Neil Young's 100 M.P.G. Gamble

                    ... They arrested me and they put me in jail
                    And called my pappy to throw my bail
                    He said, "Son, you're gonna' drive me to drinkin'
                    If you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln!"
                    Hot Rod Lincoln~ Charlie Ryan

Neil Young, "The Godfather of Grunge", has been making the talk-show circuit as of late with a new movie to plug and a plan to convert his 10 mpg 1959 Lincoln Continental into a 100 mpg "green machine."

Whether his classic 19 foot long hybrid-electric is up to the challenge remains to be seen, but his thoughts are in the right direction. If we used one fifth of the fuel we currently consume (average mileage 20 mpg) there would be not much of an energy crisis, no war in Iraq, and probably a healthier atmosphere. It has been pretty obvious that the automotive industry and 28 years of governmental inaction has completely missed the boat on this "crisis" and we are now reaping the just desserts of that short-sightedness. It's like Charlie Ryan and his hot rod: our lust for big fast cars has imprisoned all of us in a pointless cycle of consumption. In ten years 100 mpg will the the norm, with 200+ pushing the envelope.

But perhaps not in a 5200 pound car. A 1000 lb car (600 pounds vehicle + 200 pounds Battery/fuel cell + 200 pound passenger) should be able to easily reach that goal. This won't necessarily be at 75 miles per hour (although there should be trains that go at least twice that fast.)

What's the chance of all this happening with the current NASCAR-ROAD RAGE-OUT OF MY WAY-HURRY UP AND STOP mentality of most drivers?

100%.

Why?

BECAUSE THERE ARE NO ALTERNATIVES!

Keep on rockin' in the free world Neil; you're on the right track.