Before we begin, we must abandon the idea that new cars are superior, that newest models are always better, more refined, and advanced. The truth is, automakers don’t make them like they used to. A lot of the engineering ideals have taken a backseat to profitability, especially in today’s competitive market. What we’re left with is cars that meet the bare minimum in standards of excellence and long-term value. Cars are becoming progressively more disposable, pathetically fragile, and impossible to maintain without the expensive help of a licensed dealer. For most new car owners, all that boils down to is money. Most people simply upkeep their cars by spending money on them. This kind of car is a prostitute. She is never truly yours, because you money is the only thing that touches her. She is a dealer car. Your money gets her constructed, and onto your doorstep. Your money maintains her, day-to-day your money finally junks her when you’re done. She is a disposable car that you never truly own. Instead, her lease contract seems to own you.
Ninety percent of today’s automakers cater to this prostitute relationship, and that’s okay for some people just looking to get from point A to point B – with a minimum of hassle and fuss. But the rest of us – we don’t care about the destination as much as the joy of the drive itself. We love to get down and dirty with our cars, build and rebuild and maintain them with our bare hands. We are custom car enthusiasts. We share the understanding that when we restore and maintain our cars, we breathe life into them, our cars become our talents embodied, our mobile art forms.
John DeLorean’s DMC-12 was nicknamed the ethical car, because it was not designed to be disposable. With proper maintenance, John Z. was hoping to warrantee his car for 25 yrs. But imagine if a car could last longer still – 50 – or even 100 years? To pas cars on to your children - is this not the core of what it means to “live the Dream?”
Some technical information from different DMC Brochures
STYLE
John Z. DeLorean's luxury Grand Touring concept was relined into a work of automotive art by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the founder of world famous ITAL DESIGN. The wedge shape, as it finds it's interpretation in the DeLorean, is not only stunning to look at but aerodynamically efficient as well.
STAINLESS STEEL
This concern with both form and funtcion is carried throughout the car. The DeLorean uses the ultimate coating -stainless steel- on the panels that cover the entire body. The stainless needs no maintenance to prevent rust or corrosion.
UNDERNEATH
The body beneath the stainless is also impervious to the degrading effects of rust. The fiberglass-reinforced panels are made by a special vacuum-assisted resin-injection process that places the resin precisely where it's needed to provide maximum strength.
GULL-WING DOORS
The DeLorean body is designed with the human body in mind. Ground-hugging sports cars are notoriously awkward to enter and exit. Not so with the DeLorean's gull-wing doors. They swing up and tower above the roof so there is nothing to impede entry. A scant 14 inches of clearance is all that's nedded. The low door sill, the unobstructed clear hatchway, the overhead space all are completely unexpected in a car that's only 45 inches high.
The gull-wing door itself is a triumph of technology. The torsion bar used to ease it's opening and closing is made in a sub-frigid bath of liquid nirogen. While immersed in the liquid nitrogen, the torsion bar is twisted through ten full revolutions to rearrange the grain structure of the metal. The finished bar can open and close the door at least 50,000 times without losing strength.
POWERTRAIN
The motive force behind the DeLorean is provided by a lightweight aluminum V6 that resides between the rear legs of the chassis. The overhead-camshaft, fuel-injected 2.85 liter engine develops 130 horsepower and delivers 19 mpg estimated and an especially impressive 29 MPG highway. The engine is mated with either a 5-speed manual transaxle or a 3-speed automatic.
UNSEEN ADVANTAGES
The frame and 30 other hidden components are treated with a special plastic coating to prevent corrosion. The pieces are grit blasted, heated, then dipped into a tank of fluidized epoxy powder. This epoxy coating provides protection against rust, road salt and flying gravel displaced by the high speed motion of the car. Special care has been taken to protect the fuel tank. The blow-molded, high-density plastic tank can never corrode and it's tucked safely between the frame members, behind the front cross member.
