Neil Young’s Eco Friendly Car Causes Warehouse Fire

It seems that eco-friendly cars are not always friendly. In fact, just recently Neil Young’s fuel-efficient car has been linked to a big warehouse fire in San Francisco in the United States. This fire saw vintage guitars and other memorabilia owned by the singer go up in smoke.

His car, which was a battery-powered car, was in inspiration for Young’s 2009 album, Fork in the Road. The car was actually a 1959 Lincoln Continental converted into an eco-friendly vehicle. According to most reports, the car’s charging system was responsible for a blaze that ripped through a warehouse in San Francisco’s San Carlos neighborhood on November 9.

The 10,000 square foot space contained paintings, instruments and, of course, other vintage cars owned by Mr Young. Although Young has blamed the fire on human error, authorities are blaming the hybrid vehicle.

Young said that the car was plugged in to charge and left unattended. The wall charging system was not completely tested and has never been left unattended before. It was a mistake that led to a bigger mistake. It was not the fault of the car.

Firefighters were able to save about 70 percent of the warehouse’s contents. However, the damage is estimated to have been around $850,000. Of course, if the damage to the building is factored in, the fire did about $1 million in damages.

Right now Young is planning to rebuild the LincVolt using pieces from a similar Lincoln Continental that was given to him by his wife on his 65th birthday. This car has been given the name Miss Pegi. It is a 1958 model that uses a lot of the same metal as the 1959 model.