DeLorean returns to production

[Lord Blackadder]

They're only planning to build (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-garage28jul28,1,6560463.story?ctrack=1&cset=true) ~20 cars a year, and the price will probably be high.

Hey, they're still making Morgans, so why not?

I love automotive anachronisms, but hate "kit cars" or repros...does this count as a "real" DeLorean? Does anyone care? :rolleyes::D

Which 1980s car would you like to see return to production?

[leekohler]

They're only planning to build (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-garage28jul28,1,6560463.story?ctrack=1&cset=true) ~20 cars a year, and the price will probably be high.

Hey, they're still making Morgans, so why not?

I love automotive anachronisms, but hate "kit cars" or repros...does this count as a "real" DeLorean? Does anyone care? :rolleyes::D

Which 1980s car would you like to see return to production?

The article requires a password.

[Jaffa Cake]

Which 1980s car would you like to see return to production?I loved this car when I was a nipper back in the 80s...

81179

...I don't know if ejector seats and turbo boost would come as standard, though. ;)

[iGav]

I love automotive anachronisms, but hate "kit cars" or repros...does this count as a "real" DeLorean? Does anyone care? :rolleyes::D

That's a good question.

As far as I'm aware they own the rights to the De Lorean name, and the original drawings... so yes. They'd qualify as a real De Lorean.

Which 1980s car would you like to see return to production?

Ford RS200.

[atari1356]

But will it look like this:

http://www.ryanwright.com/delorean/ext1.jpg


or this?

http://www.hvtm.hu/car/m/delorean/005462.jpg

[mad jew]

I'd want the Lamborghini Countach.

[johnee]

The article requires a password.

I just LOVE the "BugMeNot" extension for firefox!

For the DeLorean, it's back to the present
The iconic gull-winged sports car is once again hot, and there are plans afoot to place it back in production.
By Martin Zimmerman, Times Staff Writer
July 28, 2007

Danny Botkin's love affair with the DeLorean got off to an unpromising start.

It was the early '80s and a teen-age Botkin was tagging along while his father shopped for a new car. A Ford dealer had a rear-engined, gull-winged DeLorean on display, and the flash of stainless steel automotive skin caught Danny's eye.

"I was smitten," Botkin, now 40, recalls. "I said, 'Hey Dad, let's get this.'

"He got a Bronco instead."

Botkin had to grow up and buy his dream car himself. He drives a restored DeLorean modeled after the one that served as a time machine in the 1980s blockbuster "Back to the Future."

He also manages a repair and refurbishing shop in Garden Grove that's affiliated with DeLorean Motor Co. (Texas), a suburban Houston company that rebuilds DeLoreans and is laying plans to bring the car back into limited production.

The last DeLorean rolled off the assembly line in Northern Ireland in 1982. But like Duran Duran, the Rubik's Cube and other Reagan-era icons, the car retains a following.

Of the 9,000 built in 1981 and 1982, about 6,500 are still on the road, according to James Espey, vice president of DeLorean Motor. Enthusiasts gather at clubs from Cleveland to Norway. An event next week at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park is expected to attract more than a hundred DeLoreans.

"People of all ages are interested in this car," says Espey, a San Diego native. "Kids who can't tell you what a Camaro is come through here on tours because they've seen 'Back to the Future.' "

From the start, the DeLorean seemed destined for cult status. Its gull-wing doors and rakish lines stood out in an auto market that was still living down the AMC Pacer. And the stainless steel exterior looked like it belonged on a jet fighter.

Then there was the man himself. John DeLorean had been a rising star at General Motors Corp. in the 1960s — he's credited with conceiving the GTO and the Firebird — when he decided to chuck it all and start his own car company. (He'd already shed the button-down GM lifestyle, opting for flashy clothes, styled hair and celebutante girlfriends.)

Despite his attention-grabbing persona and product, DeLorean couldn't sell enough of the $25,000 cars to stay afloat. By 1982, his company was in receivership. He hit rock bottom that year when he was busted on charges of cocaine trafficking. He was acquitted, but the ordeal in effect ended his business career. He died in March 2005.

DeLorean's car would live on, thanks primarily to "Back to the Future," the top-grossing film of 1985. Ditching their original idea of using an old refrigerator as a time machine, the scriptwriters opted for a modified DeLorean because of its futuristic look, particularly the doors, according to co-writer Bob Gale.

The movie made Michael J. Fox a star — and launched the DeLorean pop cult.

"John DeLorean wrote us a fan letter after the movie came out: 'Thank you for keeping my dream alive,' " Gale recalls. "Probably half of the people who own DeLoreans today own them because they saw 'Back to the Future.' "

The enduring appeal of the car keeps Espey's Texas shop and its affiliates busy.

Espey's company acquired the parts and engines that were left over after DeLorean's company went belly up; it also owns the trademarks and many of the engineering drawings.

Espey's 20-person operation handles a dozen or so rebuilds a year and has an eight-month waiting list. (Buying and restoring a used DeLorean will cost you about $25,000; they'll strip one to the frame and completely rebuild it for a base price of $42,500.)

At DeLorean Motor Co. (California) in Garden Grove, there are 15 cars in for service or refurbishing at any given time, Botkin says.

With 200 of the original 2.8-liter V-6 engines still in stock and facing a dwindling supply of cars suitable for rebuilding, Espey figures that within a year or so they'll start making the cars from scratch.

Their manufacturing plans are modest — maybe 20 or so cars a year. But it would be quite a comeback for a car that was given up for dead more than a quarter of a century ago.

And based on the reaction Botkin gets when he takes his "BTTF" DeLorean out for a spin, there's a market out there.

"I can't park it without attracting a pile of people," he says. "We like to cruise up and down PCH just to get people's reactions.

"It's a smile maker."

martin.zimmerman@latimes.com

[2nyRiggz]

Hey as long as it run on jiggawat I'm cool with it...maybe a little more than 1.1 these days



Bless

[iGav]

I'd want the Lamborghini Countach.

That's the '70's fella. ;)

[Markleshark]

Which 1980s car would you like to see return to production?

The original Mini Cooper. :D Which admittedly was the 60's

But they still made them in the 80s. ;)

[mad jew]

That's the '70's fella. ;)


Okay. I thought they were still made in the eighties. :o

[overcast]

Hey as long as it run on jiggawat I'm cool with it...maybe a little more than 1.1 these days



Bless
1.21 Gigawatt

[PlaceofDis]

interesting. but at the price of production i don't see that many will be sold. it seems that it'll end up being quite a niche market. but kudos to them for their work.

[Sdashiki]

$25k is not that much for a DeLorean...

[applehero]

Okay. I thought they were still made in the eighties. :o

I thought the same. Still a sweet ride I'd like to see make a comeback. Lamborghini has been lacking in some style since...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Countach

[johnee]

$25k is not that much for a DeLorean...

it was the 80s, there was a lot of coke to buy.

[ErikCLDR]

Mini Coopers and the Jaguar XJ from the 80's are cool.

I saw a Delorean in Ireland. I was amazed.

[iGav]

Okay. I thought they were still made in the eighties. :o

That's when they ruined them with those body kits. *shudders*

[PlaceofDis]

$25k is not that much for a DeLorean...

total rebuild starts at $45k unless i'm reading that wrong.

[overcast]

interesting. but at the price of production i don't see that many will be sold. it seems that it'll end up being quite a niche market. but kudos to them for their work.
Uh, it was ALWAYS a niche market. They will sell PLENTY.

[xUKHCx]

I just LOVE the "BugMeNot" extension for firefox!

Thanks for the 'up on this extension.

[combatcolin]

Keep the styling the same, but please use modern parts were possible.

And employ people who actually know what there doing to build the thing.

The workers of Belfast may be able to knock out liners and battleships in there sleep, but when the Thatcher government and De lorean asked them to build sports cars............:rolleyes:

[Swarmlord]

Well, I hope they don't go the route that Altman Enterprises did when they reissued the Studebaker Avanti as the Avanti II. By the time the last revisions were made to update the design of the car, it looked horrid.

[combatcolin]

With the exception of the gull wing doors and the cool stainless steel unpainted bodywork the De Lorean is quite under powered and not that good a drive.

Anyway, I've often wondered why no company has made an affordable sports car car with gull wing doors since, probably the easiest way for a new car to stand out in the crowd.

[NATO]

The workers of Belfast may be able to knock out liners and battleships in there sleep, but when the Thatcher government and De lorean asked them to build sports cars............:rolleyes:

I sincerely hope you're joking because the failure of DeLorean had nothing to do with Belfast's ability to build the cars, I think there are quite a few reasons it failed *cough* John De Lorean *cough*, but none of them have anything to do with Belfast. What happened would have happened if the car was built in England, or anywhere for that matter.

[Cassie]

That's the '70's fella. ;)

Okay. I thought they were still made in the eighties. :o

I thought the same. Still a sweet ride I'd like to see make a comeback. Lamborghini has been lacking in some style since...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Countach

The Countach has since practically become a symbol for the 1980s, and is widely considered to be one of the most recognizable cars of all time.

:)

[mark!]

They're only planning to build (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-garage28jul28,1,6560463.story?ctrack=1&cset=true) ~20 cars a year, and the price will probably be high.

Hey, they're still making Morgans, so why not?

I love automotive anachronisms, but hate "kit cars" or repros...does this count as a "real" DeLorean? Does anyone care? :rolleyes::D

20 cars a year? I wonder how much profit they'll have because I doubt it's worth it.


Which 1980s car would you like to see return to production?

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/8744/frlejpglc4.jpg
(click)

the bmw e28! (1982-1988)

[Lord Blackadder]

Oops, sorry about the link. :o

I think they're "real" DeLoreans, since DMC Houston has bought the intellectual rights & so forth. As for the price, it's probably not an issue for a real enthusiast.

Hard to say what my favorite 80's car would be...I like the Porsche 930 (911 Turbo), as well as the E30 BMW M3...or maybe the Audi Quattro?

...Hmm, why all the German cars all the sudden? ;)

[combatcolin]

I sincerely hope you're joking because the failure of DeLorean had nothing to do with Belfast's ability to build the cars, I think there are quite a few reasons it failed *cough* John De Lorean *cough*, but none of them have anything to do with Belfast. What happened would have happened if the car was built in England, or anywhere for that matter.

John De Lorean hawked the car around a bit, including Ireland, the Irish government looked at his plans and laughed him out of the country.

The Thatcher government was desperate to try and solve the unemployment problem and of course the "troubles" in Northern Ireland at the time and took every word De Lorean spoke as gospel.

Belfast had at the time a large base of highly killed ship builders, and it was thought by politicians that this skill could be transferred into car manufacturing, despite there being no real history of car building.


Its not that the workers from Belfast were lazy or incompetent - they were just being asked to throw away a lifetime experience in ship building and start all over again in car manufacturing.

There was a very good BBC documentary about the De Lorean repeated shortly after his death, focused on the man and the company as well as the car and the film.

As for building the cars in Britain, i have to disagree with you.

Britain had, and still has, a highly skilled base of small car manufacturers pumping out exotic, individual and mostly expensive small production run sports cars.

It was simply that the British government at the time wanted the big investment in an low employment and scarred Northern Ireland.

[combatcolin]

Link to the BBC documentary web page, although the actual documentry isn't available to download.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/delorean.shtml

Did get some of my dates wrong, the decision to invest in Northern Ireland was made before Margaret Thatcher's government.

Interesting Wiki article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Lorean_Motor_Company

[it5five]

When I was younger one of my neighbors had a DeLorean. He usually never took it out of his garage, but one time he drove me and my brother around in it for a few minutes.

[true777]

I think it was one of the coolest, sexiest cars ever built.
However, I don't see the point of re-building a 20 year-old design.
If you bought one of the new ones it just wouldn't feel like the real thing; it would always feel like a replica.

I wish they had the $$ to hire one of the world's top car designers -- someone like Fisker (designer of the Aston Martin DB9 and Vantage) -- to come up with a design that's as close as possible to the original and pays tribute to the car's grand heritage while taking it to the current millennium.

[NATO]

John De Lorean hawked the car around a bit, including Ireland, the Irish government looked at his plans and laughed him out of the country.

The Thatcher government was desperate to try and solve the unemployment problem and of course the "troubles" in Northern Ireland at the time and took every word De Lorean spoke as gospel.

Belfast had at the time a large base of highly killed ship builders, and it was thought by politicians that this skill could be transferred into car manufacturing, despite there being no real history of car building.


Its not that the workers from Belfast were lazy or incompetent - they were just being asked to throw away a lifetime experience in ship building and start all over again in car manufacturing.

There was a very good BBC documentary about the De Lorean repeated shortly after his death, focused on the man and the company as well as the car and the film.

As for building the cars in Britain, i have to disagree with you.

Britain had, and still has, a highly skilled base of small car manufacturers pumping out exotic, individual and mostly expensive small production run sports cars.

It was simply that the British government at the time wanted the big investment in an low employment and scarred Northern Ireland.

I see where you're coming from, but I think you have the wrong end of the stick personally. The collapse of the DeLorean Motor Company was more to do with John De Lorean himself and the way the business was run rather than the location of the factory. It could have been built in Tahiti and the company would still have collapsed. The problem was the financial side of things, I get the impression that you believe the problem was more to do with Belfast's lack of experience in car building rather than the fact the DeLorean Motor Company was a disaster in terms of how it was run.

The British government of course didn't exactly think things through it must be said :rolleyes:

[Anorak]

But will it look like this:

http://www.ryanwright.com/delorean/ext1.jpg


or this?

http://www.hvtm.hu/car/m/delorean/005462.jpg

That looks an awful lot like the Lamborghini Gallardo.

[combatcolin]

And so does this...

mock up of the new 2008 Lotus Esprit - Underwater kit + Anti Helicopter missiles optional extra.

[combatcolin]

Car Crash, the documentry about the De lorean that i was banging on about earlier in this thread is being repeated.

BBC 4 10 PM and 1.10AM

"please delete me let me go"

[zen.state]

Non-walking planet killers rejoice!

[bousozoku]

This has to be the worst idea ever. That car was one of the worst and ugliest but the PRV engine certainly helped to finish it.

I'd rather have a Pacer. :p

[Abstract]

Does the optional flux capacitor still go into the back-seat?


1.21 Gigawatt

Actually, I think it really was JigaWatts.

[OscarTheGrouch]

With the exception of the gull wing doors and the cool stainless steel unpainted bodywork the De Lorean is quite under powered and not that good a drive.

Anyway, I've often wondered why no company has made an affordable sports car car with gull wing doors since, probably the easiest way for a new car to stand out in the crowd.


Cause billy joe would never be able to get out of the car at wal-mart.