Neil Young's 1959 Hybrid Lincoln Continental Sparked Warehouse Fire
Nov. 17th, 2010
The cause of the recent fire which ravaged a warehouse being used by Neil Young has been identified as one of the singer/songwriter's classic cars, authorities have announced.
The offending vehicle, a 1959 Lincoln Continental, had been converted into a hybrid by Young in an effort to promote fuel efficiency.
In a statement (via BBC News), Young has admitted the fire was down to human error. He said, "The wall charging system was not completely tested and had never been left unattended. A mistake was made -- it was not the fault of the car."
Young has vowed to rebuild the car -- dubbed the LinkVolt -- which runs on batteries and a bio-diesel-fuelled generator.
Fire fighters did manage to rescue 70 percent of the singer's possessions at the blaze in San Carlos, San Francisco, but overall damage estimated at $800,000 (£497,600) was caused.
Including the damage to the building, the total cost of the fire is believed to be in the region of $1million (£621,000).