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What It's Selling: DHL Delivery

Where It's At: Nowhere yet, fiction

What This Ad Literally Says: "When your client wants the job done yesterday."

What This Ad Intends To Say: If you're a fancy business consultant of some kind getting stuff to your clients fast is important and we can help with that.

What This Ad Suggests: Client's are so bitchy, trust us, we can help. You like DeLoreans.

Jalopnik Snap Judgment: The text is a little too small, DHL blows and we're not sure how you could get packages there yesterday. Still, DHL has such a bad reputation they should try something funny. The new DeLoreans should come in yellow.

[Ads Of The World]

We reported last year DeLorean Motor Company plans to make a series of "new build" modernized DeLoreans with all the amenities you'd expect in today's luxury cars. What we didn't know until our tour this past week, was all of the accessories for the new DeLorean (really, the "new build" DeLoreans will use 80% originally manufactured parts and 20% upgraded parts) are already available to current owners of the classic DeLorean DMC-12. What else would you expect from the ultimate "Geek" car?

At least that's how Stephen Wynne, sitting atop a mountain of parts large enough to rebuild hundreds of the steel-bodied, gullwinged Delorean DMC-12 sports cars, describes those who own and continually modernize the unique automobiles. But he means "geeks" in a good way. His company exists thanks primarily to the abundance of originally manufactured parts left after production stopped in late 1982. These parts are still being purchased today by owners of the approximately 6,000 to 7,000 cars still estimated to be driving around. Though most collectors of classics pride themselves on their ability to recreate their cars as originally and authentically as possible, the relative ease of doing so with a DeLorean has meant owners are creating modern cars within the old stainless steel shells.

Sure, you can point to the extreme end of the customization scale — cars like the Electric DeLorean, which is more than just a golf-cart motor and a few batteries. This is a fully-functioning electric car with a range of around 30 to 35 miles that's actually faster in the quarter mile than the stock, V6-powered DMC-12. Another extreme example is the DeLorean Hovercraft attempted by the crew at Monster Garage.

But it's at the mundane end where the real story is taking place. The stock original DeLorean came with an AM/FM radio and tapedeck, but DeLorean now offers an Alpine IVA system with a 7" display, Eclipse speakers, JL Audio subwoofer and Genesis P-5 Amplifier. Assuming you don't go back too far in the future (to before the advent of satellites), a navigation system with live traffic and satellite radio is available. Can't see past the flux capacitor? Try adding the backup camera. Gotta call back to Doc Brown's lab? The Bluetooth cellular interface is probably a smart option.

The iPod interface is also a good choice no matter what audio/video system you add; that way you can listen to Stainless Style, the concept album about the life of John DeLorean that's also a lot of fun to listen to.

To help push all of that new technology, DMC is also offering an upgrade to the engine that includes new stainless steel headers, muffler and tips, ignition system upgrades, a K&N filter, a cold air intake and other parts. The combination results in nearly 200 HP, making it perform at a level that'll allow daily drivers to survive on the highway. A refined sports suspension, featuring new shocks and springs, also helps keep the cars comfortable and sporty.

And if you're a super DeLorean geek, the headquarters outside of Houston, Texas is a must-see. In addition to the large collection of cars (it's strange seeing that many of them in one place) and nearly 1,000 of the gullwing doors, there's an original Back To The Future pinball machine in the lobby.

The first thing that I noticed as CEO Stephen Wynne showed me around the main facility of the DeLorean Motor Company, tucked away in a tree-hidden neighborhood outside of Houston, are the rows and rows and rows of gullwing doors. He's got around 1,000 doors; 500 left and 500 right. He also has numerous copies of the 2,850 other parts that makeup the DeLorean, still in the shelving units from the factory in Belfast, Ireland.

Also check out our look inside the future of DeLorean.

To understand how a factory in Northern Ireland landed in a small town in southeast Texas requires a brief history lesson. Designed to be an affordable and attractive mid-engined sports car by famed American engineer and auto executive John DeLorean, the DMC-12 was built in Belfast as part of a deal with the British Government, which fronted a great deal of money for the project.

After a long period of design changes and budget issues, Delorean began construction in early 1981 and continued until late 1982, when the company went bankrupt and John DeLorean was arrested on charges of conspiracy to traffic drugs (he was later let go after proving entrapment). Hoping to continue to bilk money from the government in order to save the company, which was happy to have the employment in Northern Ireland, DeLorean ordered up parts for more cars from the suppliers.

The last unfinished cars were assembled by a company now known as Big Lots — no joke — and all the cars, parts and even the storage bins were shipped to Columbus, Ohio, where they sat until Wynne bought it all and transported it to Houston. And though he has enough parts to last "two-and-a-half lifetimes" by his own estimates, he also has the engineering documents for every piece, meaning that the company is able to authentically rebuild parts that have gone extinct.

The company's business model includes normal operations, such as running service centers in five U.S. states and The Netherlands, as well as selling parts and DMC-branded merchandise to enthusiasts. There's also a quarterly publication, deloreans, which not only chronicles the car's history and provides technical and historical information, but also works as a convincing sales tool. I totally want to replace the stock bulbs with LED lights... and I don't even own a DeLorean.

The company has also been working with suppliers to develop interior, engine and suspension enhancements for owners. In the works is a stage-three supercharged engine kit with a goal of 250-to-300 horsepower, assuming they can make the technology durable. Finally, the company is in the process of building a handful of new-build cars using a mixture of original parts and new components. Basically, a new car with a mixture of old and new technology.

Given how enthusiastic DeLorean owners are about their cars, it's probably a fairly sustainable business. On the day I toured the shop, architect Don Williams was excited to be picking up his car, one of the 1983 "Big Lots" models. His love for the car is so great that the DMC-12 is his daily driver, having sold off his RX-7 and motorcycle. Upon his death, the Smithsonian has agreed to take his car (it doesn't have one yet).

For Williams, the main reason he owns one is "vanity." His claim was that there are few other cars one could drive that would draw as much attention. This was a theory I had to put to the test, so Wynne and I jumped in a recently renovated 1982 model DMC-12 with the upgraded Eibach suspension.

The interior is definitely 1980s era, despite the MP3-player. The switches for the small working windows are as large as dominoes. Despite the grey plastics, the interior does feel quasi-futuristic, heightened by the clunk as you pull the doors towards you. Nevertheless, it's surprisingly roomy for a mid-engined sports car, designed to fit the large frame of the 6' 4" DeLorean.

Though not exactly quick, the car's V6, designed as a joint venture between Peugeot-Renault-Volvo, provides enough power to keep up with traffic (around 137 horsepower in stock form). Even as we zoom past the time travel-inducing speed of 88 mph towards the century mark, the car feels remarkably solid considering it is actually older than I am. But I'm too busy enjoying traffic slipping by to notice whether anyone notices us.

We pull into a Sonic drive-in for pictures and novelty's sake before moving to the Starbucks for an afternoon caffeine fix. It's there that one of the car's quirks becomes clear. Because of the door design, the glass can't roll down. Instead, a much smaller portion of the window retracts, not exactly ideal for anything larger than a coffee cup. To facilitate getting the coffee you have to open up the gullwing door, something that immediately amuses the young woman running the drive-thru.

There are no cupholders, a minor drawback, so we sip our coffees in the parking lot of a nearby bank as car after car after truck (it is Texas) slows down to check it out. I've driven a range of production and prototype cars and this, I must admit, is the most attention I've gotten. Williams says that he ends up letting people take pictures in his car nearly every time he goes to a crowded place. Wynne repeats this sentiment, noting how most people won't approach the owner of a Ferrari or a Porsche (nor has history taught me that they want to be approached) but that they'll happily walk up to someone in a DMC-12.

Coffee finished and back on the road, visibility isn't much of an issue, though I immediately feel lower than any car on the road. The pedals are also quite close together, making me wish I'd worn narrower shoes. I engage the clutch and search for first, momentarily confused by the five-speed's gear setup (reverse is down left, not down right).

Out onto the somewhat crowded road I accelerate, if that's the right word for it, past slower traffic. It's about as fast as my fiancee's Honda Civic, though it feels like I'm going much faster. Overall, the tuned suspension helps it stay remarkably smooth over bumps. It doesn't seem at all a chore to drive and, opposed to popular myth, the A/C holds up well to the Texas heat.

And then you turn.

There's no power steering and, though the backbone chassis design is similar to that of a Lotus Esprit and the new suspension helps keep me from scraping the steel body along the ground, there's more effort needed to steer than you'd expect for a car that weighs in around 2,700 pounds. I'm at least glad the disc brakes on all the corners work, because when the speedometer goes out I'm too busy trying to estimate my speed to undertake any sharp stops.

Given the choice to turn left toward the factory or U-turn for more fun in the DMC-12 I understandably take the latter. Though it's certainly more work to drive than a modern sports car, it's still fun. The design is so unique and the history of the car so rich that the more undesirable aspects of driving sort of drift away.

Back at HQ the car gets driven back into the shop while I wander once more into the great warehouse to take pictures and marvel at the walls of parts and the novelty of a small slice of European and American automotive history existing, so well-preserved, in freaking Humble, Texas.

Apparently the 2.8-liter PRV6 in the 1981 DeLorean isn't holding up too well and, gasp, stalls out on occasion. We know, we're just as shocked as you are. Hold on to your hats though fellas, because the most unbelievable fact here is Ms. Reilly is single. She's probably more than willing to accept applications from novelty car junkies or creepy Back to the Future fanatics. [NYT via Dethroner]

You won't be able to convert your household garbage into energy, but the research is proving that it's possible to convert nuclear waste into energy to power vehicles, including cars. So, someday will you be driving an SUV powered by a miniature nuclear battery? Probably not in our lifetimes, but at least the idea of nuclear waste-to-electricity is being thrown around and worked on. Although, we'd hate to get in a fender bender with a car stuffed with nuclear reactors and batteries. [NewScientist via CG]

"Job one will begin the third quarter of this year, with delivery by Q1 of 2008. We're aiming for $57,500 as the sale price."

If we look at Robert Kubica's recent 75 G crash, it becomes obvious that no one ever has to die in an automobile accident. Never forget what Colonel Stapp taught us: deceleration alone does not kill humans. Years ago I was involved in a horrible accident that was phoned into 911 as "two fatalities." A 6-ton delivery truck going about 45 mph rear ended my buddy's stopped Mazda 323 at a funny angle and pushed us into oncoming traffic where the little compact was struck again by a car coming the other direction. However, both my friend and I were belted in and able to walk away virtually unscathed. In fact, the cops who arrived on scene refused to talk to us because they didn't believe we could've been in the totally deformed Mazda. I contend that if not for Ralph Nader, you wouldn't be reading this sentence, as I'd be dead. Discuss.

Everyone knows the DeLorean man is someone special- hey, look at all the attention his luggage gets from the sniff-dogs at the airport- but sometimes he needs his ride to stand out from the rest of the stainless-steel white-powder-financed gullwingers. Thus, the rotary-powered DeLorean! Just drop in a '90 Mazda 20B engine cranking out about 300 horses and you'll be able to outrun the fastest "Back To The Future" jokes with ease. – Murilee Martin

World's First Rotary DeLorean [eliseusa.com]

Related:
You Made a Tow Truck Out of a DeLorean? [internal]

Don Steger of Garden Grove, California has an irrational obsession with De Loreans. We hesitate to call anyone's obsession irrational, given our penchant for Citro ns, pickups made out of passenger vehicles and oddball Eastern Bloc cars. The pot is definitely calling the kettle black here. And truth be told, we've got a thing for De Loreans, too. But as much as we may fantasize about hiring a Czech mechanic named Sabina with a phenomenal rack and a slightly dour demeanor to run our vintage-Skoda repair business, its likelihood is fairly close to nil. On the other hand, Steiger's opened a new De Lorean Motor Company franchise in his Orange County town. Steger = 1, Jalopnik, = 0. – Davey G. Johnson

Garden Grove mechanic dreams of making De Lorean cars [OC Register]

Related:
De Lorean Motor Company Planning New...Book [Internal]

Former DeLorean Employees Re-Live 'The Dream' in Tell All Book [Market Wire via Houstonist]

Related:
You Made a Tow Truck out of a DeLorean? [Internal]

Yeah — we remember that too. Like Peter, we never realized people back in 1955 were always on fire. The only reason we were able to find that particular reference amusing was because of the DeLorean DMC-12. And because the first of the gull-wing door cars came off of the assembly line at the DMC factory in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland 26 years ago this week — we also found the clip timely. – Ray Wert

Related:
More DeLorean Papers Find Their Way to eBay [internal]

Long before the production snafus, bitter relations with Belfast over losing 80 million of the public's money, the hail-mary cocaine deal gone tits up, and the "Back to the Future" resurgence, John Z. Delorean's car company was just a series of sketches on looseleaf paper. Now, a year after Coach Z's death at 80, many of those papers — obtained in Delorean's bankruptcy filings in the 1980s — are finding their way to eBay. This time, it's the "Sedan" file — ideas for a car that was never to be — which includes such treasures as a Telex communique from Giorgetto Giugiaro, which bears Z's personal date stamp. It's not quite the Leicester Codex, but for fans of the ill-fated gullwing coupe the file's significance is inestimable. To society at large, it's at least like like finding a few test-kitchen files from the failed development of Blueberry Cocoa Puffs. [Gallery] – Mike Spinelli

Sketches Drawn by John Z. Delorean [eBay via Autovisie.nl ]

Related:
Travel Back to the Future With John De Lorean's Calendars [internal]

John "Coach" Z. De Lorean was nothing if not a flamboyant man in an age where the gray-flannel-clad company man was still the Detroit archetype. Excuse us, that's still the Detroit archetype. But the man who brought peace and prosperity to Northern Ireland with his DMC-12 project; a vision of an alternative Ulster so spectacular that the man tried to take him down on marching-powder charges. Right now, on eBay are his personal calendars from 1981 and '82, allowing you to take a walk down memory lane with the ghost of Johnny Zed. Meanwhile, update from Paris: It's still hot in the press room, and they just shitcanned the orange juice dispensary. A replay of May '68 is imminent.

EXT. RARE John Z. Delorean's Personal Calendar 81' 82' [ebay via Winding Road [Internal]

Related:
You Made a Tow Truck Out of a DeLorean? [Internal]

Thanks to Make magazine, we got wind of a DeLorean owner who's installed a Mac Mini entertainment hub hooked to a video projection unit and a 37" screen in his beloved gull-winged wonder. Question: If Dr. Brown and Marty McFly were to watch "Back to the Future" in this rig at 88 mph, would this awkward stab at self-referential humor even remotely work? We think not.

DeLorean Mac Mini [Deloreanmacmini.com via MAKE blog]

Related:
More, more Mac Mini; Delorean [internal]

What better way to top off two decades of reading (or writing) "Back to the Future" fan fiction (other than spending some needed "downtime" in a home) than buying a near-exact replica of Dr. Emmet Brown's time-machine Delorean. Reportedly the product of five years of research, this prop comes complete with a working mock-up of the Flux Capacitor, plutonium reactor and true-to-film interior lighting system with programmable time circuits. Reserve's not met at $45,500, but it may have a long and prosperous life ahead of it at the local BTtF convention and swap meet. See it in action (MOV) here, here, here and here. [Thanks to Brian and Matt for the tip.]

Back to the Future DeLorean DMC 1:1 replica [eBay]

Related:
More Movie Cars [internal]

We'd heard about a DeLorean with its stainless body panels coated in gold long ago; it lurked somewhere in our unconcious and leapt out when BlackIce_GTS sent over this link. Are we weird, or is this roughly 750.745069 percent cooler than the Sparkly SL we posted earlier today. And yes, this thing was essentially factory.

The 24-Karat Gold Plated DeLorean Car

Related:
Diamonds and Guns: Sparkly Mercedes SL [Internal]

Well, the way we see it, if you're gonna build a towing boom into a passenger car, why not do it in style? And that's exactly what this gentleman from the Pacific Northwest did, converting his Northern Irish gullwing white elephant into an honest-to-McFly tow truck, suitable for hauling around busted DMCs, or in one instance, apparently, a 35' Airstream motorhome. Any bets on what that did to the trans? [Thanks to Marc for the tip.]

In2Time Towing

Related:
Long Island DeLorean Medical Center [Internal]

While we don't know about first place, we definitely count James Bond's submersible Lotus Esprit as one of the finer movie cars ever committed to celluloid. A recent poll by UK DVD rental firm Lovefilm put the white Lotus at the top of the list, followed by Doc Brown's DeLorean, David Starsky's Ford Torino, Herbie, the Batmobile, Frank Bullitt's Mustang GT 390, The Bluesmobile, Greased Lightning, the Ghostbusters' ambulance and the Thelma & Louise T-bird.

What? No Lane Meyer Camaro? No Japanese Howard Cosell Ford Falcon? No Corvette Summer 'Vette? (Okay, that was truly a hideous car.) And furthermore, no '77 Trans Am? No Dodge TransCon Medevac ambulance? We suppose the British just aren't sophisticated enough to understand the subtleties of Burt Reynolds' oeuvre.

Bond's Lotus Esprit voted top movie car [The Register, UK]

Related:
The Internet Movie Car Database; Halleluiah [Internal]