Neil Young Steering His '59 Lincoln Green

Neil Young has shifted gear in his quest to make the world a better place, reports the AP. The Canadian rock legend known for his protest songs is working with a Wichita mechanic to convert his 1959 Lincoln Continental to run on an electric battery. Young hopes the prototype could be a model for the world's first affordable, mass-market electric car.

"You know, I thought long ago you could change the world by writing songs," the rocker said. "Oh, you can inspire a few people, get some of them to change their thinking about something. But you can't change the world by writing songs. But we could change it with this car." (More Neil Young stories.)