DeLorean: The Man, The Car, The People

Most of you will be familiar with the DeLorean DMC-12 from its notable presence as a time machine in the Back To The Future movies. I myself have actually sat behind the wheel of one of these eccentric automobiles once, because a friend of mine — he collects and restores classic cars — happens to own one of them. However, there is far more to this iconic automobile and its history than you might think.

Conceived by John DeLorean to have unpainted stainless steel bodywork, gull-wing doors and a rear-mounted engine, the DMC-12 went into production in Northern Ireland in 1981, even though the car was mainly intended for the US American market. At first, things went rather well, and the dealers couldn't keep up with the incoming orders. Later on however, the whole car industry went through somewhat of a trough, and this was no different for the DeLorean Motor Corporation. Furthermore, the factory in Northern Ireland also had to struggle with the ongoing riots between political activists and the British military over there at the time.

This was also the time of the reign of Ronald Reagan in the US and of Margaret Thatcher in the UK, who had jointly declared a war on drugs, which they sought to make into a political statement by implicating a high profile figure. They knew that John DeLorean was in need of more money, so the FBI set him up in a sting operation. DeLorean was tricked into a supposedly very lucrative business arrangement, so that he could pour the financial profits of that deal into the DeLorean Motor Corporation.

It was only later that John DeLorean found out that this lucrative business arrangement was in fact a cocaine trafficking operation, and when he then wanted to pull out of the deal again, he was threatened with the life of his daughter, so he was forced to stay on. Ultimately then, he was arrested by the FBI, with a video of him being shown the cocaine by his "business partner" as evidence. And thus ended the short but troubled life of the original DeLorean Motor Corporation and its iconic DMC-12...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt5X83NA-pE

Sounds more to me like Bush's car industry lobbyists wanted DeLorean out of the industry by any means neccessary. He was too successful and threatening the "status quo" at the time.

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Originally posted by jcocks

Sounds more to me like Bush's car industry lobbyists wanted DeLorean out of the industry by any means neccessary. He was too successful and threatening the "status quo" at the time.

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That is entirely possible. The thought actually crossed my mind. Remember Preston Tucker and his Tucker 48, also nicknamed "the Tucker Torpedo"? ;)

: Sherlock:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...awk_Museum.jpg

Like Tesla, this wasn't business to have a car that will last and run after such a long time. I can really imagine how that worked out for him. I can see how it was an insult to have the movie "Back to the future" use it as a feature car.

In my opinion it's stupid to shut out efficient, long-lasting products because 'you can't make enough money'. If people are actually creative, they'll come up with ways to make money with or surrounding the use of these long lasting commodities. A robust economic system would promote this kind of creativity.

It would be better than profit at the expense of communities, the land, people, even the long term economy. We're becoming one-dimensional with our capitalism and it'll be our ruin. imo.

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Originally posted by Dreamtimer

In my opinion it's stupid to shut out efficient, long-lasting products because 'you can't make enough money'. [...]

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Well, the DeLorean DMC-12 wasn't necessarily efficient or long-lasting, other than that it was less prone to rusting due to the stainless steel bodywork. But its engine and drive train were not exactly out of the ordinary for the day — it had a conventional V8 power plant. I think that the Reagan and Thatcher administrations really did just mean to sacrifice John DeLorean in order to make a political statement.

The story with Tucker was quite a different thing, though. The Tucker Torpedo was the first car to come standard equipped with seatbelts, and it had a third headlight — mounted in the center of the front fascia — which swivelled with the front wheels, so that you could always clearly see where you were going. The car was also extremely safe and robust, as crash tests have shown. However, in Tucker's case, it was the Big Three of Detroit — Ford, General Motors and Chrysler — who wanted him out of business, and just as J.P. Morgan did with Nikola Tesla, they ruined him.

There's a movie about the rise and fall of Preston Tucker, called "Tucker: The Man And His Dream", starring Jeff Bridges in the leading role. It pretty much tells the story as it really happened. ;)

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Originally posted by Dreamtimer

We're becoming one-dimensional with our capitalism and it'll be our ruin. imo.

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Capitalism is a competitive, wasteful, predatory and hopelessly self-deluding religion, and thus by definition evil. ;)

Interesting that you call it a religion, Aragorn. I've recently come to the conclusion that my brother's religions are politics and football. People speak in religious manners when they speak of politics. When I challenge beliefs it quickly turns into something wrong with me.

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Originally posted by Dreamtimer

Interesting that you call it a religion, Aragorn. I've recently come to the conclusion that my brother's religions are politics and football. People speak in religious manners when they speak of politics. When I challenge beliefs it quickly turns into something wrong with me.

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The real religion is money. Most worship money above all else. Sports and politics are all about money in essence. They provide drama to make it seem that is not the case.

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Originally posted by Aragorn

That is entirely possible. The thought actually crossed my mind. Remember Preston Tucker and his Tucker 48, also nicknamed "the Tucker Torpedo"? ;)

: Sherlock:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...awk_Museum.jpg

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Now THAT is a car. Stunning!

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Originally posted by modwiz

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Originally posted by Aragorn

Remember Preston Tucker and his Tucker 48, also nicknamed "the Tucker Torpedo"? ;)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...awk_Museum.jpg

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Now THAT is a car. Stunning!

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Beautiful, isn't it? It was introduced in 1948, and it used a six-cylinder helicopter engine, converted to being horizontally mounted, and housed in the rear of the vehicle. So what was under the front bonnet of the car was actually the luggage compartment. ;)

And if you would like to see all of them — only a small number of them have been built — then I heartily recommend that you find and watch the movie "Tucker: The Man And His Dream". They used all of the still existing Tucker Torpedos — in all of their glorious metallic finish colors — for making the movie. Here's a couple more... ;)

http://www.angelfire.com/alt/tuckertorpedo/vintage3.jpg

http://images.hgmsites.net/lrg/the-1...00379414_l.jpg

http://cdn.barrett-jackson.com/stagi...ar_3-4_Web.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...8511815871.jpg

There's a scene where Preston Tucker has to stand trial for supposedly having wasted all of his money on a non-existing project, and his wife and associates then line up all the cars they've built around the courthouse as evidence of his innocence. Sadly enough, the judge wouldn't look out the window — if my memory serves me right.

I have seen this movie only once or twice, and it was in the late 1980s. I was watching it with my dad, and he had been an automotive mechanic. He loved this kind of cars, and he remembered the Tucker and its short-lived history very well.

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Originally posted by Aragorn

Beautiful, isn't it? It was introduced in 1948, and it used a six-cylinder helicopter engine, converted to being horizontally mounted, and housed in the rear of the vehicle. So what was under the front bonnet of the car was actually the luggage compartment. ;)

And if you would like to see all of them — only a small number of them have been built — then I heartily recommend that you find and watch the movie "Tucker: The Man And His Dream". They used all of the still existing Tucker Torpedos — in all of their glorious metallic finish colors — for making the movie. Here's a couple more... ;)

http://www.angelfire.com/alt/tuckertorpedo/vintage3.jpg

http://images.hgmsites.net/lrg/the-1...00379414_l.jpg

http://cdn.barrett-jackson.com/stagi...ar_3-4_Web.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...8511815871.jpg

There's a scene where Preston Tucker has to stand trial for supposedly having wasted all of his money on a non-existing project, and his wife and associates then line up all the cars they've built around the courthouse as evidence of his innocence. Sadly enough, the judge wouldn't look out the window — if my memory serves me right.

I have seen this movie only once or twice, and it was in the late 1980s. I was watching it with my dad, and he had been an automotive mechanic. He loved this kind of cars, and he remembered the Tucker and its short-lived history very well.

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Hmm. It would appear the judge was paid by certain people to not look out the window. Something about it being difficult to understand something when a paycheck is dependent on one not understanding that something.

I have to say, out justice system is aptly named. Criminal Justice System, a justice system run by criminals.:ireful:

BTW. Thanks for more pictures of this beautiful car.

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Originally posted by modwiz

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Originally posted by Aragorn

Beautiful, isn't it? It was introduced in 1948, and it used a six-cylinder helicopter engine, converted to being horizontally mounted, and housed in the rear of the vehicle. So what was under the front bonnet of the car was actually the luggage compartment. ;)

And if you would like to see all of them — only a small number of them have been built — then I heartily recommend that you find and watch the movie "Tucker: The Man And His Dream". They used all of the still existing Tucker Torpedos — in all of their glorious metallic finish colors — for making the movie. [...]

There's a scene where Preston Tucker has to stand trial for supposedly having wasted all of his money on a non-existing project, and his wife and associates then line up all the cars they've built around the courthouse as evidence of his innocence. Sadly enough, the judge wouldn't look out the window — if my memory serves me right.

I have seen this movie only once or twice, and it was in the late 1980s. I was watching it with my dad, and he had been an automotive mechanic. He loved this kind of cars, and he remembered the Tucker and its short-lived history very well.

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Hmm. It would appear the judge was paid by certain people to not look out the window. Something about ir being difficult to understand something when a paycheck is dependent on one not understanding that something.

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Oh yes. The Big Three in Detroit didn't want Preston Tucker playing around in their backyard, so they made sure that he had all the bad luck in the world, and then they tipped off the justice system that Tucker was supposedly embezzling money.

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Originally posted by modwiz

I have to say, out justice system is aptly named. Criminal Justice System, a justice system run by criminals.:ireful:

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Well, in the USA, judges and prosecutors are elected officials, which means that, like with politicians, they are ambitious. Over here in Belgium, judges and prosecutors are merely public servants, and they are appointed by the Justice Department based upon their knowledge and understanding of the law, which is empirically tested by way of written exams.

Of course, that still doesn't mean that a judge over here cannot be bribed, or may not have any secret dealings going on. But it'll be less prevalent than in the USA.