DeLorean to Come Back (Sorta)

Alcibaides writes "DeLorean Motor Company, a suburban Houston company that rebuilds DeLoreans, 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."

Hopefully...

the new production run has the flux compensator as standard issue now ;)

Re:Hopefully...

you mean, flux capacitor, right?

Re:Hopefully...

Leave him alone. He's just capacitating for his lack of vocabulary...

Re:Hopefully...

Must have been a German. (Local translation of it is Fluxkompensator. IMO they could have just picked Fluxkondensator (=capacitor), sounds the same... argh.)

Re:Hopefully...

Yeah, thats it. Stupid crappy German translation ruined my joke :-(

Flux compensator?

You are hereby excommunicated from /.

Re:Flux compensator?

You are hereby excommunicated from /.

Hopped-up-on-goof-balls-Jesus-On-a-pogo-stick-ch rist, I've been telling everyone that /. was a religion!

Proof!

Now, what does that make Neal and Taco?

Re:Flux compensator?

Now, what does that make Neal and Taco?

Child molesters? Zing!

Obviously this never happens

If this were true we'd already be inundated with DeLoreans now, coming back in time to visit the momentous occassion when they decided to make them again.

One point twenty one gigawatts!

Re:Obviously this never happens

"The prefix giga- is from the Greek gigas, meaning "giant." In English, it's a scientific prefix meaning "billion." And its pronunciation is acceptable beginning with either a G sound or a J sound. Check a nice, thick dictionary if you don't believe me. In fact, many individuals who have worked with computers and electronics for the last several decades will confirm that they used to pronounce gigabyte as "jigabyte." A few still do." http://www.bigwaste.com/bttf/twin_pines_mall.shtml [bigwaste.com] Towards the end of the page.

DeLorean Car Show

Don't forget the DeLorean Car Show [deloreancarshow.com] next summer. I'm not a DeLorean owner (or even a fan, really), but I think it'll be fun to see so many DeLoreans gathered in one place.

Options

Is the hoverboard an option? I only want one when I can get a stock hoverboard to go with it!

Re:Options

Is the hoverboard an option? I only want one when I can get a stock hoverboard to go with it!

No, but I understand that there's a cocaine compartment.

Re:Options

I understand that there's a cocaine compartment

Yep. The owner's manual refers to it as the "blow hole".

I hope they found out how..

.. to make the bodyshell corrode faster, to conform with the trend for everything to be made as craply as possible out of the worst materials.

This sucker's electrical...

...but I need a nuclear reaction to generate the one point twenty-one gigawatts of electricity that I need.

Re:This sucker's electrical...

If Mr. Fusion could provide drive power to the car, BTTF III would have been a mighty short movie.

When Marty goes back to 1885 he's got Mr. Fusion, but they can't return to 1985 right away because he ripped a fuel line when he arrived-- so all the gasoline leaks out of the car and there's no way to replace it in 1885 Hill Valley.

Hence the whole 'stealing the train' bit.

~Philly

I have to say it...

GREAT SCOTT!!! That is really cool.

If you're going to build new ones

why not do it properly and use modern underpinnings, instead of the crappy engine and gearbox of the original? ISTR the suspension wasn't any good either, so change that as well. The shape may be iconic, but a good car, it wasn't.

Re:If you're going to build new ones

Being someone that drives a collector DMC-12 a few times a month, I have to pipe in and state that it actually doesn't handle quite as bad as most people are led to believe. It's nothing stellar, but for 1981 it's not half bad. Better than average, actually.

The engine is underpowered for the car, but it is a nice driver.

Remember that the car started out lower and meaner--with better handling. Last minute changes due to federal crash regulations at the time changed the ride height and thus the handling characteristics.

Serendipity

A very common argument with my wife goes something like this: "Mark my words honey: I will have a DeLorean DMC-12 before I die!" "Where the hell are you going to find one?" "Uhhh" [tries to think of creative time-traveling solution] Thank you Slashdot. I think I may have finally won a fight! Bringing the total score to 1-189,203. Yes! Now, let's see if you bastards can handle 90...

Saw a discovery channel special.

The reason they can do this is because Delorean never did anything small. He had enough parts made to produce a ton of cars, these guys bought them all. They sell restorations and build new ones from new (warehoused) parts. Been doing it for years.

They do quite well for themselves. Not really news though.

Re:Saw a discovery channel special.

He had enough parts made to produce a ton of cars...

Wouldn't that be approximately one car?

Seems there is need to update the design...

really, if they make it use alternative fuels like veggy oil (read august issue of playboy) and improve other things of the car needing improvement, they might just find a growing market as gasoline prices climb.

And such alternative fuels would certainly fit the "back to the future" evolution of the car.
I might just consider buying one if those things happened.

that's neat

I've never been much of a car nut but I've always liked the DeLorean. Back when I originally saw the movie as a kid, I thought they were saying "Dalorian" and it was Fett's ride. I liked the idea of the stainless steel finish. "You can get it in any color so long as it's silver. Screw the paint booth guys." And those doors, just too cool. I think the best part is that the car is an insane purchase that's almost affordable for someone of my income level. That's a far cry from the typical exotics that set you back six figures.

Is that a Delorean?

Is that a Delorean? asked the girl at Dunkin Donuts.
I say, Yea, shame Subaru stopped [edmunds.com] making them.

Well no I did not say that, but I'll be more witty next time.

Of course they're bringing it back!

The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?

Cool

So we can now go, "precisely 88 miles per hour." Sorry, folks, had to say it.

Styling is the ONLY good thing about this car

It's slow and heavy. It's grossly underpowered. It's nothing like a 'sports car' as the article ignorantly claims. Even if brought back, it's unlikely its styling would survive the major rehashing it would undergo to avoid offending the sensibilities of the modern automobile consumer. And then there are all the safety considerations which would likely change the chassis in significant ways. No, whatever car is brought back, it won't be your father's DeLorean. That might be a good thing.

This is a breakthrough

All those other companies are working on solar power, hydrogen cells, etc. Well, now we have plutonium!

Will they still suck?

I know 3 people who have them, and have talked to a few more. They all say 100 points for style, -50 for reliability, mechanics, etc. They had about a million things wrong with them, but for some people the looks overcame that.

If you own one of the classics, you should either be comfortable with doing your own wrenching, or have the money to pay for regular mechanical work at a level far above that of a normal production car.

Whining noise

I always wondered, does the car make that whiny transmission noise and exhaust rumble like in the BTTF movies, or was that just movie sound effects? For some reason I always liked that whiny noise :)

-Brandon

I hear to make it more modern...

They'll be funding it by dealing meth instead of cocaine.

Put the right power source in!

http://www.eliseusa.com/rotary.htm [eliseusa.com]

This guy put a Mazda 20B into his Delorean, twice the power of the stock V6, plus it's smooooooth. Instead of the same underpowered old engine, put an engine in that the car deserves.

Features?

Will the new ones come with a flux capacitor standard?

M

DeLorean to Come Back... To the Future!

Keep that baby under 55mph or god help you.

LOL

They should use VW 1.8T engines with standalone fuel like 034/ or Megasquirt and get 300HP out of the thing!

Where to buy one

The best place to buy a delorean: http://www.delorean.com/dmcstore/byod.asp [delorean.com]

Diesel?

Could they be delivered with a diesel engine? (no gasoline for me) [Then it could be converted to run on pure vegetable oil. That would be something.]

A few facts from someone who had one (late 80's)

I guess not many posters here actually owned one. I had one for about 3 years in the late '80s, and am something of a car geek (I recently owned a 1995 BMW M5 Station Wagon, for example). Anyway, after reading the posting here, I feel the need to provide more accurate information about the car. The following are in no particular order.

Mobyy_6kl was basically right about the engine: The US saw a detuned version of the PVR 2.8L V6, though in US trim it's peak output was rated at 130hp (not 120) and ~165 lb-ft.

One important thing to realize is the state of automotive engineering at the time the DeLorean was sold. If you compare it to the cars being manufactured and sold today, things look very different.

While today's economy cars have engines as powerful as the DeLorean's; In 1982, there were only 4 car models being sold that were rated as having over 200 peak horsepower. Only 4. Today, virtually every family sedan has more power than that. DeLorean One now sells a tuned and upgraded version of the very same engine that puts out around 195 hp.

The build quality of "exotic" cars has drastically changed since the time of the DeLorean. For it's time, the quality, and fit-and-finish (of the later build cars especially) of the DeLorean were very good. If you ever go look at an exotic car from that era, say a Ferrari 308, look carefully at the interior and panels, check the gaps and how straight the lines and seams are. Examine the switchgear. The Ferrari of the time was not much better than a kit car, and can't compare the build quality of today's "exotics". We can thank very rapid technology and quality advancement, not to mention the Acura NSX for giving the rest of the industry a lesson on build quality and reliability.

The DeLorean was envisioned as more of a Luxury/Grand Touring coupe than a pure performance car. It also has its roots in a 1970's safety car design.

A lot of parts were sourced from other manufacturers, making service interesting and sometimes much less expensive than it otherwise would be. The 'backbone' the car sits on is from Lotus (Lotus Esprit) as well as the windshield. The brakes/pads were from the same company that was supplying Jaguar at the time. The A/C system was a GM/Delco unit, same as on some Cadillacs. And so on...

Though underpowered, the handling was good for the time, especially considering its 65/35 rear weight distribution (it was a true rear-engine car, not mid-engine). Lotus, whose engineering group is still doing chassis tuning for other car companies today, is responsible for the DeLoreans handling. Note the rear tires were larger than the fronts. Try tossing around a Fiero to see the difference the engineering makes. The brakes were pretty good for their time (pre ABS/Monster rotor size).

Build Quality and reliability increased with production (VIN) number. The first thousand or so cars had to be extensively re-worked when they arrived in the USA to fix manufacturing and design errors. Later cars were bolted together much, much better. And I do mean bolter. I swear that you could almost completely tear down a DeLorean with just a 10mm socket wrench. Also, there were about 2200 design changes (big and small) from the first car to the last one off the line. I know several late '81s that had over 100,000 miles put on them without needing excessive maintenance.

Most of the DeLoreans were 1981 models, with a few '82 and '83 models. The DeLorean plant shut down and restarted near the end. Early '81s had black interiors, and the rest had Grey (a big improvement IMHO). For the '82s and '83s you could get the Black interior as an option. It was a comfy car to ride in. I had passengers fall asleep on me several times.

None of the cars was ever painted at the factory. All painted cars were done aftermarket. The thick type 304 Stainless Steel panels had an epoxy coating and were designed to last at least 25 years. At the time of the DeLorean's design, most cars still regul

Remember I-ROC Z's?

Maybe Betamax and Cavaricci's can be next.

My God!

It's full of drugs!

My apologies to Arthur C. Clarke.

I hope they fix the 88mph bug

I heard it caused quite a number of problems, Hey McFly!

Jokes

Jokes from back in the day when John D was busted:

DeLoreans are the only car to have snow tires mounted on all four wheels as standard equipment.

DeLoreans have chronic alignment problems. They always veer toward the white line.

The best fashion statement of the era was to own a DeLorean with license plates made by John himself.

Ba-dum-bah!

9000 made

9,000 built in 1981 and 1982, about 6,500 are still on the road

Err, so that leaves 2500 unaccounted for...

But will it come with...

the flux capacitor this time around?!?!

Drug Reference???

Why do I seem to recall something about DeLoreans and cocaine being sold with them... and a subsequent arrest. Maybe a shady dealer or something? This is from way back and I could be completely wrong ... Anyone?

The real question

Will the MAKErs have a flux capacitor and Mr Fusion DIY aftermarket addon kit/howto before the actual car rolls off the assembly line, or shortly there after? It'll be the "real world" fr1st p05T effect.

How is the maintenance on one of these?

Sometimes you see a Delorian in the twin cities. WOW are those things low to the ground. They seemed much taller in Back to the Future, but then you realize Michael J Fox is a short individual. You read about the horsepower, etc, and find out it's not the hotrod Doc Brown's car made it out to be. In today's engines, you would expect at least 300+ horsepower with a V6. But it has less power than my Mini Cooper S(that weighs 2700 lbs!).

Trust me, as a car nut, I would LOVE a Delorian. It's a car I WANT to like with its unique styling and charisma. I'd trade in my Spitfire for one in a few heartbeats. Here's my main concern:

Do you have to drop the chassis(like a chop shop would do) for repairs? That's something not even I would do. The closest I did to that was pull out a transmission & overdrive. Can't imagine a shade tree mechanic doing that for the smallest of repairs, or a not-so-frame-up restoration. If you need to do that for a minor repair, forget it. That would bring maintenance costs into BMW territory.

Perhaps some dream cars are just meant to be that: dream cars. I just saw a segment where Jeremy Clarkson drives a Lambo Countach, and outlined just how impractical it is(no rear visibility, etc). Yes, you're not supposed to get groceries in a supercar, but basic conveniences aren't too much to ask for(some comfort, reasonable maintenance, see out the rear,etc ).

Just don't blare out Duran Duran

or i'll key the damned thing.

No more oil

It's just as well we're running out of oil, because the motor industry clearly has run out of new ideas... (New Mini, new Beatle, new Fiat 500, new Ford GT40 etc.) At least it will save them the embarrassment of a new Leyland PT76, Ford Pinto etc.

Options and options.

I'm sure they'll have all the updates on the new releases. And if it's on an as purchase basis, a stainless steel chassis would be ever so nice. One from Pearce Design Components [pearce-design.com]. This could be a big boon for his business too!

Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus

This appeal raises thorny questions relating to the bounds of legitimate legal advocacy and transgressive participation by attorneys at law in a client's illegal conduct. The plaintiffs, Morganroth & Morganroth, a Michigan law firm, and Mayer Morganroth, Esq. ("Morganroths"), sued John Z. DeLorean in a federal court in Michigan for legal services rendered over approximately ten years. The jury returned a verdict in their favor against DeLorean and Ecclesiastes [*2] 9:10-11-12, Inc. ("Ecclesiastes"), a corporation controlled by him, in a sum exceeding six million dollars. The Michigan Court en joined DeLorean from transferring his assets. It set aside a purported transfer to Genesis III, Inc. ("Genesis") (another corporation DeLorean controlled) of DeLorean's Lamington Farm in New Jersey as a fraudulent conveyance to hinder, delay, or defraud DeLorean's creditors. The plaintiffs brought the instant suit against Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus, P.C. (Norris, McLaughlin), a New Jersey law firm, as well as Victor S. Elgort, Esq., and Daniel R. Guadalupe, Esq., its employees or Morganroth & Morganroth v. Norris http://www.uniset.ca/lloydata/css/331F3d406.htm [uniset.ca] 2 of 9 6/19/07 2:28 AM affiliates. The complaint alleges that they actively, knowingly, and intentionally participated in their client's unlawful efforts to avoid execution on his property. The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed the action on the ground that the plaintiffs had not alleged all of the elements of common law fraud, including misrepresentations to the plaintiffs, detrimental reliance, and cognizable damages. The plaintiffs timely appealed. We vacate and remand. I. For the purposes of defendants' motion to dismiss, we must accept as true the allegations [*3] in plaintiffs' complaint and make all reasonable inferences in their favor. Shaev v. Saper, 320 F.3d 373, 375 (3d Cir. 2003). The statements of fact in this opinion are drawn from the allegations in the complaint. The plaintiffs filed suit against DeLorean and Ecclesiastes in a federal district court in Michigan in February 1993, seeking a judgment for their legal services and also injunctive relief. Defendants Norris, McLaughlin and/or Elgort represented DeLorean in that action. In May 1994, DeLorean purported to convey his interests in his 430 acre Lamington Farm for a nominal sum to Genesis. Norris, McLaughlin assisted DeLorean in this transaction and in forming Genesis. On July 11, 1994, the Honorable Anna Diggs Taylor enjoined DeLorean from transferring any assets, including Lamington Farm. Judge Taylor set aside the purported transfer of the farm to Genesis on September 12, 1994, and declared that it was a fraudulent conveyance with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud DeLorean's creditors, including the Morganroths. The Michigan jury found for the Morganroths and in February 1995 they obtained a judgment against DeLorean and Ecclesiastes, jointly and severally, [*4] in the sum of $ 6,228,235. A substantial amount of the judgment remains unpaid. The complaint alleges that after the Michigan trial, DeLorean continued to take steps to obstruct the Morganroths from recovering on the judgment. In February 1995, he delivered his shares of capital stock in a Nevada corporation called CRISTINA to the United States Marshals Service to facilitate execution of a judgment in favor of DeLorean Cadillac, Inc., an Ohio corporation controlled by his brother. The Morganroths allege that this action was a fraudulent effort to obstruct them from enforcing their judgment against DeLorean's CRISTINA stock. In April 1995, Elgort and Norris, McLaughlin prepared a deed purporting to confirm the May 24, 1994 deed conveying DeLorean's interests in Lamington Farm to Genesis. They recorded the deed with the Somerset County, New Jersey Clerk. The Morganroths allege that the defendants took this action "with the intent of defrauding [them] and aiding DeLorean in his efforts to hinder and delay [the Morganroths'] enforcement of

Of the 6500 left, there's one that shouldn't count

Of the 9,000 built in 1981 and 1982, about 6,500 are still on the road

There's one driving around my city with a huge wing on the back, two mufflers you could shove a grapefruit into and a (peeling) white vinyl stickers of a dragon or something going down both sides of it.

I suggest that this particualr car be considered wrecked and not counted as a running Delorean.

Great Scott!

This story took off so fast, I forget to tell everyone about the deal you can get with DirecTV!

I want a Mr. Fusion

For my Prius. Instead of smelling like french fries like a biodiesel, would it smell like a banana beer float?

Delorean Pics

The first pictures from my Atlanta St. Patty's Day Parade photographs are of DeLoreans. http://avidphoto.net/customers/St._Patricks_Day_20 07/ [avidphoto.net]

Yes, actually. The cat does "got my tongue."

A complete breakdown of the final destines of the 9,000 cars follows:

6537 Still operational
2448 Known junked, destroyed, or lost
14 In museums
1 Lost due to quantum entanglement

Re:obQuote

I saw one last year, in Cabot, AR of all places. It was being driven rather spiritedly through an intersection. I was a kid when Back to the Future came out, and I would love to have a DeLorean.

Re:obQuote

I just saw one last week. Tho it had been painted ( one of the bad things about using bare stanless panels, you cant really repair them )

Re:The car retains a following

There's one for sale in the Bremerton, WA area right now. It's fairly good condition. $24k.

I loved the styling. I hope they keep it, and even make the parts so they can be used on the older cars.

However, with the 6 cylinder in the original, it was underpowered. I'd like to see a nice V8 jammed under the hood as an option.

Re:The car retains a following

I love those things too, and if I weren't an unemployed college student, I'd be trying to get my hands on one.

IIRC, only the US versions (which were probably the majority) were severely underpowered. The European ones weren't exactly speed demons either, but they had around 170 hp as opposed to the 120 hp in the American ones. 170 hp is actually a pretty good result for a 2.8l engine from the early 80s. Our '85 Ford Scorpio [wikipedia.org] had a 2.8l Cologne V6 [wikipedia.org] which produced around 150 hp. And for additional comparison, the Porsche 924 ranged from 110 hp in early US models to 170 in the '88 Turbo version. This power reduction, as well as softer and higher suspension (and the 85mph speedo [delorean.com]!) were appearantly a result of idiotic federal regulations at the time.

Still, more powere is (almost) never a bad idea though, so I'd love to see something more powerful in the new DMC.

Re:The car retains a following

Hey, even with a six cylinder, it could still get up to 88 miles per hour without to much trouble, provided you had gas.

Re:The car retains a following

I'm sure in 1985 gasoline is available at every corner drugstore, but in this century it's a little hard to come by.

Re:The car retains a following

It's a heavy car but lots of guys are swapping in the 3800SC engine out of the bonnevilles and Grand AM GTP's and making the delorean into the car it was supposed to be. Even though they are heavy when you dump in 260hp stock you get quite a kick in the pants on that car.

Re:The car retains a following

I'm pretty sure they didn't have any engine under the hood...

(Rear engine, folks.)

Re:The car retains a following

On a mid- or rear-engine car the hood is in back, and the trunk is in front. The engine is still under the hood, it's just that the hood isn't where you're used to it being.

The car looked home-built

My next-door neighbor's pal had one of these cars, roughly 20 years ago. I was too young to drive but I did get to see it up close.

The OUTSIDE of the car looked awesome.

The inside of the car looked rather like it was home-made. Instead of the contoured flush-fitting panels that even cheap cars had back then, it was all square-cut panels. Granted they were covered in fair-quality leather, but the interior did look rather clunky.

And as others have mentioned, the US version had a lower-end engine. The guy told me that it would only go about 120 mph tops, which was surprising because (for what they cost new) I'd thought they were much faster than that.
~

Re:1.21 GIGAWATTS!!!

What I REALLY want is for it to fly. Here it is nearing 2015 and we've yet to see the first hover board.

Re:obQuote

And I'm happy for it, because it's one of the ugliest cars I ever saw.

Back in the mid nineties, I owned a car. A Toyota Corolla from the mid-eighties. It was a good car, but boy was it ugly. The same squarish ugly straight lines and eighties bling as the delorean and many other cars of the time. And without the comfortable hydraulic suspension of the Citroen BX for example.

To ensure me getting modded down, I would also like to state that Americans just can't build cars anyway. There is a substitute for Cubic Inches, and it's called technology. Furthermore, the cornering of said vehicles leaves something to be desired.

I'll take a Volvo S60/V40 2.4T or a Saab 9-3 1.9 Common rail Turbo Diesel with a lowered chassis any day over any muscle car you people can trow at it.

Re:the new edition

Yeah, but does it come with a magic 8 ball jacket? [flickr.com]

So, you're gonna wear that all the time now?

All signs point to YES!