Feature: A Classic Contemporary
December 1, 2007
Those looks continue to catch eyes. A wedge sculpted in classic Italdesign fashion—modern, angular, and well balanced—the DeLorean’s stainless-steel exterior stands out like no metallic paint can. When the gullwing doors pop open, the machine shouts its exotic-car aspirations in the manner of a Lamborghini or a Mercedes 300SL. There was so much potential but, ultimately, so many problems as well.
When DeLorean’s first DMC-12s left the factory in Dunmurry, outside Belfast, many had quality-control problems linked to the inexperienced nature of his workforce. Panel fit adjustments and the replacement of weak alternators were often undertaken at U.S. dealerships. But price ($25,000 in 1981, or two-thirds of the way to a new Porsche 911) coupled with high interest rates meant many of the cars just sat.
Strapped for cash, DeLorean found himself at a 1982 meeting with men eager to loan him money, when a briefcase of cocaine was thrown into the mix. Busted on videotape in what proved to be an FBI sting, DeLorean faced a series of charges—for which he was later acquitted. But not before the experience ruined him financially, and bankrupted him emotionally.
All told, some 9,200 DeLoreans were made, and an impressive 6,500 are still thought to be on the road. For some, there is no other car.
"I bought my DeLorean when I first got to college. I’ve put 150,000 miles on it, and I love it every time I get in it," says Tony Hilger, 32, an industrial designer from Southern California and president of the DeLorean Owners Association, one of various Web-fueled groups that link fanatics of the fabled car together. "The car never fails to get comments. Some people start talking about the movie, others offer to buy it on the spot."
By exotic car standards, buying an original DeLorean is not a
wallet-busting proposition. The new DMC, which peddles cars in various
conditions, has dealers near Naples, Fla., in Chicago and Seattle, and just
south of Los Angeles. There’s even a dealer in Amsterdam. A glimpse at DMC’s
Web-based For Sale list finds everything from a pristine 1981 model with only
1,050 miles selling for $45,000, to a far more typical vehicle posting
30,000-plus miles with an asking price of around $30,000.
"These cars don’t require crazy money to keep going, especially
when you look at the price of some average Lexus parts," says Danny Botkin, a
former mechanic and Mac Tools salesman who is now the impassioned manager of
DMC’s dealership in Garden Grove, Calif. "What you get with the DeLorean is a
showstopper at any light or car show, especially now that the vehicle is
officially considered a classic at 25 years of age."
Botkin calls the car "an ’80s icon," one that some owners rent out for "either ’80s-themed grown-up parties or birthday parties for kids who’ve just seen the Back to the Future movies."
In fact, he knows quite a bit about the DeLorean’s other life as that movie’s time machine. To date, he has built three so-called BTTF DeLoreans, replicating by hand each and every piece of the movie-car’s jet-pack haunches and interior gadgetry. Just bring him a car and $70,000. Which is exactly what Paul Nigh did.
"Four years ago, I found out I was diabetic, so I stayed home for a while and watched the BTTF trilogy," says Nigh, a sergeant at a Southern California state prison. "That led to me buying memorabilia from the movies, which eventually led me to the obvious: That I had to have that car."
In 2004, Nigh attended a BTTF confab at Universal Studios, and asked Botkin—who’d brought his latest creation to the event—whether he’d sell. Botkin was game, but the price was too high for Nigh.
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