Why has DeLorean, which became legendary with the movie “Back to the Future,” produced only one car so far?
November 24, 2023
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in 1975 John DeLorean car manufacturer founded by DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), Return to the future for use in the film DeLorean DMC-12 He produced his car. open
in 1975 John DeLorean car manufacturer founded by DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), Return to the future for use in the film DeLorean DMC-12 He produced his car. open up DeLorean, which in those years nodded to the future with its striking design with a stainless steel body that resembled a seagull’s wing and aircraft doors with doors, was one of the most popular cars of its time.
Last year “How much more modern can it get?” renewed in response to the question Alpha5 With the introduction of its model, the car manufacturer tried to win the hearts of fans again. However, there is only one question: why did DeLorean stop producing cars?
Let’s first take the DMC Alpha5 model, which was first introduced last year.
The DeLorean, which is now etched in everyone’s memory, was unveiled again in a new form under the name Alpha5. electrical motor, The thin LED headlights and DeLorean’s signature wing-shaped doors are real eye-catchers.
Alpha5, which has a more modern design, naturally follows in the footsteps of the DMC-12. Here you can view in more detail our content in which we explore Alpha5, which fascinates everyone with every detail.
Yes, Alpha5 is an admirable car that many of us dream of. But whatever happened to DMC stopped producing cars and only in thoughts “Of which?” The question remains.
Let’s take a brief look at the history of DMC to make it more understandable.
In 1973, John DeLorean wanted to stand out from everyone else in the car market. remarkable He wanted to produce a car. The car he would produce had to be equipped with durable, usable and long-lasting materials.
at General Motors John DeLorean believed that in the future, car engines would be small but of high quality. With company employees in disagreement he left from there.
Two years after his departure, he rolled up his sleeves to produce his own car. Working as an engineer at Pontiac Bill Collins and designed the DeLorean using some old sketches prepared for the Porsche 928. Of course, they only had one prototype.
The biggest problem with this prototype is It was the engine. As you continue with our content, you might say, “I wish the only problem was just the engine.” you can say. Completed within six months They initially used Ford’s 3.0-liter V6 engine for this prototype, but it didn’t work very well. Later from Citroen It was decided to use the 102 hp 4-cylinder engine, but this option was also not very powerful.
I don’t get along with Citroën John DeLorean and Bill Collins They worked on a new prototype in 1977 and were the only company they could make an agreement with at the time Lotus They worked together with. They agreed on a 2.85-liter V6 PRV engine (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) and production of the car finally began in 1981 in Dunmurry, Ireland.
That year $150 million The duo John DeLorean and Bill Collins, who spent three years in Dunmurry, built the factory exactly 9,000 cars They produced. But this did not generate enough revenue to cover the money they spent.
However, things started to go well and they became known with the film Back to the Future.
Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd from ‘Back to the Future’.
DeLorean, beyond time It had a design. Although the idea of making the car out of stainless steel is original, it is true A car that anyone can drive It made more sense to make it. So the duo used the marketing strategy to buy the car. “Return to the Future” They wanted to use it in the movie.
The film was released between 1985 and 1990 and at that time Gross profit of $381.1 million It broke box office records and became the highest-grossing film of 1985. The film was viewed with admiration around the world. Because the theme of back to the future attracted a lot of attention.
This would be an extraordinary development for DMC. We say this would happen because of the attempts to use the DeLorean in the film bad timing It was therefore wasted. Because even though the movie Back to the Future came out in 1985, the company had already done that it had sunk. We continue with the details.
While the DeLorean’s design was admirable, it was not a very practical car.
Italdesign Giorgetto Giugiaro By adopting the design language, DeLorean has an upside opening doors like wings It wasn’t very convenient with . Being stainless steel, the doors were very heavy and it took a lot of force to open the doors upwards. It didn’t have many standout features in terms of performance and handling.
Someone who drives such a futuristic car obviously also values speed, but the 2.85-liter V6 PRV (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) The engine had 130 hp and did not promise high speed. This engine, which could reach 80 km/h in just 6.6 seconds, was not very powerful.
DeLorean’s failure wasn’t just due to design, John DeLorean was the biggest factor here.
Many other car manufacturers collaborated with other manufacturers during production. However, John DeLorean completed all stages of production to be stored in DMC decided.
This meant that DMC’s revenues could not cover its costs. So John DeLorean, other manufacturers not to be submitted We can say that he acted a little arrogantly.
Not paying enough to the car’s designers, rival companies Producing better engines than the existing ones and not changing DeLorean’s pricing policy was like the company going downhill with a car with broken brakes.
John DeLorean at the time he was in trouble and before I go bankrupt FBI and SEC was sued by. Because he had borrowed a large amount of money and he insisted on not paying this debt. And this obviously made production very difficult.
The economic recession in America in 1981-82 also affected the company.
Chicagoans who want to apply for insurance from the Unemployment Office.
John DeLorean was in America when he founded the company economic crisis It happened. Economic stagnation, rising inflation and skyrocketing unemployment rates are impacting many sectors, including the automotive industry. a devastating effect left. DeLorean also took his part in this economic crisis. In the war between Iraq and Iran It suffered another blow due to rising oil prices.
Unemployed people are trying to buy this car because of rising oil prices. He didn’t really agree with that. Because the last sector that the public would want to focus on during the economic crisis would be the automotive sector. During those already turbulent years, the car industry was also quite shaky.
John DeLorean was not a very good manager and played an unsuccessful role in crisis management.
While we turn the crisis into opportunities John Delorean, who turned opportunity into crisis, He has never been a good manager. His disregard for the demands of customers and his employees dragged him further and further down.
Created by company employees hunger strike, It caused delivery problems and disruptions in shipments. The factory suffered permanent damage and could no longer produce cars.
John DeLorean, not even knowing how to spend the money he had, continued his entire production process at DMC. in debt started. Naturally, it was on the brink of bankruptcy because it did not allocate enough budget for design and engineering.
The scandals in the company continued and John DeLorean tried to make money illegally, but failed.
Newspaper clippings about drug smuggler John DeLoreon.
John tried to save his company by contacting investors from Colombia and Mexico, but they lost their cars. There was no one willing to invest. So instead of finding investors, he decided to make a quick buck by selling drugs.
To save the company and make money quickly started drug trafficking John DeLoreon was investigated in the early 1980s. FBI, DeLorean Motor Company money laundering and learned that he was involved in drug trafficking and immediately started an investigation. He was arrested in 1982, but 11 months After serving time in prison, he was acquitted of all charges.
The DeLorean, which had the potential to survive to this day, remained a short-lived car due to neglect and economic recession.
DeLorean DMC-12, one of the most iconic cars He was one and had the potential to live a long life. DeLorean, which intimidated its competitors with its design but failed, became highly visible due to John’s drug smuggling and the story ended within a few years.
A car that has shortcomings compared to other cars and has the ability to supplement these shortcomings, He was left to his fate. Only nowadays Alpha5 Many of us would have liked to see DeLorean continue production, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. What do you think of these scandals?
Sources: Sand Stone Productions, Hot Cars, Car Throttle, History Computer
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Donald Salinas is an experienced automobile journalist and writer for Div Bracket. He brings his readers the latest news and developments from the world of automobiles, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the latest trends and innovations in the automotive industry.