neil young cars
Buick Roadmaster Skylark, ex-Neil Young
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Rock On Wheels: Neil Young And His Cars

Few things are as ingrained in the R&R imaginary as cars. The vision of a powerful engine launched by a highway heading for the unknown is inherent to this music. Consubstantial because it gives physical shape to that longing for freedom, exodus and individuality with which R&R has synthesized the rebellion of several generations.

Perhaps no car expresses it better than Janis Joplin's “psychedelic” Porsche, although in the case the large Neil Young… Expresses itself throughout his life

A life and work where the reference to the four wheels is constant. So constant that it has composed thematic discs around a Lincoln, or ordered one of his autobiographies through his cars. Four of them were auctioned last December, reaching figures such as $ 400.000 from Buick Roadmaster Skylark. An icon of American motorsport from the 50s, produced practically by hand on demand. Not surprisingly, he was one of the flagships of General Motors.

RESOLVING THE “HIPPIE” CONTRADICTIONS

Under the umbrella of R&R, a multitude of identities and urban tribes have come together. And although Neil Young, a man who has gone from the crudest distortion al more lyrical country It is unclassifiable ... the truth is that he feels so comfortable with the label of "old hippie" that he even included the term in the title another of his autobiographical books. And of course, there is a contradiction. Because at the end of the day ... the old Cadillac or Chevrolet of the '50 is not that they pollute precisely little.

Therefore, Neil Young decided “redeem yourself”Of all the pollution that his passion could have unleashed. How? Developing an electric car. But be careful, not one of those simple and bland Asian electric. Noel linevolt It has all the flavor of the classic American engine, especially because it was made by giving a new engine to an old Lincoln from '59. Old and new married, especially in the cabin of a huge American designed for quiet driving.

Unfortunately, the fire in the ship where the project was developed cut short the history of the first prototype. Blueprints, materials, and even various guitars and amps were engulfed in flames in 2010. Nonetheless, Neil charged again and today the Lincvolt is a reality. A reality powered by a hybrid engine where electric charge and biodiesel are cited for, as its motto says, "repower the american dream".

HEARTS AND SOLIDARITY AUCTIONS

Neil Young's interest in technology has not only centered on electric cars. For years he investigated the potential of computers to better communicate with his son Ben, who suffered from cerebral palsy. He also flirted with electronic sounds on his album Trans. Although that's better to forget ... Ahem, ahem.

What his followers do not seem to forget is his passion for cars, since in this last auction four vehicles have reached stupendous figures in Julien's Auctions. Excellent news for the Bridge School special education center, the recipient of much of the proceeds. Income that in part has come directly from a hearse ...

And it is that, together with the Buick Roadmaster, the Cadillac Fleetwood or the Chrysler Series 28 Windsor, the hearse that Neil Young used to tour with his first group -The Squires- was auctioned in the mid-60s. A Roadmaster Hearse steeped in history. Of him, its current owner will be able to say the same words with which we open this text: “He did not collect perfect, expensive or rare cars. Most of them were real coffee makers. I liked the way they looked and imagined their past and the places they would have visited. They talked to me and I talked to them ”.

We leave you with his music and we encourage you listen to the rest here.

There's a fork in the road ahead…

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Written by Miguel Sánchez

Through the news from La Escudería, we will travel the winding roads of Maranello listening to the roar of the Italian V12; We will travel Route66 in search of the power of the great American engines; we will get lost in the narrow English lanes tracking the elegance of their sports cars; We will speed up the braking in the curves of the Monte Carlo Rally and we will even get dusty in a garage while rescuing lost jewels.

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