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MM Retro-Write-Up: 1981-1983 DeLorean DMC-12
MM Retro-Write-Up: 1981-1983 DeLorean DMC
IN A NUTSHELL: Great Idea…Poorly-Planned and Executed.
Short of Elon Musk, few figures in the modern auto industry can compare to John DeLorean (and, to me, “Modern” means anything with EFI and computerized system controls). He was a true auto-enthusiast, along the lines of Bob Lutz, and much of what what was to become America’s muscle-car industry owes its existence and growth to his actions at Pontiac in the early 1960s.
In 1963, DeLorean was working at Pontiac as Chief Division Engineer. In response to Chrysler’s powerful 413 Hemi full-size cars, he wanted to stuff the big Pontiac 389 V8 and its triple-carb into a mid-sized Tempest, for a big power-to-weight ratio. Pontiac and GM’s top management said No….despite the success of the Corvette and Chevy Impala SS, GM, in general, was opposed to racing, did not factory-back any of their NASCAR entries, and did not want to be associated with it. DeLorean quietly ignored their ruling, went ahead with the project, and the resulting GTO sold so well, and made so much money for GM, that management not only forgave him for defying them, but, the next year (1965) rewarded him with the top job at Pontiac…..(who says money doesn’t talk?) In fact, were it not for Ford’s fabulously-successful Mustang, also introduced in 1964 by Lee Iacocca at Ford, the GTO probably would have gotten more attention that year than anything else in the American market.
DeLorean went on to completely redo and refine the Pontiac Division….I won’t go into all the details here, except that he generally transformed it from a Oldsmobile clone into GM’s Performance Division, even more so than Chevy. In fact, in the late 1960s, when he was transferred to Chevy, you can just imagine what his reaction was to the Vega, which Ed Cole, GM’s top man, was determined to put into production despite its lackluster and untried engineering.
By 1973, DeLorean had had enough of GM, and, this time, he felt it was time to go his own way and come up with his own company, where he wouldn’t have to answer to any bosses except the government. By 1975, after a worldwide hunt for a new location (and a grant from the British Government that he got by smooth-talking), he chose Northern Ireland as the site of the plant to build the new sports-car that would bear his name. It was a superb idea, but, as was the case with many automotive superb ideas, it was beset by questionable decisions, policies, and actions. First of all, Northern Ireland, at the time, was rocked by cultural and political strife, occupation by British troops, terrorist attacks, an unskilled workforce, and a lack of an established industrial tradition. Second, against the advice of his own engineers, who were concerned about the difficulty of taking care of stainless steel (even though it didn’t rust) he decided on that material for the car’s body…meaning that all of the production cars looked almost exactly alike, without any differentiation in paint color or trim. Third, he also insisted on flip-up/gull-wing doors, even though no manufacturerer up to that time (even Mercedes and its then-superb quality-control and 50s-vintage SL roadster) had ever been able to perfect gull-doors……and DeLorean’s factory was to be no exception, even with electrical door-controls. Fourth, the drivetrain ended up significantly compromised. Originally a center-mounted Rotary-engine was to be used (see my recent write-up on rotary engines with the Mazda RX-7), then, when supplies of European-produced Rotaries ended, a Ford V6 was considered. That did not work out, and the engineers finally decided on a rear-mounted French Citroen drivetrain. But, since the 2.0L Citroen four cylinder did not have enough power (and Citroen did not want to turbocharge the engine for them), they settled on a Peugeot/Volvo/Renault-produced V6, which, at 130 HP and 153 Ft.-lbs. of torque, was not all that much more powerful than the non-turbo four.
The result was an interesting but, by sports-car standards, a rather dull-driving machine with rather poor quality control, doors that often didn’t work properly (Tesla later had the same problem on the Model X), a stainless-steel body that was difficult to care for and showed fingerprints/smudges. Factory personnel were sent to DMC Quality Assurance Centers in the U.S. to train quality-inspectors and make repairs (of which many were often needed) before delivery to customers. DeLorean contracted with the Legend company to do turbocharged versions, but financial problems ultimately prevented that project from succeeding. And the car was considered dangerous if it flipped over and the electrically-operated doors jammed and could not open…….fortunately, the wide stance and low center of gravity tended to suppress roll-overs.
So, not surprisingly, given all these (and other) problems, the company lost money as time went by. DeLorean became more and more desperate for cash, and, of course, this time, he didn’t have the enormous resources and assets of GM at his disposal. Hyperinflation and high unemployment struck the U.S., and much of the world, in the late 1970s, and the world economies tumbled…..except for some of the OPEC countries, who were making plenty of money from high gas prices. DeLorean was eventually caught, in 1982, in an apparent sting, with a suitcase full of illegal cocaine….which gave his cars the nickname “Cocaine-Specials’’ and gave the impression, right or wrong, that he was so desperate for cash that he was dealing in drugs for revenue.
A trial ensued in 1984, DeLorean and his lawyers successfully pleaded entrapment, and the jury acquitted him. But, by then, the damage to his company and reputation had been done, and it went bankrupt. But, out of the ashes, DeLorean and his wife found new life as Born-Again Christians, serving the Lord and working in charities instead of business. He died in 2005 from a stroke, and his tombstone, in Troy, Michigan, bears a likeness of his DMC sports-car on it with the doors open.
Interestingly, some very low-volume production of retro-DeLoreans, using as many of the original or original-spec parts as possible, will soon start in Humble, Texas by a company called DMC-Texas, founded under license by a ex-British car mechanic. About 50 a year will be built, and they will sell for around 100K each.
And, as Always, Happy Vehicle-Memories.
MM
__________________
DRIVING IS BELIEVING
MM Retro-Write-Up: 1981-1983 DeLorean DMC
IN A NUTSHELL: Great Idea…Poorly-Planned and Executed.
Short of Elon Musk, few figures in the modern auto industry can compare to John DeLorean (and, to me, “Modern” means anything with EFI and computerized system controls). He was a true auto-enthusiast, along the lines of Bob Lutz, and much of what what was to become America’s muscle-car industry owes its existence and growth to his actions at Pontiac in the early 1960s.
In 1963, DeLorean was working at Pontiac as Chief Division Engineer. In response to Chrysler’s powerful 413 Hemi full-size cars, he wanted to stuff the big Pontiac 389 V8 and its triple-carb into a mid-sized Tempest, for a big power-to-weight ratio. Pontiac and GM’s top management said No….despite the success of the Corvette and Chevy Impala SS, GM, in general, was opposed to racing, did not factory-back any of their NASCAR entries, and did not want to be associated with it. DeLorean quietly ignored their ruling, went ahead with the project, and the resulting GTO sold so well, and made so much money for GM, that management not only forgave him for defying them, but, the next year (1965) rewarded him with the top job at Pontiac…..(who says money doesn’t talk?) In fact, were it not for Ford’s fabulously-successful Mustang, also introduced in 1964 by Lee Iacocca at Ford, the GTO probably would have gotten more attention that year than anything else in the American market.
DeLorean went on to completely redo and refine the Pontiac Division….I won’t go into all the details here, except that he generally transformed it from a Oldsmobile clone into GM’s Performance Division, even more so than Chevy. In fact, in the late 1960s, when he was transferred to Chevy, you can just imagine what his reaction was to the Vega, which Ed Cole, GM’s top man, was determined to put into production despite its lackluster and untried engineering.
By 1973, DeLorean had had enough of GM, and, this time, he felt it was time to go his own way and come up with his own company, where he wouldn’t have to answer to any bosses except the government. By 1975, after a worldwide hunt for a new location (and a grant from the British Government that he got by smooth-talking), he chose Northern Ireland as the site of the plant to build the new sports-car that would bear his name. It was a superb idea, but, as was the case with many automotive superb ideas, it was beset by questionable decisions, policies, and actions. First of all, Northern Ireland, at the time, was rocked by cultural and political strife, occupation by British troops, terrorist attacks, an unskilled workforce, and a lack of an established industrial tradition. Second, against the advice of his own engineers, who were concerned about the difficulty of taking care of stainless steel (even though it didn’t rust) he decided on that material for the car’s body…meaning that all of the production cars looked almost exactly alike, without any differentiation in paint color or trim. Third, he also insisted on flip-up/gull-wing doors, even though no manufacturerer up to that time (even Mercedes and its then-superb quality-control and 50s-vintage SL roadster) had ever been able to perfect gull-doors……and DeLorean’s factory was to be no exception, even with electrical door-controls. Fourth, the drivetrain ended up significantly compromised. Originally a center-mounted Rotary-engine was to be used (see my recent write-up on rotary engines with the Mazda RX-7), then, when supplies of European-produced Rotaries ended, a Ford V6 was considered. That did not work out, and the engineers finally decided on a rear-mounted French Citroen drivetrain. But, since the 2.0L Citroen four cylinder did not have enough power (and Citroen did not want to turbocharge the engine for them), they settled on a Peugeot/Volvo/Renault-produced V6, which, at 130 HP and 153 Ft.-lbs. of torque, was not all that much more powerful than the non-turbo four.
The result was an interesting but, by sports-car standards, a rather dull-driving machine with rather poor quality control, doors that often didn’t work properly (Tesla later had the same problem on the Model X), a stainless-steel body that was difficult to care for and showed fingerprints/smudges. Factory personnel were sent to DMC Quality Assurance Centers in the U.S. to train quality-inspectors and make repairs (of which many were often needed) before delivery to customers. DeLorean contracted with the Legend company to do turbocharged versions, but financial problems ultimately prevented that project from succeeding. And the car was considered dangerous if it flipped over and the electrically-operated doors jammed and could not open…….fortunately, the wide stance and low center of gravity tended to suppress roll-overs.
So, not surprisingly, given all these (and other) problems, the company lost money as time went by. DeLorean became more and more desperate for cash, and, of course, this time, he didn’t have the enormous resources and assets of GM at his disposal. Hyperinflation and high unemployment struck the U.S., and much of the world, in the late 1970s, and the world economies tumbled…..except for some of the OPEC countries, who were making plenty of money from high gas prices. DeLorean was eventually caught, in 1982, in an apparent sting, with a suitcase full of illegal cocaine….which gave his cars the nickname “Cocaine-Specials’’ and gave the impression, right or wrong, that he was so desperate for cash that he was dealing in drugs for revenue.
A trial ensued in 1984, DeLorean and his lawyers successfully pleaded entrapment, and the jury acquitted him. But, by then, the damage to his company and reputation had been done, and it went bankrupt. But, out of the ashes, DeLorean and his wife found new life as Born-Again Christians, serving the Lord and working in charities instead of business. He died in 2005 from a stroke, and his tombstone, in Troy, Michigan, bears a likeness of his DMC sports-car on it with the doors open.
Interestingly, some very low-volume production of retro-DeLoreans, using as many of the original or original-spec parts as possible, will soon start in Humble, Texas by a company called DMC-Texas, founded under license by a ex-British car mechanic. About 50 a year will be built, and they will sell for around 100K each.
And, as Always, Happy Vehicle-Memories.
MM
__________________
DRIVING IS BELIEVING