel-cell car or the hydrogen pump?       Carmakers have argued that without a network of hydrogen filling stations they couldn't roll out fuel-cell vehicles from the research lab to the dealership. Energy companies, on the other hand, said that without large numbers of fuel-cell cars available at reasonable prices, they saw little point in building a costly new fueling infrastructure.       This classic chicken-or-egg dilemma has long hobbled the development of most alternative fuels and has assured the supremacy of oil. Thanks to low prices and abundant reserves just a few years ago, energy providers and automakers simply had little incentive to end the petroleum age. But, faced with the perils of global warming and soaring prices, automakers and oil companies have begun a hasty search for alternatives and have been working together to break the hydrogen logjam. Their answer is to introduce both cars and new fuel stations, clustering them in urban centers like Los Angeles, Berlin and Tokyo.       "The game now is about clustering; it's the only way to take this next step," said Duncan Macleod, vice president of Shell Hydrogen.       Shell's Santa Monica Boulevard station -- which has conventional gasoline pumps as well as an odd-looking nozzle with bright blue "hydrogen" labels -- is part of this strategy. So is Honda's decision to lease about 200 of its newly developed FCX Clarity cars over the next three years to selected customers in Southern California, who will be able to fill them up at the new Shell station and others. The FCX Clarity uses a fuel cell to power an electric motor; the cars are being leased for $600 a month, a fraction of what they would cost to buy.       But the experiment underscores the tremendous path that hydrogen must travel before it can nudge petroleum off our roads and highways. Given the prohibitive cost of a fuel-cell vehicle -- they are custom-made, not mass-produced -- no automaker will be selling them to the public for at least 10 years. And many energy companies remain skeptical of the long-term prospects for hydrogen, arguing, among other things, that even with government help the infrastructure costs would be enormous. Automakers also recognize that there are other ways to wean cars from oil, like using biofuels or batteries. But hydrogen offers a plentiful and clean form of energy and cannot be ignored, experts said. And the public is interested in the technology: when Honda announced its leasing program, more than 50,000 people registered for it online.       So carmakers are stepping up their efforts to develop hydrogen cars. Honda plans to have a model in mass production by 2018. G.M. aims to put 100 fuel-cell cars on the roads over the next few years, mostly in Southern California, as well.       Other carmakers, including Ford, BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler, are working on prototypes. The National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, recently estimated that automakers could be selling as many as two million hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars by 2020, which would represent only 1 percent of all vehicles on our roads. After that, the numbers could rise quickly, reaching 60 million by 2035 and 200 million by 2050.       "In the long term, hydrogen and fuel-cell vehicles look like a major part of the solution," said Larry Burns, G.M.'s vice president for research, development and strategic planning. "The dilemma is, how do you manage the transition? We don't have a hydrogen infrastructure like we have a petroleum infrastructure."       More than 170,000 fuel stations now distribute gasoline around the country, and millions of miles of pipelines and thousands of tanker trucks feed into a huge system that took more than a century to develop.       Replacing that infrastructure entirely is unrealistic. Instead, G.M. believes that a hydrogen network can be built at a fraction of the cost by concentrating on select urban centers.       In a study released in December, the company said that if 12,000 hydrogen stations were built in the largest 100 cities, that would put a station within two miles of 70 percent of the American population. That number of stations would be enough to fuel one million cars.       "We don't think about this as a nationwide deployment on Day 1, where everything has to be covered immediately," said Britta Gross, G.M.'s manager for hydrogen and electrical infrastructure. An initial network of 40 hydrogen stations in Los Angeles would cost $80 million and cover the needs of that city in the early years of hydrogen deployment, Ms. Gross said.       The government is backing this new approach, said Steven Chalk, deputy assistant secretary for renewable energy at the Department of Energy. "Five years ago we would have said that we need to launch hydrogen nationally but we now think that this cluster idea is the way to go," Mr. Chalk said. "The way to do that is to concentrate in areas where you have critical mass."       Hydrogen holds the promise of turning the internal-combustion engine into a relic while helping to solve the transportation sector's carbon emissions problem. More than 95 percent of the nation's cars now rely on petroleum, and transportation is responsible for a third of carbon-dioxide emissions.       Hydrogen can be produced in a variety of ways, from natural gas or from electricity. Used in a fuel-cell -- an electrochemical device that produces electricity -- it emits no carbon dioxide, only water. Fuel-cell cars also possess advantages over those that rely primarily on batteries: they have greater range and take only minutes to refuel, compared with several hours to recharge batteries.       Governments around the world have given billions in subsidies for the development of hydrogen technology, with little to show for it. In the United States, the Energy Department has spent $1.2 billion in research and development grants for hydrogen over the past five years. Still, more work is required to increase the durability of the fuel cells and reduce their costs.       "Hydrogen was forever 20 years away, but now, for the first time, you see some of the milestones moving closer, not away anymore," said Mike McGowan, the chairman of the National Hydrogen Association, the industry's trade group. "There is now almost a sense of urgency about the infrastructure."       The largest obstacle remains the size and cost of the infrastructure needed to produce and distribute the hydrogen. The nagging issue is how to replicate a model that has served the petroleum age so well, and that was developed over a century.       "The transition is the key question," Mr. Chalk said. "How do you shift from oil to hydrogen? I don't think you'd necessarily do it exactly the same way. The hydrogen infrastructure does not need to be rolled out just like the current gasoline infrastructure."       Most transportation experts say the automobile industry is inevitably going to shift toward the electrification of the car. The success of the Toyota Prius hybrid, which has both a gasoline engine and an electric motor, has stunned the industry. Now most carmakers offer hybrid models and are furiously working on the next generation, like plug-in hybrids that rely even more on electrical power. The question is where hydrogen will fit into this picture.       "There are three horses in the race to replace petroleum -- biofuels, electricity and hydrogen -- and at various times you see the fortunes of these various horses ebb and flow," said Roland Hwang, an automobile expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.       Ten years ago, hydrogen was in the lead, he said, but lately electric cars and biofuels have taken off because of new, longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries, and large subsidies for alternative fuels like ethanol.       "Hydrogen has probably fallen back," Mr. Hwang said. "That's because hydrogen is the most challenging in terms of fuel production, vehicle technology and infrastructure deployment."       But as automakers charge ahead, they are also complaining that oil companies are dragging their feet.       "The message we're sending to the energy companies is stop thinking of the chicken-and-egg problem and look at what we're doing and listen to what we're telling you, and look at the number of vehicles we're talking about in the future," said Stephen Ellis, Honda's sales and marketing manager for fuel-cell cars. "The process is taking too long. The energy companies are not being as aggressive as they could be, or as they should be."       The cost of developing such an infrastructure may prove prohibitive without far larger government incentives. A study by the Energy Department's Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that the automobile industry would sustain billions in losses from fuel-cell cars until at least 2022.       The National Research Council said that the total cost of deploying a national hydrogen network could be as high as $200 billion, including $55 billion in government aid through 2023. Some experts, like Mr. Hwang, expect the cost to be more than twice that.       In fact, given the uncertainties about which fuels will emerge as real alternatives to oil, energy executives still appear extremely cautions about hydrogen.       "They need to feel confident that these tens and hundreds of thousands of vehicles will be coming," said Catherine Dunwoody, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, an association of private companies and government agencies promoting hydrogen. "Meanwhile, the automakers feel like they're running into a brick wall. There is definitely a sense of urgency on their part."       BP recently dropped its commitment to hydrogen, and Exxon Mobil is focusing its efforts on technology that allows hydrogen to be produced directly on-board fuel-cell vehicles, without the need for a new infrastructure. Shell says auto companies are setting unrealistically high goals for fuel stations given the limited numbers of fuel-cell cars.       "When people talked about the hydrogen economy, hydrogen was the answer to everything," said Mr. Macleod, of Shell. "I don't think they had thought about all the pieces of the story. Hydrogen is one pathway. There will be many. It is part of the story."       Puneet Verma, director of Chevron's hydrogen research and development efforts, said basic issues like hydrogen storage still needed to be ironed out.       "There is a significant economic hurdle in hydrogen," he said. "We can't provide it on a retail fueling basis to be cost-competitive with gasoline, not today."       However, G.M. and other automakers say such concerns should not deter energy providers from making the necessary investments. "It is really a matter of collective will between policy makers, carmakers and oil companies," said Mr. Burns, of G.M. "We all need to get on the same page, and on the same blueprint, and start in the same cities." CHRYSLER PROMISES ELECTRIC CARS BY END OF 2010 Automaker considers Dodge sports car, Town & Country and Jeep Wrangler electric vehicles by Bradford Wernle & Richard Truett, Automotive News September 23, 2008      DETROIT -- Chrysler LLC introduced three electric vehicles today and promised to have one of them on the market by the end of 2010.       The announcement posed a direct challenge to U.S. rival General Motors, which plans to bring its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid sedan to market in 2010.       The three vehicles are: The Dodge EV all-electric sports car, developed in partnership with England's Lotus Cars Ltd. The Jeep EV, a Wrangler-based extended-range electric vehicle. The Chrysler EV, a Chrysler Town & Country-based extended-range electric vehicle.       Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli said the company had no option but to develop electric vehicles. He said the automaker may face "gut-wrenching" decisions if the federal government does not approve a loan package to help car companies develop electric propulsion technology at an affordable price for consumers.       If the resources aren't available, Nardelli said Chrysler might have to face further layoffs and production capacity cutbacks.       Meeting with Wagoner, Mulally       Nardelli said that he, Ford CEO Alan Mulally and General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner visited lawmakers in Washington last week and were encouraged by progress on the package. Chrysler officials denied they wanted to show off the electric vehicles while Congress is debating the loan package and energy legislation.       Chrysler's ENVI electric vehicle r&d; organization developed the three vehicles. Development of the vehicles had begun before Cerberus Capital Management LP bought 80.1 percent of Chrysler in August 2007.       Frank Klegon, Chrysler's executive vice president of product development, predicted that by 2020, 50 percent of cars sold in the United States would have electric powertrains. Chrysler executives say they will eventually make versions of all vehicles available with some form of electric power.       The strategy contrasts with that of GM, which is concentrating on specific vehicles -- particularly the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid -- available in 2010.       Nardelli said Chrysler's decision not to design all new vehicles was deliberate.       "We elected to put our money and resources into the technology and not into the platform and body," he said.       "As any new technology comes out, there is a cost. Our goal is to work with battery suppliers to keep the cost down," said Klegon. Chrysler is already working with suppliers of electric motors and batteries. Chrysler has issued no purchase orders yet, but it working with them on development agreements.       Cheaper than the Tesla       The electric sports car would be powered by a lithium ion battery pack, have a range of about 150 miles on a charge and could be brought to market for less than the $109,000 Tesla electric sports car, which also uses a Lotus-designed chassis.       The electric versions of the Chrysler Town & Country and Wrangler, would have a 40-mile all-electric range, same as the Chevrolet Volt. Both use a very small gasoline engine to power a generator to make electricity for the electric motor, similar to the way the Volt operates.       But the Chrysler engine is tiny, just 900cc, or about the size of a motorcycle engine.       Doug Quigley, Chrysler's product engineering executive for electric powertrains, said the size of the engine could be scaled up or down as needed. The performance of the electric version of the Town & Country would not suffer when being driven in the gasoline engine mode, Quigley said, and that it would get 50 mpg or more while emitting less than half of the carbon dioxide emissions of a regular Town & Country.       Global Insight analyst Aaron Bragman said Chrysler "stunned" the industry with its electric vehicle initiative.       "Perhaps the best-kept secret in the auto industry, Chrysler's electric car bombshell is an attempt to prove to the public and media that the company is indeed working on future vehicles, and that it still has life left in it," he said in a written report.       "In terms of which vehicle will enter production, the most likely candidate is the Dodge EV sports car, as it seems to be based on an already existing platform (the Lotus Europa) and likely requires the least amount of development."       Lotus is expected to make an announcement today on its possible linkup with Chrysler.       "We will apply the technology to front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive body on frame" vehicles, said Tom LaSorda, Chrysler co-president. Chrysler has made no decision on where it will manufacture its electric vehicles, he said.       So far, California's Tesla Motors Inc. has taken more than 600 orders for its electric sports car. On May 1, the company's first dealership opened. As of early September, 27 customers had taken delivery of the vehicle. OIL SPIKES NEARLY 16% ON BANKING RESCUE PLAN from Automotive News September 22, 2008      LONDON (Reuters) -- Oil prices today soared nearly 16 percent to over $120 a barrel -- the biggest one-day gain on record -- in a rally sparked by the expiry of the front-month futures contract and weakness in the U.S. dollar.       The gains extend oil's climb from a low near $90 last week after the United States unveiled a sweeping rescue plan for its battered financial sector, improving the outlook for energy demand in the world's biggest consumer nation.       U.S. crude for October delivery, which expires Monday, settled up $16.37, or 15.7 percent, at $120.92 per barrel. The contract for delivery in November, which was much more actively traded, was up only $6.62 at $109.37.       London Brent crude settled up $6.43 at $106.04.       "The market went crazy here and it looks like the weakness of the dollar was a fuel for the sharp price increase. NYMEX October crude was also expiring and that provoked short-covering," said Amanda Kurzendoerfer, commodities analyst at Summit Energy in Louisville, Ky.       The U.S. dollar fell 2 percent against the euro, weighed down by worries about the fiscal impact of the U.S. government's $700 billion bailout plan aimed at addressing the global credit crisis.       A weaker dollar boosts the purchasing power of commodity buyers using other currencies.      The U.S. government measures to rescue the financial system have also restored confidence in the energy markets that U.S. fuel demand may not decline as quickly as initially feared.       "The key driver continues to be the U.S. rescue package, which has changed the sentiment in the oil market," said Bank of Ireland analyst Paul Harris.       Oil prices had tumbled from record highs above $147 a barrel in mid-July, weighed down by growing evidence that high energy costs and economic woes were undercutting global fuel demand.       The slow recovery of the U.S. oil sector after Hurricane Ike also supported prices Monday, after causing the biggest disruption to the nation's energy supplies since 2005.       Nearly 80 percent of oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, home to a quarter of all U.S. oil output, remained shut along with seven refineries.       Oil prices were also supported by news China increased crude imports 11.54 percent in August from a year earlier, recovering from a steep July fall, the General Administration of Customs said on Friday, confirming earlier data.       "The Chinese import news is a sign of recovery, and a good indication that oil prices could get back up again," said Christopher Bellew of Bache Financial.       Industry sources also said on Monday that top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has trimmed oil supplies to major international oil companies and U.S. refiners since the start of September. FEDERAL AID TO DETROIT SEEMS LIKELY by David M. Herszenhorn New York Times September 17, 2008      WASHINGTON -- After a series of government interventions in the private markets, one seemingly more astonishing than the next, lawmakers found themselves confronted on Wednesday with the question of when and where to draw the line on future aid.       But with billions of dollars in financial backing already authorized for Wall Street, and with Election Day fast approaching, Congressional leaders seemed uninterested in denying help to large employers of blue-collar Americans.       Even as lawmakers in both parties unleashed a barrage of questions about the wisdom of a government rescue for the American International Group, support seemed to be growing quickly on Capitol Hill for $25 billion in loan guarantees to assist the ailing auto industry.       Both presidential candidates, Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, have voiced support for the loan guarantees -- an unsurprising stance given the critical importance of the main auto-producing states, Michigan and Ohio, to the electoral map this fall.       The chief executives of the three big American automakers -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- met on Wednesday afternoon with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.       When they emerged, they expressed optimism that the loan guarantees would be included as part of a budget resolution that is needed to finance government operations through the end of the year.       "The support that we got was again very encouraging," said Robert L. Nardelli, the chairman of Chrysler. "The conversations I have had all day on the Hill have been very encouraging, very candid, very straightforward and so as we conclude the day, I would say it was successful."       Alan R. Mulally, the chief executive of Ford, was even more upbeat. "It was a great day," he said. When a reporter asked what Mr. Mulally might say to people who viewed the loan guarantees as a bailout, he replied in a chipper voice, "I would characterize it as an enabler."       Ms. Pelosi sharply criticized the Bush administration on Wednesday over the $85 billion bailout of A.I.G., saying it was evidence of mismanagement by President Bush. But she expressed strong support for the automakers' loan guarantees, which would be used to help the companies meet new fuel efficiency standards that Congress adopted last year.       "We see that as a way to rebuild and strengthen the technological base of America," Ms. Pelosi said at a news conference in the Capitol. "It would certainly help people in the auto industry, but it's not only about the auto industry, it's about the auto industry, it's about our economy, it's about America's work force."      She added: "We consider this a major investment in innovation."       Republican Congressional leaders, too, said they were in favor of helping the automakers. Representative Adam Putnam of Florida, the third-ranking House Republican, said at a news conference that it was up to auto executives to convince lawmakers of the need for government assistance.       "It's incumbent on them to make the case to Congress that it is a loan guarantee, that it is a wise investment of taxpayer dollars, and I think that they are on the Hill this week making that case," Mr. Putnam said. "The reports that I have heard from my colleagues is that they have been fairly persuasive."       The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, expressed his own support for aid to the automakers at a news conference on Wednesday morning. Mr. Reid said the loan guarantees, which would cost taxpayers $7.5 billion, were needed.       "I think it's extremely important that we try to do something," he said. "These are jobs. These are cars that we should be selling -- or manufacturing in America, not someplace else."       Still, some fiscal conservatives reacted angrily to the prospect of more taxpayer money being used to prop up private companies.       "The federal government's propensity to bail out failing companies in struggling industries ought to be troubling to all taxpayers," said Representative Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona. "Aside from the fiscal impact of spending money that the federal government doesn't have, these bailouts will likely have the opposite of their intended effect."       Mr. Flake added: "Federal bailouts may stave off short-term economic damage, but the long-term economic outlook will be much worse if the market is not allowed to make its own adjustments. While the Bush administration certainly shares blame for these bailouts, this Congress may designate itself as the 'Bailout Congress' if we follow through on a rumored bailout of the auto industry."       But such skepticism was likely to be overshadowed by the huge stakes in the presidential race. Mr. McCain, the Republican nominee, had seemed cool to the idea of loans for the auto industry last month, but at a campaign stop on Wednesday at an auto plant in Orion, Mich., he sounded like a staunch supporter.       "It's great to be here today with the assembly workers of this G.M. plant," he said. "I'm here to send a message to Washington and Wall Street: We are not going to leave the workers here in Michigan hung out to dry while we give billions in taxpayer dollars to Wall Street. It is time to get our auto industry back on its feet. It's time for a new generation of cars and for loans to build the facilities that will make them."       Bill Vlasic contributed reporting from Detroit and Michael Cooper from Orion, Mich. MAKING AMERICA STUPID by Thomas L. Friedman New York Times September 13, 2008      Imagine for a minute that attending the Republican convention in St. Paul, sitting in a skybox overlooking the convention floor, were observers from Russia, Iran and Venezuela. And imagine for a minute what these observers would have been doing when Rudy Giuliani led the delegates in a chant of "drill, baby, drill!"       I'll tell you what they would have been doing: the Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan observers would have been up out of their seats, exchanging high-fives and joining in the chant louder than anyone in the hall -- "Yes! Yes! Drill, America, drill!" -- because an America that is focused first and foremost on drilling for oil is an America more focused on feeding its oil habit than kicking it.       Why would Republicans, the party of business, want to focus our country on breathing life into a 19th-century technology -- fossil fuels -- rather than giving birth to a 21st-century technology -- renewable energy? As I have argued before, it reminds me of someone who, on the eve of the I.T. revolution -- on the eve of PCs and the Internet -- is pounding the table for America to make more I.B.M. typewriters and carbon paper. "Typewriters, baby, typewriters."       Of course, we're going to need oil for many years, but instead of exalting that -- with "drill, baby, drill" -- why not throw all our energy into innovating a whole new industry of clean power with the mantra "invent, baby, invent?" That is what a party committed to "change" would really be doing. As they say in Texas: "If all you ever do is all you've ever done, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."       I dwell on this issue because it is symbolic of the campaign that John McCain has decided to run. It's a campaign now built on turning everything possible into a cultural wedge issue -- including even energy policy, no matter how stupid it makes the voters and no matter how much it might weaken America.       I respected McCain's willingness to support the troop surge in Iraq, even if it was going to cost him the Republican nomination. Now the same guy, who would not sell his soul to win his party's nomination, is ready to sell every piece of his soul to win the presidency.       In order to disguise the fact that the core of his campaign is to continue the same Bush policies that have led 80 percent of the country to conclude we're on the wrong track, McCain has decided to play the culture-war card. Obama may be a bit professorial, but at least he is trying to unite the country to face the real issues rather than divide us over cultural differences.       A Washington Post editorial on Thursday put it well: "On a day when the Congressional Budget Office warned of looming deficits and a grim economic outlook, when the stock market faltered even in the wake of the government's rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, when President Bush discussed the road ahead in Iraq and Afghanistan, on what did the campaign of Senator John McCain spend its energy? A conference call to denounce Senator Barack Obama for using the phrase 'lipstick on a pig' and a new television ad accusing the Democrat of wanting to teach kindergartners about sex before they learn to read."       Some McCain supporters criticize Obama for not having the steel in his belly to use force in the dangerous world we live in today. Well I know this: In order to use force, you have to have force. In order to exercise leverage, you have to have leverage.       I don't know how much steel is in Obama's belly, but I do know that the issues he is focusing on in this campaign -- improving education and health care, dealing with the deficit and forging a real energy policy based on building a whole new energy infrastructure -- are the only way we can put steel back into America's spine. McCain, alas, has abandoned those issues for the culture-war strategy.       Who cares how much steel John McCain has in his gut when the steel that today holds up our bridges, railroads, nuclear reactors and other infrastructure is rusting? McCain talks about how he would build dozens of nuclear power plants. Oh, really? They go for $10 billion a pop. Where is the money going to come from? From lowering taxes? From banning abortions? From borrowing more from China? From having Sarah Palin "reform" Washington -- as if she has any more clue how to do that than the first 100 names in the D.C. phonebook?       Sorry, but there is no sustainable political/military power without economic power, and talking about one without the other is nonsense. Unless we make America the country most able to innovate, compete and win in the age of globalization, our leverage in the world will continue to slowly erode. Those are the issues this election needs to be about, because that is what the next four years need to be about.       There is no strong leader without a strong country. And posing as one, to use the current vernacular, is nothing more than putting lipstick on a pig. NEIL YOUNG REPOWERS THE AMERICAN DREAM by Paul Cashmere Undercover August 10, 2008      Motorist of the 21st Century won't be relegated to the torture of the Smart car if Neil Young has his way.       The rock star and movie maker is behind a project called Linc Volt, a means of transforming the classic American gas guzzling cars of the 50s and 60s into fuel-efficient automobiles.       L.A. Johnson, the head of Young's Shakey Pictures, spent the last week in Adelaide in South Australia working with Uli Kruger, one of the scientists involved in the development of the project.       Kruger is a researcher in the field of thermodynamics and holds several patents in the field of efficiency enhancement technologies for Diesel engines.       Young and motor mechanic Jonathan Goodwin have been working on the reconstruction of the engine of a 1959 Lincoln Continental Mk IV convertible in the USA and have converted its original engine into a new series-hybrid system. The car has gone from getting 9 miles to the gallon to now achieving around 100 miles to the gallon.       "Neil says he is repowering the American dream," Johnson tells Undercover.       Once the project is complete, it will be possible for what is affectionately now as "The Yank Tank" to achieve better mileage that a Toyota Corolla.       Johnson runs Shakey Pictures and is producing a documentary of the Linc Volt. He was also the producer of the current Shakey Pictures movie 'Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young : Deja vu', filmed during the 2006 Freedom of Speech tour.       The movie is not a concert movie, instead it is an in-your-face protest at the madness of the Bush regime told as only David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young can tell.       Johnson says he understands why it is still up to the Neil Young's of the world to be political with music. "There is no draft anymore. The government has become clever in realising that by eliminating the draft, they can eliminate the protest but despite that we have had more than 2000 artists submit songs to the Living With War website," he says.       He points out that Pink's 'Dear Mr President' has been one of the most powerful protest songs of the current generation.       Johnson is also working on Young's much talked about Archive project. "Neil was always going to release it in the highest quality there was. When we started it, we did not know what that quality would be but we now know it is Blu-Ray". The collection will also be available on DVD.       The Archive will include everything Neil Young has ever made, including movies. 'Weld and 'Human Highway' will be part of the archive," he says. "When you reach that part of the time-line, those movies will be there".       The first part of the Neil Young Archive will be released later this year. OIL MAY HAVE HURT FEELINGS GM may not be ready to break up with oil. Automaker may be retreating from ad campaign. by Andrew Grossman, Automotive News June 17, 2008      DETROIT -- General Motors has had a long, tender relationship with Big Oil. Then last week came the news that GM was ready to publicly spurn its longtime lover.       A GM executive even said publicly that the automaker was planning to air a TV commercial telling oil: "We think we will both be happier and healthier if we see less of each other."       Now GM is saying it isn't sure whether it's going to send the televised breakup note to oil, and it's definitely not breaking up with oil companies.       "It's one spot, and it's not in its final creative treatment yet," GM spokeswoman Kelly Cusinato told Automotive News today. "We don't know if we're going to run it."       Katherine Benoit, GM's corporate marketing director, told a meeting of the American Advertising Federation last week that GM was planning to air the commercial on NBC's "Meet the Press" on June 22.       Cusinato said Benoit spoke prematurely, and the commercial probably won't run this weekend because it's being tweaked and might not run at all.       Cusinato said the commercial, which begins with someone typing "Dear Oil" on a white screen, wasn't targeting oil companies but, rather, oil as a source for fuel. The commercial is part of a set made for GM by McCann-Erickson for possible airing on Planet Green, a channel launched by the Discovery Channel that focuses on the environment.       The commercials aren't meant to sell cars, Cusinato said, but to show people GM's commitment to exploring alternative energy.       The two current commercials that GM is airing on Planet Green are slightly less blunt, but they have probably hurt oil's feelings because they make it clear that the automaker is seeing other energy sources.       One starts with this voiceover: "Oil. It's not going to last forever," then touts GM's investment in a company that's working to turn garbage into fuel. It ends with this: "There's more than one way to the future. That's why, at GM, we're on many roads." NEIL YOUNG HAS A BAD CASE OF THE GREENS by Tyler Hamilton, The Toronto Star June 16, 2008      Consider it a modern-day Cannonball Run with a green twist. More than 60 teams around the globe - three so far from Canada - have registered to participate in the Progressive Automotive X Prize, a $10 million contest that aims to break our addiction to oil and reduce the effects of climate change.       In other words, it's a quest to develop the cleanest-running car ever made without sacrificing driving range or affordability.       No concept cars are allowed. The X Prize Foundation, a non-profit group trying to do the same with cars as it did with an earlier contest devoted to private space flight, says it only wants super-efficient cars that have a strong chance of reaching commercial production.       The contest will involve a cross-country race, starting in New York city in September 2009. From there, contestants will showcase their vehicles by driving a variety of distances through a number of U.S. cities. The race, with cars that run on biofuels, hydrogen-powered fuel cells, batteries and even compressed air - or a combination - will conclude in 2010.       Did I mention Neil Young is a contestant? The Canadian rocker has decided that if music isn't going to save the world, a super-efficient car that can travel 100 kilometres on two litres or less might.       "I think that the time when music could change the world is past," he told reporters in February. He said it's up to science, physics and spirituality to save the planet, and figures breaking America's addiction to oil will help end war.       Young, 62, has partnered with a wizard of a mechanic named Johnathan Goodwin, the owner of Kansas-based H-Line Conversions. Goodwin has appeared on MTV's Pimp My Ride and retrofitted California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Hummer so it can run on hydrogen.       Goodwin and his team of engineers and scientists will convert Young's beloved 1959 Lincoln Continental MK IV convertible into a car that produces zero emissions, doesn't need roadside refuelling and can also act as a generator for a home.       Not that the half-century-old Lincoln isn't a home unto itself. This isn't any car - it's a 2.3-tonne monster stretching six metres in length, the longest car of its era. It stands dramatically apart from the other X Prize entries, many of which look like vehicles out of Blade Runner or Star Wars - a range of aerodynamic two-, three- and four-wheelers. One uses "spheres" as wheels, while others could pass as rocketships.       Young, whose team is called Linc Volt, is trying to prove that people can drive the cars they want without having to sacrifice efficiency or the environment. Indeed, the team's website at www.lincvolt.com touts the effort as "Repowering The American Dream."       Young is documenting the car's conversion and its race across the United States in a film, also called Linc Volt. The movie, produced by Shakey Pictures, is being directed by Bernard Shakey - a.k.a. Neil Young. "The main ingredient for working on this project is refusing to believe that some things are impossible," said a quote on the website from thermodynamics expert and team member Uli Kruger.       Toronto-born Young, a U.S. resident who has maintained his Canadian citizenship, declined a request to chat with his hometown newspaper. "It's a little early for us," said manager Elliot Roberts, saying Young will talk when the car is on the road and ready to compete. "Hopefully in weeks."       We do know the car will be battery operated, and according to a recent AP story Young has put about $120,000 into the project. The rock legend initially wanted the vehicle to run on biodiesel but decided to switch to electricity.       More details emerged earlier this month from a report in the Wichita Eagle. An enterprising reporter dropped into Goodwin's shop and, despite Young's dislike of media attention, got him and Goodwin to open up a bit.       "Johnathan and this car are going to make history," Young told the reporter. "We're going to create a car that will allow us to stop giving our wealth to other countries for petroleum."       In late May, according to the Eagle, Young and Goodwin took the car for its first test drive with its prototype power system. It was a 19-kilometre trek, and Young remarked that the car accelerated fast and was quiet. But the two almost crashed when a makeshift knob that controls acceleration was twisted the wrong way, speeding up the car and almost rear-ending another vehicle.       He then told the reporter, "You can't change the world by writing songs. But we could change it with this car."       Rock on. GM and BIG OIL BREAK UP IN NEW ADS Automaker unveils corporate campaign addressing high gas prices by Ira Teinowitz, Advertising Age June 10, 2008      ATLANTA - General Motors is sending a "Dear John" letter to big oil.       Katherine Benoit, GM corporate marketing director, told attendees at the American Advertising Federation meeting this week that the automaker is launching a corporate campaign this month that addresses the oil-price issue head-on, albeit with a tongue-in-cheek twist.       "Dear Oil," a new TV commercial begins. "We've had this great relationship for many years. We think we will both be a lot happier and healthier if we see less of each other." The commercial from McCann-Erickson is to debut on NBC's "Meet the Press" June 22, Benoit said.      A Chevrolet campaign focused on green issues also is about to launch, and GM will tout its corporate environmental message as part of its NBC Olympics sponsorship, Benoit said.       GM has been boosting advertising for its fuel-efficient models since last year. But Benoit said the automaker suspended ads for its E85 models, partly because of the availability issue, and is backing options other than corn or other food products to make ethanol, which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.       Part of GM's energy and environmental unit will check and confirm all its green marketing claims, Benoit said. "You have to make sure that the story you tell plays out." LINCVOLT TECHNOLOGY IN TRUCKS? Detroit Automakers Compete for a Vanishing Truck Market by Nick Bunkley, The New York Times June 5, 2008      DETROIT -- Ford Motor and Chrysler expected to find themselves in a hard-fought showdown when they rolled out bigger, brasher pickup trucks this fall, hoping to enlarge their shares of a segment that has brought them huge profits.       Instead, Ford, Chrysler and General Motors have discovered $4-a-gallon gasoline and a housing slump to be more formidable foes. This year's battle will be for pieces of a much smaller pie than they ever imagined.       This winter, when Chrysler paraded 120 Texas longhorns outside the Detroit auto show to promote its 2009 Dodge Ram, and Ford brought in the country superstar Toby Keith to unveil its new F-series truck, full-size pickups accounted for 13 percent of the United States vehicle market. They were just 9 percent of the market in May, when for the first time since 1992 the country's top-selling vehicle was a car -- the Honda Civic compact sedan -- rather than a truck.       In fact, the top four sellers last month were all cars, pushing the current 2008 F-series down to a once-incomprehensible fifth place as its sales fell 33 percent. Sales plunged 38 percent for the 2008 Ram and 44 percent for the Chevrolet Silverado, which was redesigned two years ago and will have even more difficulty competing against two newer trucks this fall.       Ford and Chrysler have spent hundreds of millions of dollars overhauling their pickups, only to release them as demand for trucks went into freefall.       "All the factors are working against the truck market right now," said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst with Edmunds.com.       The truck segment used to be a cash cow for the Detroit automakers, whose corporate identities once rested on the slogans they used to sell pickups, like "built Ford tough," and "like a rock" for Chevrolet. Analysts say each pickup carries a profit margin of as much as $10,000, much greater than the margin on smaller vehicles.       Three years ago, 3 out of every 10 vehicles that Ford's three domestic brands sold in the United States were F-series trucks; on an annual basis, the F-series has been the nation's best-selling vehicle since 1976. Last month, the F-series accounted for 21 percent of Ford's sales. Dealers say the only people still buying trucks in large numbers are those who need them for work, like building contractors.       "You aren't going to have the guys who get them as a macho thing anymore," said John Hutchinson, a salesman at Northpoint Ford in Milwaukee.       But a weak housing market in much of the country and plummeting prices for used trucks, caused by the decline in demand for them, have discouraged many contractors from upgrading to a new pickup. Mr. Hutchinson said a customer came in last week to trade in his three-quarter-ton F-250 for a smaller F-150 but backed out upon learning that the value of his F-250 was half as much as he owed on it.       "He was in quite a shock," Mr. Hutchinson said.       The rapid shift in consumers' preferences means Ford and Chrysler are having to temper their expectations for the 2009 versions of their flagship trucks, which will begin arriving at dealerships in September.       "I will think carefully about how many of them will be in my inventory," said Tony Sansavera, general manager at Great Northern Dodge near Cleveland, who during past introductions used to order as many of the vehicles as Chrysler would give him.       A Chrysler spokesman, Rick Deneau, said the company planned to proceed with its introduction of the Ram as scheduled.       "But we don't have blinders on about the market," Mr. Deneau said. "The bottom line is you plan these new vehicles years and years in advance. The best we can do is offer the best Ram we can make, and hope to make the best of a tough situation."       Before the new F-series and Ram go on sale, Ford and Chrysler need to clear an abundance of their current models off dealers' lots. On Tuesday, Ford started an "employee pricing" sale on remaining 2008 F-series trucks.       Ms. Caldwell, the Edmunds analyst, said the companies could undermine their new trucks if they made the old models too attractive with big discounts.       "There's so few buyers out there, that it's going to be hard to compete against these old trucks," she said. "There's a lot of risk involved."       A Ford spokesman, Said Deep, said the company remained optimistic about the prospects for its new F-series and could adjust its production as demand dictated.       "We sold 690,000 F-series last year, and obviously we're not going to sell 690,000 this year," Mr. Deep said. "We're still trying to get our arms around where the segment is headed. We recognize that this market is changing dramatically." CANADIAN OIL A BAD SOLUTION US Green Groups Warn of Oil Sands "Poison" by Mike De Souza & David Akin, Canwest News Service June 4, 2008      Ottawa - Environmental activists are warning U.S. lawmakers and consumers that the Canadian oilsands sector is an environmental disaster that is poisoning U.S refineries.       "The environmental costs of tarsand development are staggering," says a report released Wednesday by the Environmental Integrity Project, a Washington-based group, in the latest salvo in a pitched public relations battle over Western Canada's resource riches.       "As the rising price of oil has made extraction from Canadian tarsands profitable, U.S. oil refinery expansions to process the extra heavy sour crude from tarsands have come to dominate the refinery landscape," says the analysis.       It notes that more than two-thirds of the expansion of U.S. refining capacity is being tailored to handle the dirtier crude oil from Alberta, as opposed to conventional oil. The analysis also estimates that tarsands capacity in the U.S. will increase by 1.9 million barrels per day, while the cleaner conventional oil refining will decrease by about 300,000 barrels per day.       The study is the latest in a series of reports targeting U.S. decision-makers to convince them to turn away from what environmental groups call "dirty oil" from Canada.       It says oilsands production results in the release of harmful pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, sulphuric acid mist and nitrogen oxide, as well as toxic metals such as lead and nickel compounds.       The report also suggests the "more intensive" process of refining oil sand "may also produce more greenhouse gas."       "I think Americans are just beginning to learn what the tarsands are," said Matt Price, a climate and energy policy expert from Environmental Defence in Canada who contributed to the report. "You are not really achieving energy security (since) by exploiting tarsands oil you are actually putting in danger your life support system, which is the climate."       But policy-makers and oil companies are fighting back, doing their best to convince an international audience that Canada is a "green energy superpower" and is responsibly managing oilsands development.       For example, Canada's top federal civil servant took his counterparts from other Commonwealth countries on a tour Saturday of some oilsands facilities in Alberta. Kevin Lynch, the Clerk of the Privy Council, charted a helicopter to ferry other senior civil servants from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand around northern Alberta.       Canwest News Service has learned that the group visited a Syncrude Canada Ltd., facility near Fort McMurray as well as a nearby First Nations reserve. The goal of the visit, said a spokesperson for Lynch's office, was to demonstrate the scope and complexity of oilsands development as well as the responsible way Canada is developing the resource. Lynch did not respond to an interview request.       Prime Minister Stephen Harper carried that same message to an international audience last week in London.       "Canada intends to be not just an energy superpower, but also a clean energy superpower," Harper told a well-heeled business crowd at a meeting of the Canada-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce.       And Harper singled out the oilsands in that speech, saying his government has taken a "get tough" approach on oilsands developers.       "Our targets (for emissions reductions) in the oilsands go beyond the standards for other industries," Harper said.       In late April, Alberta's deputy premier Ron Stevens travelled to Washington to take that message directly to members of Congress and U.S. investors.       But green groups and political opponents of the Conservative governments in Ottawa and Edmonton say international investors and policy-makers are not getting the whole story.       They say the Harper government's emissions targets will not bring about absolute reductions in emissions, but only reductions in the relative emissions per each barrel of oil produced. So, even though per-barrel pollution may be decreasing, overall greenhouse gas pollution from the oilsands is estimated to triple over the next decade, according to the latest estimates from Environment Canada.       "Although a new refinery has not been built in the United States for over 30 years, five new refineries are currently under consideration."       The report notes three of the five new refineries would process tar and oil. But it warns the consequences could be devastating, highlighting a recent case of about 500 birds that died after landing on a toxic tailing pond from oilsands operations.       The analysis also identifies 17 new expansions of existing facilities and warns the changes could wipe out many trees in the boreal forest that would be cleared to make way for tarsands extraction. NEWS ALERT from The Wall Street Journal June 3, 2008       General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner said the company plans to cease production at four North American plants that build pickups, SUVs and medium-duty trucks amid the sharp rise in oil prices and the "significantly more difficult" auto market.       The company plans to fund its Chevy Volt electric vehicle for commercial development and hold a strategic review of its Hummer brand. Auto makers are scheduled to post monthly sales results later today. SINGER FOCUSES ENERGY ON ELECTRIC CAR from CNN / The Associated Press June 3, 2008       Neil Young, the rocker who provided some of the soundtrack to Vietnam-era protests, is again trying to change the world -- with his car.       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. iReport.com: See a 20-mile commute in 106 seconds       "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." NEIL YOUNG GOES UNPLUGGED IN A '59 CONTINENTAL from U.S. News & World Report June 3, 2008       It's better to burn out than to...crash into the car in front of you due to your car's lack of working pedals.       Rocker Neil Young narrowly avoided a setback in his attempt to build a workable electric car last week. Young is working with a Wichita, Kansas mechanic to convert his iconic 1959 Lincoln Continental into a prototype of "the world's first affordable mass-produced electric battery automobile," according to the Wichita Eagle.       The effort is being chronicled at lincvolt.com.       Young told the Eagle the project began when he asked mechanic Johnathan Goodwin "if we could take a huge American car like [his Continental], 2 tons, 19 feet long, and make it so you could drive it without ever refueling. Something practical. Something that would change the world. And Johnathan said 'Yeah.' "       The project narrowly avoided a setback last week, however, when the pair test drove the car in mid-conversion. Autoblog Green explains, "Young described the car as quiet and powerful, though apparently as there is no accelerator pedal or power steering yet, and Goodwin was applying the juice via a knob located somewhere in the back seat, the short trip almost ended in disaster.       As they approached an entrance ramp, the knob was twisted the wrong way and they found themselves hurtling toward the backside of another vehicle. Fortunately, Neil still has good reflexes and he reached over with his foot from the passenger side to stomp down hard on the brake."       The pair haven't said when they expect to complete the car, but they do hope to drive it from Wichita to Washington, D.C. to build publicity when it does run. With, we assume, working pedals.       After that, they hope to race the car for the Automotive X Prize. If a '59 Lincoln Continental won that competition, which will award $10 million to a car that reaches 100 mpg, that would be news.       Kicking Tires reports, however, that Young has already poured $120,000 into the car...and still no working pedals. "Seems like they're a long way from making this a mainstream process, as Young had hoped his experiment could serve to be." NEIL YOUNG TO 'CHANGE THE WORLD' WITH ELECTRIC LINCOLN CONTINENTAL He wants alternate power sources... by Jason Gregory from Gigwise June 2, 2008       Neil Young has revealed that he's currently converting his 1959 Lincoln Continental to operate on an electric battery.       The singer believes that the process, which has seen him team up with Jonathan Goodwin, a mechanic from Wichita, will force big companies to think seriously alternative fuels for motor cars.       "Jonathan and this car are going to make history," Young said, in an interview with 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 invested almost $120,000 into the project with Goodwin, who has developed a reputation for re-engineering big cars to get greater horsepower for less fuel.       The singer said that the project had made him realise that it's not possible to change the world using songs.       "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." NEIL YOUNG BUILDS ELECTRIC POWERED 1959 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL by Rory Jurnecka from Motor Trend June 2, 2008       Neil Young, the singer/songwriter known for his scathing protest songs is making his message heard these days not with his guitar, but with his 1959 Lincoln Continental Convertible. See, Neil's classic cruiser has undergone minor surgery and now relies on electric power rather gasoline - and the 62-year-old musician says it makes more of a statement than any protest song ever could.       Young teamed up with Johnathan Goodwin, a known eco-tuner, to rework the classic Continental for electric duty. So far, the car has racked up $120,000 worth of modifications but it's still not perfect according to Johnathan.       During a recent test drive, Johnathan twisted the dial controlling acceleration the wrong way, nearly sending the electric Lincoln into the car in front of it. Young was able to hit the brakes from the passenger seat in time to avoid a collision. Still Young says the car has impressive performance.       "She was awesome," said Young. "Her acceleration was incredible, she moved with hardly a sound. It was so quiet we could hear the wind through the tags of the other cars."       Young is convinced that the car could start an electric revolution. "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 and Jonathan are hoping that the car will provide the basis for a prototype of the first mass-produced electric car.       "You know, I thought long ago you could change the world by writing songs," Young said. "But you can't change the world by writing songs. But we could change it with this car." ROCKER YOUNG WORKING WITH WICHITA MECHANIC ON ELECTRIC CAR by Roy Wenzl from The Wichita Eagle June 2, 2008       This story would sound nuts except that it's happening, in real time, in a Wichita car mechanic's garage last week and for the foreseeable future.       Neil Young -- the rock legend who tried to change the world with songs, who helped create '60s culture, who wrote an anti-war anthem in 1970 that galvanized opposition to the Vietnam war -- came to Wichita this past week, took a test drive, nearly crashed his car and worked two days like a mad scientist with a mechanic who he says will create the world's first affordable mass-produced electric battery automobile.       Thus changing the world. Rearranging it, even.       "Johnathan and this car are going to make history," said the Young quarter of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.       "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.       "And we're going to do it right here in Wichita, a great place that I now love, where people know how to make things, and make things happen."       Not about the music       The Wichita mechanic who will do this, Young says, is his new partner, Johnathan Goodwin, 37, born in St. Louis just months after the Woodstock music festival where Young played but refused to be filmed.       Goodwin started mechanical work at age 6 when he took a lawn mower apart and spent glorious months trying to put it back together. Until a few months ago, he had no idea who Young is. He has never listened to any Young songs, even after Young's people handed him the entire stack a few days ago.       "I figure I can hear it all from the mouth of the man himself when we get the car running and drive the country," Goodwin said. "We'll have to do something during all those miles."       They'll drive to Washington, D.C., to show the capital how two car lovers can change the world.       Goodwin still has only a vague notion of who Crosby, Stills and Nash are, even though rock chroniclers at their height said they were the "American Beatles."       "Funny thing," Goodwin said about that, with a puzzled grin. "When Neil introduced me to them at a party in Malibu last week, they knew all about me. They said what I'm doing with Neil sounds pretty cool."       Goodwin, Young and his employees have become friends, partners -- and guys goofing with tools.       There is little singing in the car shop, Goodwin said, "although one day, Neil opened up two cell phones and held them out and sang and showed us how the feedback thing can make your voice sound louder."       On Thursday, at the Goodwin-Young team's car shop at Chautauqua and Douglas, Young sat on a stool, tapping song titles into an e-mail message on his laptop. He looked over to see Goodwin's skinny, blue-jeaned backside sticking out the driver's-side door of Young's converted electric 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible. Young nodded toward Goodwin's butt.       "This is how we'll think of Johnathan now," Young said. "We'll put that view of him on his own album cover."       Minutes later, when Goodwin's wife and son headed out, the boy called from across the garage.       "Bye, Neil!"       Young hopped off his stool.       "Come here!" he said.       The boy, Brennan, 6, ran to the "rock legend," as Young sarcastically calls himself. Young knelt and hugged him.       A hefty rock bio       He's a stern-looking man with thinning and receding graying hair and bushy eyebrows. He dislikes media attention. "I'll talk to you for a couple minutes, but if you film me, I won't talk. I won't be on YouTube," he said the other day.       He warmed up quickly after that, cracking self-deprecating jokes and speaking with feeling about Wichita, "a great place, a lot of good people."       Young's bio is thick with accomplishment, conflict and good deeds. He is 62, edgy, tough, a survivor of childhood polio, survivor of drugs, the '60s and the brutish business of rock 'n' roll.       With Stephen Stills, he founded Buffalo Springfield, a seminal band in the mid-60s. He wrote solo hits. He fought with Stills over control of that band, and fought him again in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, which played in concert for the first time before 400,000 at the 1969 Woodstock music festival. He refused to be filmed, and a filmmaker named Larry Johnson warily kept his distance.       Young wrote songs with quirky, country-flavored chords, and lyrics as stinging and articulate as any by Bob Dylan.       In 1970, shortly after National Guardsmen opened fire on war-protesting students at Ohio's Kent State University, killing four, Young met in California with shocked friends, including Crosby, who showed up carrying the Time magazine cover showing a girl screaming over the body of student Jeffrey Miller.       Young and Crosby were furious. They wanted to say something on a national stage. Crosby watched Young pick up a guitar and walk into the sunshine, toward redwoods nearby. An hour later, when he walked back to the house, Young already had the jangling chords and bitter lyrics that would become "Ohio," the soundtrack of huge protests that followed the shooting. The band released the song two weeks after Kent State:       Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'       We're finally on our own       This summer I hear the drummin'       Four dead in O-hi-o.       Gotta get down to it       Soldiers are cutting us down       Shoulda been done long ago.       What if you knew her       And found her dead on the ground       How can you run when you know?       In the years that followed, Young broke up with Crosby, Stills and Nash, carried on a solo career, reunited with and then separated from the band, and pioneered music that would inspire grunge rock. When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Paul McCartney, it was Young who gave the induction speech.       He did good deeds. With Willie Nelson and John Cougar Mellencamp, he founded Farm Aid to help farmers who had lost land and livelihoods.       He made money from his songs, but "I never got good at being a businessman," he said in the garage. "I hired smart people, surrounded myself with them."       Going green       In this decade, as the U.S. went to war and as scientists warned about global warming, he turned green.       He loves cars, "big roomy, American cars." He has collected classics all his adult life.       "But I decided that it was stupid to own cars that just sit around and then pollute when I drive them."       Eight months ago, he decided to convert his beige 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible to something eco-friendly.       At first, all he wanted was a biodiesel conversion.       Young searched the Internet, looking for some "out-of-the-way revolutionary who did not have anything to do with corporations and pre-conceived notions."       He found interviews and an MTV show, "Pimp My Ride," that featured a skinny, articulate Wichita mechanic: Goodwin, who has a national reputation for re-engineering the power units of big cars to get more horsepower for less fuel. Goodwin was working on a Hummer for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.       Young called Goodwin.       Then Young looked up Wichita on a map, and gathered his film crew, which included Johnson, the Woodstock filmmaker, now his friend. They convoyed with his Lincoln eastward, across deserts, over the Continental Divide, staying at Motel 6s and Holiday Inns. On the way, as they filmed a planned movie about the car, Johnson shot the gas-guzzling Lincoln's tailpipe blowing exhaust every time Young turned the key. They filled the tank 18 times. Nine miles to the gallon.       On the road, Young was deep in thought.       When he reached Wichita, he asked Goodwin, "Can you do something more than just make it biodiesel?"       "Sure," Goodwin said. "We can do anything you want."       Could they make an electric car, practical, mass produced, right here in Wichita? Ending our addiction to oil, ending wars over oil, ending some behaviors that melt polar ice caps?       Yeah, Goodwin said. They could do that.       They argued for control immediately, the way Young used to argue with Crosby, Stills and Nash. They argued over who got to drive the Lincoln into the garage. "I won that one," Young said.       But then, listening to Goodwin, captivated by his brains, Young decided he wanted to do something big.       "I believe in the American dream," said the Canadian rocker. "With all this talk about gas, people are saying we should go to small cars, but I love big American cars with power. So does everybody else. Why give up on that?"       "I asked Johnathan that first day if we could take a huge American car like this, 2 1/2 tons, 19 1/2 feet long, and make it so you could drive it without ever refueling. Something practical. Something that would change the world."       "And Johnathan said 'Yeah.' "       "And that's what we're going to do."       A few glitches       The car works.       There are bugs.       Goodwin and Young took a test drive Wednesday on a loop of about 12 miles, from Douglas and Chautauqua out to North Webb.       "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."       But because there is no gas pedal, Goodwin had to drive with his left hand, with no power steering, while twisting half around and turning an acceleration knob in the back seat with his right hand.       "And we just about crashed it," Goodwin said.       At K-96 and Webb, as they approached the entrance ramp, Goodwin turned the knob the wrong way, and the car leaped toward the back end of another car. In a micro-second, Young, from the passenger seat, stomped the brake, averting disaster.       "Still needs a little work," Goodwin said.       He began explaining the technology. He said the car will regenerate energy as it runs. He used technical terms that went over everyone's head but his. Young grinned.       "Just say that it's just a big hair dryer that you don't have to plug in," he said. "If I had more hair, I'd be blowing it on me right now."       Putting up $120,000       Goodwin said what he and the others are creating is nothing new.       "The technology to make a practical and affordable electric car has been around for a long time," he 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. But what Neil has done is provide the backing to do it -- he's put up about $120,000 so far to change his car -- and he's provided a focus. Neil has been incredible, interested and helpful, and if I asked him tomorrow to let me make the car fly and put a flux capacitor in, he'd just shrug and say 'Sure, let's do it.' "       Young nodded.       "He's the brains," he said, nodding at Goodwin. "I'm just the cattle prod."       He walked to his car, put a hand on her hood.       "You know, I thought long ago you could change the world by writing songs.       "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." HEY, HEY... MY, MY by Carrie Rengers from The Wichita Eagle May 29, 2008       Neil Young fans might want to keep their eyes out in the next day or two because the rocker is again in town visiting Johnathan Goodwin of H-Line Conversions.       Goodwin is converting Young's 1959 Lincoln Continental into an electric car.       "We just got back from our first test drive," says a somewhat breathless Goodwin. "Oh, it was great."       He and Young, along with an entourage of sorts with tape rolling, took a 30-mile trip around the city Wednesday evening.       "We used probably about five cents in gas," Goodwin says.       Young (shouting, "I love Wichita!" in the background while Goodwin talks on the phone) is similarly impressed.       "He was just blown away," Goodwin says. "It's the biggest, greatest electric car in the world."