A supermechanic is trying to end our addiction to foreign oil, one custom biodiesel-hybrid retrofit at a time.
Interview by Will Rizzo
The best description of Johnathan Goodwin’s job is car hacker: he takes gas-guzzling vehicles and turns them into more powerful, fuel-efficient green machines. His new project with Neil Young, the LincVolt, may just be his most amazing car yet.
MJ: Did one of your cars beat a Lamborghini?
JG: MTV had been trying to get someone to do a diesel conversion for the Earth Day episode of Pimp My Ride. The car was a ’65 Impala with an 850-hp diesel engine running on canola oil. In the race it half-tracked the Lamborghini — we had to drive slower just to keep the Lamborghini in the camera frame. It was fast and it made you hungry, like being downwind of a Burger King.
How did you hook up with Neil Young?
When Neil contacted me, he was interested in one of my biodiesel conversions for his 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV. But as things have evolved it’s become what I call a “series-hydro-hybrid electric,” basically a hybrid with an electric motor and a turbine generator. It came into the shop at 10 mpg, weighing 2.5 tons, and 19.5 feet long. When we’re done we’ll exceed 100 mpg. It’ll do zero to 60 mph in seven or eight seconds, twice as fast as it was.
You’ve since formed a partnership with Neil called Goodwin_Young. Where do you see car design going?
Right now we’ve got a brand-new Ford F-150 that came in at 17 miles per gallon, and when it leaves my shop it will get about 75. Its propulsion system is similar to the LincVolt’s, but more simplified. Within a year I think we’ll actually be able to offer converted vehicles through our company at factory sticker price. I’m sure there are deep discounts on Fords and Hummers they can’t sell right now.
You’ve also been working on a film together.
We’ve been filming for almost a year. The garage is a second home to Neil; he’s finished shows in New York and chartered a jet to be here the next day. In the fall we started a national road trip to show people what’s possible as we move from old to new technology. Our goal is to create a vehicle that’s super fuel-efficient that we can take to the marketplace.
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December 11th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Too bad Neil Young can’t practice what he preaches. He talks about using less fuel to save the planet, then the article states how he charters a jet from New York to make his movie. What a f*&$ing hypocrite. Hey Neil, go back to Canada.
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August 18th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
It would be nice to see the Link-Volt up close and coming down the Corkscrew, turn 9, at Laguna Seca this Sept 12 and 13th. Check out the charity event sponsored by Mazda Raceway/Laguna Seca and Club Auto Sport of San Jose. We’re coordinating an Alternative Fuels Pavilion, cars and motorcycles at “Uncorked”. http://www.clubautosport.net/uncorked.html
A Lincoln running around that track, what a great sight to see.
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