Me and my driver. x LV
Under The Hood
Hello. I'm LincVolt. But you can call me LV. So, um, I'm a car. But I'm not just another classy chassis. I'm smart for a car. There's a lot going on under the hood. So naturally, I have a blog (Ta-Da!). This is where I come to keep it real. For more about me and this blog you'll have to consult The Road Map. x LV p.s. Visit me on Facebook and Twitter !
May 11
» Tesla talking to Google about driverless electric cars
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says an ‘autopilot’ is the next logical step in cars
Driverless?!? That’s outrageous! I need my driver, we’re a team. : ) xLV
May 06
» Electric Cars Are Beginning To Catch On
The numbers are tiny, and it remains very much a niche market, but April’s sales figures suggest electric cars are beginning to catch on … The market for electric cars may still be small—far less than 1 percent of the total sold. But with each passing week, about 1,000 more cars that will never need to stop at a gas station hit the roads.
May 03
The view from here: A look at my dashboard. If I can do it, you can too. Get out and do something - anything - to help save Mother Earth. x LV
Apr 28
It’s National Parks Week, Blog. We’ve got to save Mother Earth. x LV
President Obama: “We have to keep investing in the technology and manufacturing that helps us lead the world, but we’ve also got to protect the places that help define who we are, that help shape our character and our soul as a nation. Places that help attract visitors and create jobs, but that also give something to our kids that is irreplaceable.”
Apr 23
» NYC unveils first electric taxi cabs
New York City has rolled out the first all electric taxi cabs, part of a plan to make one-third of its taxi fleet electric by the year 2020. (April 22)
Apr 21
“ I would like to write a poem about the world that has in it
nothing fancy.
But it seems impossible.
Whatever the subject, the morning sun
glimmers it.
The tulip feels the heat and flaps its petals open and becomes a star.
The ants bore into the peony bud and there is a dark
pinprick well of sweetness.
As for the stones on the beach, forget it.
Each one could be set in gold.
So I tried with my eyes shut, but of course the birds
were singing.
And the aspen trees were shaking the sweetest music
out of their leaves.
And that was followed by, guess what, a momentous and
beautiful silence
as comes to all of us, in little earfuls, if we’re not too
hurried to hear it.
As for spiders, how the dew hangs in their webs
even if they say nothing, or seem to say nothing.
So fancy is the world, who knows, maybe they sing.
So fancy is the world, who knows, maybe the stars sing too,
and the ants, and the peonies, and the warm stones,
so happy to be where they are, on the beach, instead of being
locked up in gold.
nothing fancy.
But it seems impossible.
Whatever the subject, the morning sun
glimmers it.
The tulip feels the heat and flaps its petals open and becomes a star.
The ants bore into the peony bud and there is a dark
pinprick well of sweetness.
As for the stones on the beach, forget it.
Each one could be set in gold.
So I tried with my eyes shut, but of course the birds
were singing.
And the aspen trees were shaking the sweetest music
out of their leaves.
And that was followed by, guess what, a momentous and
beautiful silence
as comes to all of us, in little earfuls, if we’re not too
hurried to hear it.
As for spiders, how the dew hangs in their webs
even if they say nothing, or seem to say nothing.
So fancy is the world, who knows, maybe they sing.
So fancy is the world, who knows, maybe the stars sing too,
and the ants, and the peonies, and the warm stones,
so happy to be where they are, on the beach, instead of being
locked up in gold.
— “This World,” another poem by one of my favorite poets, Mary Oliver. Mary Oliver loves the world like I do. We’ve got to save Mother Earth. x LV
Apr 18
“Because there is such an abundance of information and misinformation around the use of ethanol as a fuel, and because I have a strong belief in the value of science and the true scientific process, I have done extensive research into the uses of ethanol, the carbon costs of this use, and the benefits involved with utilizing ethanol bio fuel for transportation as opposed to fossil fuels, as well as the effects of CO2 on the planet’s climate. The average E85 ethanol pumped at a US gasoline station has a reduction of 19% in GHG emissions compared to gasoline. Cellulosic ethanol has a GHG reduction of 86%, as compared to gasoline.
Of course, everyone has the right to an opinion, and my opinions, based on real science and scientific research, are always open to attack or misinterpretation. With this in mind, I visited a church in Iowa looking for a sign. I wanted a sign to tell me if I was doing the right thing by campaigning for cleaner fuels and more responsibility with regard to fossil fuel abuse and carbon waste. I drove my car to a little church on a hilltop in the middle of a cornfield. I parked right in front and walked up the steps and sidewalk to the white wooden church, with its impeccably manicured grounds, no litter, completely clean and well cared for. I opened the door, took off my hat and walked in. The church was empty and silent. I looked at the neat rows of pews, immaculate in their order and cleanliness, and imagined the congregation, small as it must be, gathering for worship on a Sunday. In my mind I asked for guidance, something I am not in the habit of doing.
After a few silent and peaceful moments, I turned towards the door, signed the guestbook, Neil Young, California. Then I made a contribution in a small wooden box. As I opened the door and exited the church I put my hat back on and walked along down the perfectly trimmed sidewalk back to the steps I had initially climbed. Looking down at my feet I saw something out of place. A small piece of corn stover, a cob with no kernels left, was there on the step. I felt a rush of something I had not experienced before as I stooped down to pick it up. It was light in my hand and looked exactly like the corn stover I had seen the day before in a laboratory at POET Ethanol where I had gone to learn how Cellulosic ethanol was made. I had learned how this stover was carefully collected, used and managed so enough was left in the field to replenish the soil. I am not a very religious man in the normal sense, but to me this was a sign I felt in my soul, a spiritual feeling that I was doing the right thing. I give thanks to the Great Spirit.” ~ My driver and bff Neil Young.
After a few silent and peaceful moments, I turned towards the door, signed the guestbook, Neil Young, California. Then I made a contribution in a small wooden box. As I opened the door and exited the church I put my hat back on and walked along down the perfectly trimmed sidewalk back to the steps I had initially climbed. Looking down at my feet I saw something out of place. A small piece of corn stover, a cob with no kernels left, was there on the step. I felt a rush of something I had not experienced before as I stooped down to pick it up. It was light in my hand and looked exactly like the corn stover I had seen the day before in a laboratory at POET Ethanol where I had gone to learn how Cellulosic ethanol was made. I had learned how this stover was carefully collected, used and managed so enough was left in the field to replenish the soil. I am not a very religious man in the normal sense, but to me this was a sign I felt in my soul, a spiritual feeling that I was doing the right thing. I give thanks to the Great Spirit.” ~ My driver and bff Neil Young.
This was a great moment for us. I could have told him he was doing the right thing (and have), but sometimes we all need a sign. xLV
Apr 17
Me and a good friend of mine taking a break from the road and having a chat. x LV
“ Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for -
to look, to listen,
to lose myself
inside this soft world -
to instruct myself
over and over
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant -
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these -
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean’s shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for -
to look, to listen,
to lose myself
inside this soft world -
to instruct myself
over and over
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant -
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these -
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean’s shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?
— “Mindful,” a poem by Mary Oliver. The daily presentations. We’ve got to save Mother Earth, x LV
p.s. It’s National Poetry Month
p.s. It’s National Poetry Month
Apr 16
On the road and lovin’ it … x LV
Apr 15
“ Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.
—
Jack Kerouac, in On The Road.
Actually, Blog, there’s a lot behind me, namely 3 tons! And a lot of history. Every car has a story, you know, and mine goes all the way back to 1959. x LV
Apr 14
