Car Developer John DeLorean Dies at 80

[dd74]

Originally posted by StevoRocket
So just what did he "innovate"?

Stainless steel body finish? - Oh, that was a real innovation - after all - look how many are made that way today!

Despite your cut and paste diatribe concerning how he ripped off the Irish, he innovated a car - independently. The history speaks for itself.

[osidak]

Originally posted by dd74
Despite your cut and paste diatribe concerning how he ripped off the Irish, he innovated a car - independently. The history speaks for itself.

DD the guy is just a little bitter, cut him some slack. Maybe he got dumped because his gal went for somebody in a Delorean

Neat cars. Remember my dad test drove one new. Thought it was the coolest thing around (in 82 I was 9 years old). He ended up buying a 911SC instead.

[Moneyguy1]

First car I ever saw with an overhead cam was a 1919 Scripps-Booth. Quite modern for its time.

CJ..YOu beat me to it. I always figured that Mr. D and Mr. Tucker had similar experiences. It is always strange how they keep "rediscovering" what these guys already thought of.

[techweenie]

The original concept of the DMC was a safety car with high performance.

By the time the real thing was compromised and corner-cut into existence, it was a shiny Bricklin.

Had Delorean been able to build what he told his investors he was building, he'd be a hero, not a footnote in automotive history.

To mention him in the same paragraph as Tucker is to do a terrible insult to Tucker.

[350HP930]

If I remember correctly he also invented the embedded windshield attenna and retractable/concealed windshield wipers.

If he didn't invent it he was perhaps the first to put such technology into an automobile.

As far as the durability of building a car body out of stainless goes, just imagine how nice a SS 911 would be.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

truly a sad day... a true innovator and maverick

Shame we'll never get to see the supposed Firestorm 500 he'd been working on for years...

[KTL]

Originally posted by 350HP930
.........As far as the durability of building a car body out of stainless goes, just imagine how nice a SS 911 would be.

And how heavy! While a good choice for durability, stainless ain't no weight-savings epiphany for a sports car. And how does the DeLorean stainless panels hold up to road salt (if anybody dares drive one in inclement, wintry weather) contact? Salts do harm stainless steel, no?

Still, sounds like JD was quite the creative thinker/creator for sure. I know very little about him. Sounds like he made quite an impact on the automotive industry!

Indeed a shame that the general public will remember him for what he did wrong and not what he did right. Good to see there's people out there who appreciate & remember his innovations. On the flip side, it's also a shame how the DMC demise ruined others besides himself. Probably not all his fault. Wouldn't surprise me one bit to find out that the "Big Three" were instrumental in crushing his efforts. Still, he managed to get a memorable product to market.

[RickM]

Originally posted by KTL
And how heavy! While a good choice for durability, stainless ain't no weight-savings epiphany for a sports car. And how does the DeLorean stainless panels hold up to road salt (if anybody dares drive one in inclement, wintry weather) contact? Salts do harm stainless steel, no?

How do you figure it's heavier? I'd think SS at the same guage as the alloys used now would be very closein weight and perhaps even lighter beacause you're not adding zinc and/or several layers of paint and primer. SS should fair very well with salt. Do the buses in major wintered cities have a rust problem?

[kach22i]

and won a music scholarship to the Lawrence Institute of Technology in Detroit.

Hey, I went there too!

"The deadliest sin is pride," he said, proclaiming his faith as a born-again Christian.

Oh boy......here we go again.

[KTL]

I dunno. I always thought stainless was noticeably heavier than your typical steel? And I thought stainless stuff is problematic salty environments, like in the marine industry?

I think the deadliest sin is gluttony. Lookit all the fat people in the US.

[Moneyguy1]

350

The original imbedded antenna as well as the rear window heater and two different methods of hiding wipers were all the products of the research division of Delco of Rochester, a division of GM, now defunct. I worked there at the time. They also developed the permanent magnet DC motor used in practically everything from heaters to starters. The trick was to find a ceramic magnet material that would keep its field strength during operation.

[dd74]

A little off topic, but everytime I go to the Peterson Museum and see that turbine powered Chrysler, I think, How cool would that engine be in other cars?

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

would be very cool, but didnt the turbine only get like 4 or 5 MPG?

I'd rather have the gold-plated DeLorean next to it, although it looks like they havent kept it up very well...