John DeLorean the flamboyant and controversial car maker died Saturday at the age of 80. DeLorean left his job at General Motors in the 1980s to develop his own car company.
The DeLorean was a futuristic sports car that was best known for the fact that its doors opened upwards instead of out. It was available only in silver as the car was not painted. The DeLorean had a 130 horse power engine that could go from 0 to 60 mph in less than eight seconds. It sold for $33,000 in 1982.
The car was popular with car enthusiasts but never made a real dent in the automobile market. The company produced only 8,900 cars in the three years it was available, hardly enough to sustain the company.
In retrospect, the DeLorean will probably be best remembered for its use as a time machine in the three 'Back to the Future' movies starring Michael J. Fox.
DeLorean himself was arrested on charges that he was trying to sell $24 million worth of cocaine to keep his car company alive. In 1984, he was acquitted due to an entrapment defense and he did not serve any jail time.
Unfortunately, the auto maker spent a lot more time during the 80s and 90s in the courtroom than in the drawing room. He was sued for divorce, filed for bankruptcy and was sued for allegedly defrauding investors.
DeLorean took his legal troubles in stride, telling the Associated Press just after his much publicized divorce, 'I believe I deserve what happened to me. The deadliest sin is pride. I was an arrogant egomaniac. I needed this, as difficult as it was, to get my perspective back.'
Before forming his own company, DeLorean was very successful at General Motors. By the age of 40, he was running the Pontiac division for the automaker and four years later was in charge of Chevrolet. DeLorean was also instrumental in helping Detroit shift towards smaller more energy efficient cars in the 1970s.
DeLorean is survived by his wife, three children and two grandchildren. A public viewing of the body is scheduled for Wednesday in Troy, Michigan followed by a private funeral on Thursday.
