Ah, Now This Car I Know:
Of course you do. If you didn’t – to paraphrase Al Pacino’s character in Glengarry Glen Ross – you would have "never lived a day in your life". A DeLorean was Marty McFly’s set of wheels from the Back To The Future (DVDs) films. Even your mum knows that.
The DMC-12, to give the car its proper title, was conceived by a hugely overpaid former General Motors engineer (and eventual VP) called John DeLorean. This is back in 1981 when people still named stuff after themselves (ever heard of Mr iPod?). However this is not always such a good omen. The DeLorean car factory actually closed down in 1982. No, you’re not reading that wrong – it’s an 8.
Bummer About That. It Did Fly Though, Right?:
You might have hoped so with those bat-like gullwing doors, but no it didn’t. Nevertheless the open-upwards doors did mean you could park right close to another car in the local multistory without sheering off your nose as you got out.
At its launch the DMC-12 was both woefully dated and somewhat ahead of its time. It might have looked modern with its Italian styling (tweaked by Lotus), but this couldn’t disguise shoddy build quality that would have made even Amstrad cringe.
Shame, because the DMC-12’s potential was there; rear wheel drive, two seater, powered by a big fat V6 and low enough to fit under stationary buses. It was killed by an appalling lack of attention to detail. The little things like cheapo alternators being fitted that caused the radiator to leak and overheat the engine. This was not a level of quality control ever likely to bother Ferrari or Porsche (the little DeLorean’s main competitors), and with presumptuous good reason because it never did.
If it wasn’t for Back to the Future, the DMC-12 would be about as famous as Alistair Hodges. It was only chosen for the film because of its revolutionary all-steel bodywork, thus enabling the car to conduct lightening and be hurled through time dragging short-arse Michael J. Fox with it. The DeLorean couldn’t really go through time though. It was just director Robert Zemeckis paying proper attention to the script notes. Movies aren’t real. The Diary Of Anne Frank (DVDs) is bollocks for a start.
What Aren’t You Telling Me Here?:
The juicy stuff, naturally. We’ve been saving it…
John DeLorean was arrested for cocaine dealing charges in 1982, apparently in an attempt to save his failing factory. He was never convicted due to a lack of evidence.
The DeLorean factory (figuratively) collapsed because it was building a hopeless car that couldn’t go into reverse gear without invalidating its warranty. But matters were not helped by ‘financial irregularities‘ also dogging any chance the company had of outliving the lull. Quite apart from all the cocaine allegations, John DeLorean was no saintly Irishman. In fact when DeLorean died earlier this year of stroke complications he was still wanted in the UK on fraud charges. Not exactly the Enzo Ferrari story, is it?
Tell Me About Cult Followings:
The DMC-12’s saving grace for definite. The Back to the Future trilogy cemented a cult following like nothing else could. However even before the first film’s release back in 1985 the DeLorean was still gaining some ground in the popularity stakes. It appears everyone loves a trier, even if their efforts are shit.
It’s an 80’s icon, the DMC-12, like jade green or Timmy Mallet. You might even have spotted its fleeting appearance in recent-ish Adam Sandler comedy The Wedding Singer (DVDs). If you did, jolly well done. Collect an extra £50 as you pass go.
I Can’t Afford a Mercedes SLR, But I Do Love Those Gullwing Doors:
Then a DeLorean is most definitely for you. They are not impossible cars to find either. Most examples have been lovingly cared for by their confirmed bachelor owners and rarely see a wet day.
We have (sort of) found one on eBay that seems rather nice. It would certainly be good to tow, sorry take, to a school reunion party. You can even marry your car in some countries. Just a thought.
The DeLorean DMC-12: Probably not going to revived by BMW any time soon.
[story by Chris Laverty]
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
THE Delorean-DMC-12, a little peice of motor history,i even saw one a few weeks back, looked at it for about one min, then carried on,that was the problem it never made a impact, at the right time,unfortunately john Delorean was allways in the limelight, more than his car ever was,
Hey Man – I saw this one on a Sky One prog recently – total shit cars indeed – were they made from plastic, certainly looked like they were!? Keep ‘um coming.
actually this is a great car, it was engineered by lotus and had italian styling but it’s crap like this that gives it a bad name “cheapo alternators being fitted that caused the radiator to leak and overheat the engine”. How can an alternator make the radiator leak? yeah and Henry Ford named his car company after himself, who cares. John Delorean never sold cocaine he was entrapped by the british government. this website has the real reason why the delorean factory closed http://www.deloreancarshow.com/jzd/index.htm
when you start your own car company then you will have room to talk.