Neil Young is a Green Celebrity who drives a Hybrid Car

Rock star and singer-songwriter Neil Young is one of a growing list of celebrities who are walking their talk when it comes to “going Green” by driving hybrid or electric cars. The Canadian musician, who is famous for his protest songs and activist stance on many social and environmental issues, owns the LincVolt, which is a 1959 Lincoln Continental that was converted into a fuel-efficient hybrid car. Young revealed the LincVolt production project in 2008, and in 2009 he celebrated his car with an album entitled Fork In The Road. Many of the songs in this album are about his car but also comment on the need for a change in thinking and a need for alternative fuel sources.

A statement on the LincVolt website proclaims: “Lincvolt hopes to reduce the demand for petro-fuels enough to eliminate the need for war over energy supplies…”

Unfortunately, the LincVolt caught fire in November 2010, in a warehouse in California, and, as well as the car getting burned, around US$850,000 worth of the star's possessions and a collection of rock and roll memorabilia was also destroyed. Reports suggested that the blaze could have been started by an error in the car's charging system. However, Young thought that human error was the cause of the problem and announced that he and his team were going to start again and rebuild the car. The singer acknowledged that: "The wall charging system was not completely tested and had never been left unattended."

Electric and hybrid vehicles may be more efficient when it comes to fuel usage, and they are not contributing to the using up of petroleum, however, they still require maintenance to be in good working order. Many causes of mechanical failure in electric and hybrid cars are due to small parts, such as bushings, wearing out or being defective, so this is why it makes good sense to use the best quality parts for endurance and safety.

Before his death on 21 January, 2010, film and music producer Larry Johnson, who was a very good friend of Young’s, was working on a documentary about the LincVolt. The film followed the first long-distance journey for the LincVolt on its way to Washington, DC.

But getting back to Young and his work as a protest singer and environmental activist, on 29 June, 2015, the singer has recently released an album entitled The Monsanto Years, which is highly critical of the global company and GMO crops. Young also targets Starbucks in his protest against corporate greed with the song entitled A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop. Young worked on The Monsanto Years in collaboration with Willie Nelson’s sons Lukas and Micah and recorded and performed fronting their band Promise of the Real.

The Monsanto Years was very well acclaimed in the music press and Jon Dennis of The Guardian rated it so highly he awarded the album five stars out of five. However, the expected backlash also arrived and Billboard collected the opinions of corporations that were criticised and condemned by Young, and not surprisingly the Monsanto company were annoyed by his protest album that named them. A representative from the company stated: “Many of us at Monsanto have been and are fans of Neil Young. Unfortunately, for some of us, his current album may fail to reflect our strong beliefs in what we do every day to help make agriculture more sustainable.“

Back in 2004, Young was touring to promote his concept album Greendale, and he used biofuel to power the vehicles used on the tour. Greendale is a rock opera but unlike anything anyone else has ever done. It is much more than just being an album of songs because it is more of an “audio novel” that follows the fortunes and misfortunes of the fictional Green family. Greendale examines corruption in high places, environmental activism and the role of the media, it combines narrative rock songs with multimedia and stage performances.

"Keep on rockin' in the free world," Young sings in one of his most popular rock anthems, and although now 70-years-old, he shows no signs of slowing down with his creative output or his performing. The Canadian musician and songwriter still tours and plays in a style he has become famous for. He can alternate between sensitive acoustic numbers to loud and emotional rock songs that gave him the nickname of the “Godfather of Grunge.”

Neil Young is a star who uses his celebrity status to speak out and get the publicity needed to help make a change in the world!