Monday 2 July 2012

Back To The Future

Remember that movie back in 1985?
And Doc Brown and Marty McFly's adventures in the Time Travelling car?
What was that fantastic sporty car? It was a DeLorean.
The first prototype DeLorean was built in 1976, but the actual cars were produced in Northern Ireland by John DeLorean between  January 1981 and December 1982 partly with money provided by the British Govenment. The DeLorean was a distinctive stainless steel sports car featuring gull-wing doors, a rear mounted engine and a fiberglass underbody.
Some of the surviving DeLoreans had a mini-meet at the South Simcoe Railway yards in Tottenham, Ontario, on Canada Day. So we had to go and have a look.
Out of approximately 9000 cars built, about 6,500 are still on the road. We only saw four, but we were there late in the afternoon, and there may have been more earlier.
As the company fell into debt, John DeLorean was arrested in October 1982 on drug trafficking charges. He was later found not guilty, but it was too late for the DeLorean to remain in production and the company declared bankruptcy.
Click to enlarge
If you fancy yourself buzzing about town in one of these stylish cars, you can still buy one. A company in Texas can provide you with a smart new DeLorean (but still with a 1982 V.I.N.) by using a combination of new, original and reproduction parts for a little under $60,000.
Go on.... order one! You know you want one.

14 comments:

  1. Only $60,000.? I think I'll buy two!
    Fun car!
    m.

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  2. It's not exactly family-friendly, but maybe I could use one just to go to and from work... in styyyyle.

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  3. A bit pricey for my pocketbook, but it is fun to look!

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  4. Just amazing car and amazing story too!

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  5. HA! Someone will want one just to see the looks on people's faces when they get in and out. I love it. And enlarging the fact sheet was fun, to read all about it! Thanks.

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  6. I didn't remember that De Lorean was falsly arrested--In fact, I didn't remember that he was arrested, at all. Sad, really, because that Car might have really taken off. One wonders who didn't want it to be a success---I mean, maybe some other Car Company didn't want it to really take off....It was a great car for it's time, and may still be a great car....! $60,000 doesn't sound all that horrific when you think of the costs of cars today...!

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  7. Well, that answered one of the questions I've always had about those cars - Wouldn't it be a pain in the butt to open those doors in most regular parking spaces? According to the flyer, apparently not!

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  8. Amazing car - think I would need a hand to get out of it though!

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  9. I didn't know there were still so many left. They certainly command attention!

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  10. There were a couple of these at a local car show recently - a normal one and one done like in the movies. Not sure if it really was from the movies or not, but it was a good lookalike if not.

    I remember when these were the car of the future...

    Thanks for stopping by the blog - always nice to see a new face!

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  11. very cool....would be neat to see for sure...as i enjoyed the movies back in the day...cool car

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  12. Years ago when the how to succeed books said to put a picture of what you want on the fridge or on your mirror, I had a picture of a Delorean on my mirror. Ha.

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  13. Too pricey for me but what a fascinating thing to see even 4 cars all together.
    i would have love d to see them.

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  14. Interesting things turn up in your neck of the woods. Years back I read a great book on the rise and demise of JDL, very enjoyable it was.
    Love the t shirt dress in previous post.

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