DELOREAN TXT

John Zachary DeLorean got started in the automotive business in the 1950's working for Packard. He was recruited by Pontiac shortly afterwards in 1959. DeLorean was just what Pontiac was looking for, he raised their sales from sixth to third place with the introduction of the Pontiac GTO and Grand Prix. The GTO is considered to be the car that started the infamous "muscle car era" and the Grand Prix is still in production today.

With Ford on the rise, DeLorean was transfered to the Chevrolet management division in 1970. By 1973, Chevy had a record sales of more than three million cars and trucks. DeLorean was promoted to vice president of GM with a $650,000 a year income. GM later offered him the job of president of their car and truck divisions, but he turned the opportunity down and resigned. He wanted to show GM how to build the perfect car.

John DeLorean was already planning his sports car in 1975. By 1979 the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) was started with a factory being constructed in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Giorgette Giugiaro was hired for the car's design work. In early 1981 the first DeLorean DMC-12 rolled off the assembly line. By the end of 1982, the company went bankrupt and shut down.

DeLorean himself was having troubles with the law, contributing to the reasons why the company went under. DeLorean was caught in an FBI sting operation trafficing and attempting to sell narcotics, but was later acquitted on all charges on grounds of entrapment. He is currently retired and living on his estate in New Jersey where there are rumors that a new DeLorean car is being tested.

The DeLorean DMC-12 was made famous mostly by the "Back to the Future" movies where it starred as the "time machine". Exactly 8583 DeLoreans were built in the factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland between the model years of 1981 and 1983. DeLoreans can only be described as unique or stunning. The car used methods and materials never thought of before and was told to be an "ethical sports car".

As mentioned earlier, Giorgette Giugiaro and Lotus did most of the design work, using the Lotus Elan chassis as the base for the car. But the Lotus chassis is about the extent of "normal" features on the DeLorean.

The body is made up of two parts, a fiberglass underbody insulated with a special type of foam for safety, and a #304 stainless steel skin covering the fiberglass. The stainless steel will never rust and is very similar to common kitchen cookware. The chassis was coated with a special enamel to prevent rusting also, but the coating was put on too thick at the factory resulting in cracking, allowing water to seep through. The most eye-catching part of the DeLorean, however, are the exotic gullwing doors. These doors used technology so sophisticated that it was also used on space shuttles and jet fighters. The 90 pound doors are self-opening care of pistons mounted underneath.

Originally, John DeLorean had planned to sell his new sports car for a sticker price of around $12,000 (hence the 12 in DMC-12), but production costs and various other details put the price at $25,000. However, he decided to stick with the original model name of DMC-12.

The DeLorean car didn't have the chance to be all John DeLorean wanted. Many things were cut from the original prototype to meet the deadline and production costs. Among the things left out were dual airbags, which is a shame because the DeLorean would have been the first production car to incorporate them. However, the DeLorean still faired very well in crash tests and was one of the safest vehicles of it's time, mostly do to the protective foam padding behind the fiberglass underbody.

The DeLorean DMC-12 was a very innovative and sophisticated car, including standard features that were uncommon in it's time such as power windows, mirrors, and door locks, rear engine design, and fuel injection. Despite it's limited production numbers, controversial creator, and cut corners, the DeLorean is undoubtebly a great sports car. There will never be another car quite like the DMC-12, even if plans are carried out for the release of the next generation DeLorean. It is a truly unique and interesting car that gathers more attention than any Ferrari, Lamborgini, Porsche or other exotic can ever dream of.