Not so much John is in our cars but the Pontiac engineering spirit.
Many of the engineers who worked on the Fiero were guys from Johns Era. They still had that renegade spirit of breaking rules at a very stern GM. Most the Fiero was their last big job before Pontiac just became a styling exercise on a Chevy corporate platform.
John was a great engineer and forward thinker but his ego cost him big. He even admits it later on before e died. I was glad even after all he went through he did get his life right.
The Delorean was a mess from the start. And there are still some people passed off in England over the money. If Colin Chapman had not had a heart attack odds were good he would have had jail time.
But even with his flaws I would have loved to seen John run GM. I know it would never have happened but imagine if they had moved them forward with more tech sooner.
John was GM before DeLorean Motor Company, so yes you see a lot of GM in the DeLorean. Ultimately most of the DeLorean engineering was done by Lotus, it was largely an improved rear engine Esprit with a stainless steel body and gullwing doors. Colin Chapman was definitely looking at jail time over his GPD scheme, some people say he faked his death and absconded to the Cayman islands or similar with the money. The death's timing was very sudden and convenient. John had also wanted to do a Corvette competitor at Pontiac in the 60's, but the closest he was allowed to get was the Firebird.
As alluded to in the above video, John's arrest was basically due to an FBI informant dangling this carrot saying "I know some people that want to invest in your company" and he was desperate to get money to keep the company going. When he figured out they were (supposedly) drug dealers connected to the mob, John's lawyer actually told him to go along with it. When John tried to get out of it, they threatened his family if he backed out. So John thought he was clever by giving them worthless shares in a shell company.
The most likely reason they wanted John so badly: -Reagan wanted a HUGE bust to tout his war on drugs campaign. -GM was a major contributor to politicians, and they wanted DeLorean out of business before he became a threat. -DMC was a success story for the Labour Party in the late 70's. When Thatcher and the Conservative party came to power, they wanted that former success to fail BADLY, to show their enemies had wasted taxpayer money and make them look bad (think Democrats and Republicans). Thatcher withheld funds owed to DMC as a result of damage to the manufacturing facility by riots, in the amount of several hundred million dollars, that both significantly sped up the company's demise, and forced John to get desperate for investors he needed quickly. Destroying Ireland was a bonus (which was likely a significant contributor to that later assassination attempt)
There was most likely a joint effort by the Reagan and Thatcher governments to destroy DMC, and jail JZD. It would have been a huge win/win politically and financially for both sides. We may ultimately see details of this operation declassified, but it won't be for a LONG time, if ever.
Just wanted to point out a popular misconception for the masses, it was a fiberglass body with thin stainless steel CLAD covering. (similar to those terrible infomercials on TV where they sell silver and gold CLAD coins and make them sound like the real thing)
quote
Originally posted by hyperv6:
The Delorean was a mess from the start.
Agreed, the Fiero GT is 3X the car for 30% of the cost.
[This message has been edited by Skybax (edited 12-29-2021).]
Originally posted by Skybax: Just wanted to point out a popular misconception for the masses, it was a fiberglass body with thin stainless steel CLAD covering. (similar to those terrible infomercials on TV where they sell silver and gold CLAD coins and make them sound like the real thing)
The stainless steel body panels are basically the opposite of the Fiero: Fiero is composite body panels on a steel space frame, where DeLorean is stainless steel body panels on a fiberglass tub, on a steel Y-frame
That's what I said... its not a stainless steel body, its a fiberglass body with THIN stainless steel CLAD shell, therefore most people over the decades falsely believed (popular misconception) that the DeLorean had a stainless steel body, it doesn't.
[This message has been edited by Skybax (edited 12-29-2021).]
Not so much John is in our cars but the Pontiac engineering spirit.
Well the cars are generally a similar shape. Window controls are in the identical position. Mid engine.....I am pretty sure in one of the documetary I watched a while back they said John DeLorean was involved in the initial design of the Fieros. We have a DeLorean factory here in Houston so I see them around frequently.
[This message has been edited by Forrest (edited 12-30-2021).]
Well the cars are generally a similar shape. Window controls are in the identical position. Mid engine.....I am pretty sure in one of the documetary I watched a while back they said John DeLorean was involved in the initial design of the Fieros. We have a DeLorean factory here in Houston so I see them around frequently.
John had nothing to do directly with the car we know as the Fiero today. He was gone from Pontiac in 69 and was at Chevy till he left in the mid 70’s.
He was at Pontiac when a Firebird Show car called the Fiero was built in 68. fiero then meant Firebird Aero Concept.
As for similar styling inside that is just the style of the day. A number of cars shared that back then.
As for the body panels yes they were composite but they also had stainless surfaces that were difficult to paint and hard to maintain naturally. Just was not a good idea. Anyone owning a stainless fridge knows that.
The Delorean was just a car that was under budgeted and suffered short cuts and mistakes that killed it. Bad quality, low powered and underdeveloped handing doomed it from the start. If not for Back to the Future it would be looked at much like a Bricklin.
I do recommend reading on a clear day you can see GM. Delorean personal Bio and Jim Wangers Glory Days to get the full John D story.
.... but they also had stainless surfaces that were difficult to paint and hard to maintain naturally. Just was not a good idea.
I used to see a red one around town occasionally. Unfortunately, it was never close up and always going in the opposite direction. I always wondered if the painted surface showed any grain or anything like that to it.... Without proper prep it would probably look awful and wouldn't last.
I used to see a red one around town occasionally. Unfortunately, it was never close up and always going in the opposite direction. I always wondered if the painted surface showed any grain or anything like that to it.... Without proper prep it would probably look awful and wouldn't last.
Some were painted back in the day. It is not easy to paint but some came out well. How durable I am not sure as I see few painted ones today.
There were a few factor gold plated ones out there. I have seen in in Reno at the museum.
