DeLorean Motor Company

The DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) was an American

The DeLorean was featured in the Back to the Future film trilogy (1985, 1989, and 1990) as the car made into a time machine by eccentric scientist Doc Brown, although the company had closed before the first film was made.

In 1995, Liverpool-born mechanic Stephen Wynne founded the DeLorean Motor Company (Texas),^[5] an entirely new company not related to the original, located in Humble, Texas, and shortly thereafter acquired the remaining parts inventory,^[6][7] and registered his own stylized version of the "DMC" logo trademark of DeLorean Motor Company (Texas).^[8]

History

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Beginning

John DeLorean founded the DeLorean Motor Company in

In October 1978, construction of the six-building, 660,000 sq ft (61,000 m²) manufacturing plant began in Northern Ireland. It was designed and managed by Brodie & Hawthorn Architects of Belfast, and constructed in 16 months by Farrans, McLaughlin & Harvey. A test/proving track was also constructed next to the factory. Officially known as DMCL (DeLorean Motor Cars, Ltd.), the facility was located in The Cutts in Dunmurry, a suburb on the south-western edge of Belfast.

The combined efforts of quality assurance improvements at the factory and the post-production quality assurance done at the QACs were generally successful, although workmanship complaints still occasionally arose; the 1981 DeLoreans were delivered with a 12-month, 12,000 mi (19,000 km) warranty. By 1982, improvements in components and the more experienced workforce meant that production quality was vastly improved. Disputes between dealerships and customers arose later because many dealerships refused to do warranty work because they were not reimbursed.

Downturn and bankruptcy

The lack of demand,

John DeLorean lobbied the British Government for aid, but was refused unless he was able to find a matching amount from other investors. What followed is a matter of debate between the British Government, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), DeLorean, his investors, and the US court system. At some point in 1982, John DeLorean became the target of an FBI sting operation designed to arrest drug traffickers. He was arrested in October 1982 and charged with conspiring to smuggle $24 million worth of cocaine into the US. The key element of evidence for the prosecution was a videotape showing DeLorean discussing the drugs deal with undercover FBI agents Benedict (Ben) Tisa and West, although DeLorean's attorney Howard Weitzman successfully demonstrated to the court that he was coerced into participation in the deal by the agents who initially approached him as legitimate investors. He was acquitted of all charges, but his reputation was forever tarnished. After his trial and subsequent acquittal, DeLorean quipped, "Would you buy a used car from me?"

In the end, sufficient funds could not be raised to keep the company alive. DMC went bankrupt in 1982, taking with it 2,500 jobs and over $100 million in investments. The British Government attempted to revive some usable remnants of the manufacturing facility without success, and the Dunmurry factory was closed. DeLorean himself retired in New Jersey, and the dream with which he had mesmerized Britain's Labour government, of industry rising out of the ashes of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, was shattered. He claimed that the DMCL was deliberately closed for political reasons, and at the time of closing was a solidly viable company with millions of dollars in the bank and two years of dealer orders on the books.

Approximately 9,000 cars were made between January 1981 and December 1982, although actual production figures are unclear and estimates differ. Some of the cars manufactured in 1982, but not shipped to the states (as the US arm of DMC had no money to 'buy' the cars from the factory in Northern Ireland), with 15XXX and 16XXX Vehicle Identification Numbers are actually 1982 models that were given later VINs, dated 1983, by Consolidated International (now known as Big Lots), a company that had a buyback program with DMC and had bought out the remaining unsold cars and also the inventory of unused parts left in the factory after the bankruptcy.

The DeLorean assembly plant was eventually occupied by the French automotive supplier Montupet, which began to manufacture cast aluminum cylinder heads for automobile engines at the Dunmurry facility in 1989.

The DeLorean (known internally during development within DMC as the DMC-12^{[12][13][14][note 1]}) was the only car produced by DMC. Reception was mixed. Although the early vehicles had impressive waiting lists of prospective buyers, the MSRP of $25,000 (equivalent to approximately $70,000 in 2019) was prohibitive for most of the market—especially for what many considered an under-powered and impractical plaything.^{[by whom?]} "It's not a barn burner," observed Road & Track, "(with) a 0–60 mph time of 10.5 seconds. Frankly, that's not quick for a sports/GT car in this price category." The stainless steel body panels were attractive and impervious to corrosion, but the sheen surface tended to show fingerprints and meant the car could not be easily painted; every DeLorean looked identical. Some dealerships painted their cars to make them distinctive. DMC tested translucent paint for different color options while allowing the stainless steel grain to show through, but no cars were sold with factory painted body panels. The only factory option initially available was automatic transmission. A grey interior was offered later in 1981 as an alternative to the standard black. Accessories such as pinstriping and luggage racks provided further individuality.^[15]

A DeLorean was prominently featured in the 1985 film Back to the Future and its two sequels, in which it was converted into a time machine. The DeLorean time machine entered popular culture and played a major role in the continued popularity of the model.^[16][17]

Concepts

DMC-24

The DMC-24 was a proposal for a 4-seater

The DMC-80 was a proposal for a bus which was mooted in the fall of 1981, with a variety of 6-cylinder engines and transmissions. The company produced a promotional brochure for public transit corporations. The bus would have been an Americanized German low-floor bus produced in the United States.[18]^[26][27]

Notes

References