
Car and Driver's Review of the 1981 De Lorean (1981) - benbreen
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/1981-de-lorean-archived-first-drive-review
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pmiller2
I considered buying a Delorean once to drive around. I was at a point in my
life where I didn't really need a car for transportation, yet, being a single
guy, it was socially easier to have a car. So, I figured, why not make a
statement?

Besides the obvious visual "wow" factor associated with the car and the Back
to the Future franchise, they're surprisingly inexpensive for such an iconic
car. The main problem with them is that Delorean Motor Company didn't really
follow the concept of "model years," instead changing things as they went
along, so restoring one to original condition is practically impossible. I was
also not a fan of the aluminum engine block, since, if it ever got just
slightly too hot, there's a good chance it would be ruined forever.

My second choice vehicle, BTW, would have been some kind of van painted up
like the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine. :)

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johnm1019
> The main problem with them is that Delorean Motor Company didn't really
> follow the concept of "model years," instead changing things as they went
> along, so restoring one to original condition is practically impossible.

I've heard there is a new car company that does something similar (not having
precise model years) and also offers a car with gullwing doors.... I think it
starts with a "T".... I wonder if they'll be hard to restore when collectors
look back in 20 years.

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easytiger
Teslas will be effectively impossible to maintain. On the upside there are way
fewer moving parts to go awry.

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tonyedgecombe
There will be some forum on the internet where a bunch of guys are reverse
engineering them, much as they do for 6502 based systems now.

~~~
marincounty
That's when I will probally buy one. I was just thing about this the other
day. I was thinking when they get to the used market, and guys start modifying
them; that's the day I'll put on my dielectric gloves and put that charging
station in my garage.

Right now, a vechicle I can't modify, and work on is just not my style. If I
had disposable income, it would probally be a different story.

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Animats
Now here's the modernized De Lorean.[1] Stanford's auto shop (yes, they have
one) upgraded a DeLorean. They pulled the engine and power train, and put in
an electric drive from Renovo, which makes supercars. Then they put in the
controls for autonomous operation. Then they programmed it to drift.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNIDcT0Zdj4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNIDcT0Zdj4)

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DiabloD3
... and they named it Marty.

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agumonkey
Driff Tanen would have been in order.

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pcl
_the rattles had squeaks_

That's a great bit of writing right there.

~~~
partisan
The writing definitely struck me as well. I wonder whether this was just par
for the times or if this a particular writer's take on fine writing for car
reviews. It's almost inaccessible, but it is definitely interesting.

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rogeryu
> "every one of us is rushing back to the typewriter with more questions than
> answers"

Those were the times...

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philwelch
> We hereby hand the onus back to the kind folks at DMC who laid their
> progress and problems out for all the world to see. Clearly, their future
> pivots on a single unresolved issue: will the Dunmurry plant rise to the
> cause and start building the silver bullets John Z. intended? Or will the De
> Lorean become another Concorde—a technological marvel that turns out to be
> an economic disaster? Find out for sure in our next installment.

Well, we saw how _that_ went, albeit for reasons other than the difficulty of
producing a reliable gull-wing door.

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DigitalJack
130 HP? Has the definition changed?

~~~
jfoutz
No. Cars are amazing now. 35 years of tech, like compound interest, it adds
up. Also, i think the time machine was widely regarded as being a bit
underpowered. 9 second 0-60 wasn't all that great, even for then.

~~~
hugh4
On the other hand:

1953 Corvette: 150 horsepower

1963 Corvette: 250 horsepower

1970 Corvette: 300 horsepower

1971 Corvette: 270 horsepower

1973 Corvette: 190 horsepower

1975 Corvette: 150 horsepower

The 1970s were dark, crummy times, due to emissions regulations and the oil
crisis. By 1981 when the Delorean came out, the Corvette was still stuck at
190 horsepower.

So, building a powerful engine isn't hard, but building a powerful engine that
fits within post-1970s emissions standards is.

~~~
jfoutz
Yeah, that's fair. And not much computation available for design work.

Still, cars now are amazing. I mean, you could pick up a $60k 700hp mass
produced monster this year. I can't think of the last time i've heard of a
tire failing. Stuff is made by machines, they're unbelievably reliable. You
should easily get 100k out of any new car.

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rcurry
Modern sports cars are truly amazing. I have a C6 corvette and it's both a
monster on the track and comfortable enough to run coast-to-coast with ease
(something I've done twice now). The technology just keeps getting better and
better. Throw in 28 mpg on the highway, and it's just silly.

~~~
arethuza
What I find interesting is that some of the most amazing engines are actually
produced by tiny companies e.g. the 500hp 3L V8 designed by Atom:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Atom#Ariel_Atom_500](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Atom#Ariel_Atom_500)

~~~
rcurry
I just saw an Atom drive by the other day - the driver looked happy, ha ha.

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adultSwim
I wouldn't mind seeing more cars with brushed metal exteriors. The doors I can
skip.

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gopowerranger
A few years before that, I went to the FedEx office at the St. Louis airport
to pick up a package. While waiting in line, I overheard a guy talking about
how he was a driver for a new car company and was taking it around the country
to show potential dealers to get them to sign up to sell it. I struck up a
conversation with him and he invited me to come out and see this new,
different type of car and, there it was, one of the first minted DeLoreans.

