Car Developer John DeLorean Dies at 80
AP (via Yahoo) ^ | 3/20/05 | JEFFREY GOLD, Associated Press Writer

Posted on 03/20/2005 10:35:27 AM PST by Mr. Mojo

NEWARK, N.J. - John Z. DeLorean, the innovative automaker who left a promising career in Detroit to develop the stainless steel-skinned, gull-winged sports car bearing his name and was acquitted of charges he planned to sell $24 million worth of cocaine to support the venture, has died at the age of 80.

DeLorean died Saturday at Overlook Hospital in Summit, N.J., of complications from a recent stroke, said Paul Connell, an owner of A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors in Royal Oak, Mich., which was handling arrangements.

DeLorean, whose namesake car was turned into a time machine in the "Back to the Future" movies, was among just a handful of U.S. entrepreneurs who dared start a car company in the last 75 years.

DeLorean "broke the mold" of staid Midwestern auto executives by pushing General Motors Corp. to offer smaller models, auto historians said.

While at GM, he created what some consider the first "muscle car" in 1964 by cramming a V-8 engine into a Pontiac Tempest and calling it the GTO.

Although he was a rising if unconventional executive at GM, and was believed by many to be destined for its presidency, he quit in 1973 to launch the DeLorean Motor Car Co. in Northern Ireland.

Eight years later, the DeLorean DMC-12 hit the streets with its unpainted stainless steel skin and gull-wing doors.

Its angular design earned it a cult following, and the car was a time-traveling vehicle for Michael J. Fox in the "Back to the Future" films of the late 1980s.

However, the factory produced only about 8,900 cars in three years, estimated John Truscott, membership director of the DeLorean Owners Association.

DeLorean's company collapsed in 1983, a year after he was arrested in Los Angeles, accused in a sting of conspiring to sell $24 million of cocaine to salvage the company.

DeLorean used an entrapment defense to win acquittal on the drug charges in 1984, despite a surveillance videotape in which he was shown calling a suitcase full of cocaine "good as gold."

He was later cleared of defrauding his investors, but continuing legal entanglements kept him on the sidelines of the automotive world. He declared bankruptcy in 1999.

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2000 Ford 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4
2006 Mazda Tribute
1983 Black 300 D (donated to charity)
1993 Teal 300 D (160K) Sold
"I love the smell of burnt diesel fuel in the morning, it smells like ....VICTORY"

Semper Fidelis
USMC 1973-1976

Mr. Pontiac GTO, Ram Air 4, Super duty engine 73-74
R.I.P

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Rich

1990 300CE
71 Chevelle SS 454

Well,the guy had a great life until the fatal compromise with his car,and his battles with "snow",so let him rest with the angels.

He did have some choice ass to his credit though.

Lest we forget,the car to which he gave his name did NOT have a stainless steel body but a very thin stainless veneer on fibreglass,wrinkles a bit with age.

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There was a recent DeLorean documentary on cable, either one of the "True" channels or it was Trio, I can't remember. Pretty interesting. He fell short of most of the goals for the car. It was supposed to be a sports car that would sell for under 20K in the early 80's, but ended up being almost twice that, and was underpowered with a Renault 6 as I recall. It actually loks interesting. When I lived in Chicago, there was a guy who had one up the street from me. He had it painted red, and it actually looked kind of cool.

I believe there is one made out of gold, sitting in the lobby of a bank some where in Texas.

Great looking car, stay a way from the early models.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

My first type of car I was into was DeLoreans. At one time I knew just about everything there was to know on the history of the car. Not anymore though.

8,583 made, 3 of which were gold plated. one in snyder texas, one in reno, nevada and one in cumberland, maryland.

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1980 500SE/AMG Euro
1981 500SEL Euro
1982 380SEL
1983 300TD
1983 500SEC/AMG Euro
1984 500SEC
1984 300TD Euro
1986 190E 2.3-16
1986 190E 2.3
1987 300D
1997 C36 AMG
2003 C320T 4matic

past: 1969 280SE 4.5 | 1978 240D | 1978 300D | 1981 300SD | 1981 300SD | 1982 300CD | 1983 300CD | 1983 300SD | 1983 380SEC | 1984 300D | 1984 300D | 1984 300TD | 1984 500SEL | 1984 300SD | 1985 300D | 1986 300E | 1986 560SEL | 1986 560SEL/Carat | 1987 560SEC | 1991 300D 2.5 | 2006 R350

Don't think there were any "late" models to speak of since they weren't made for more than just a couple of years.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

He truly was an innovator, it's to bad that drug deal completely ruined his reputation.

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Adam Lumsden
(83) 300D
Vice-President of the MBCA International Stars Section

Yeah, its a shame he passed. Most people I would talk to thought he was still in jail. He only served 10 days before being aquitted on all 9 charges.

The "early models" were the first batch of 81's. the vin split was somewhere around the 7,000 range, 82's picked up in the 10 to 11,000 #'s.

All in all they were only produced a year and a half. Something like June or July 81 to Dec 24 1982.

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1980 500SE/AMG Euro
1981 500SEL Euro
1982 380SEL
1983 300TD
1983 500SEC/AMG Euro
1984 500SEC
1984 300TD Euro
1986 190E 2.3-16
1986 190E 2.3
1987 300D
1997 C36 AMG
2003 C320T 4matic

past: 1969 280SE 4.5 | 1978 240D | 1978 300D | 1981 300SD | 1981 300SD | 1982 300CD | 1983 300CD | 1983 300SD | 1983 380SEC | 1984 300D | 1984 300D | 1984 300TD | 1984 500SEL | 1984 300SD | 1985 300D | 1986 300E | 1986 560SEL | 1986 560SEL/Carat | 1987 560SEC | 1991 300D 2.5 | 2006 R350

I'll never forget sitting in front of the T.V. as a little boy, watching the rear door of Dr. Emmit L. Brown's utility van lower, as the infamous DeLorean slowly rolled out of the truck and down the ramp, revealing its agressive demeanor as the dry ice "smoke" that filled the air parted to either side of the car.

When I was little I though that the DeLorean was THE car. I had always wanted one after seeing that movie. R.I.P. Mr. Delorean!

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Nate

1995 E420
1992 BMW 525i
1984 300D Turbo sold
1993 Volvo 244 sold
1995 Volvo 944T R.I.P!


"The details are not details. They make the product."
-Charles Eames

www.cbs.nu

This story happened about 11-12 years ago. I was having lunch at the food court in the Bridgewater Commons Mall in Somerset, NJ. A very distingushed gentleman in a fancy shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots sat at a table across from me. Now I have seen DeLorean pictures in the past and he married a beautiful model, I forgot her name. He was eating just some french fries. Here I am staring at him because I try to recall this familiar face. He must have realized that I was looking at him. After he finished his fries, he got up and left. I was pondering whether this is the lengendary Pontiac man. Some time later, The Star Ledger wrote a lengthy article about DeLorean and his estate in NJ. I finally could convince myself that the gentleman I saw at the food court was indeed DeLorean. He sure did not looked 68 back then, more like 60 the most. I regretted that I did not go up to him to say hello. It's amazing that I remember his clothes and his boots vividly

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Flash Gordon

2003 E500 BlackOpal/Charcoal

2004 Infiniti G35X

I bet the so-called drug charges were a conspiracy brought on by the "big 3". Remember the "Tucker" of 1948? Preston Tucker created a car very inovative for the time. There was a conspiracy created by the big US automakers then as well that bankrupted Tucker. Not drug related and it didn't put Tucker in jail but it ruined him.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012