Books

[dtavres]

Which edition are you reading?

Thanks very much.

It LOOKS like first edition... see attached.
2015-11-30 23.45.00 (Large).jpg

[DMCVegas]

That certainly looks like the original one. The second printing that DMCH did has their own publishing label on it. It has some spelling corrections, some other minor factual corrections, and also an addendum that briefly covers both BTTF as well as DMCH itself.

I've done a lot of work with Bodie over the years, and "facts" often get inflated, mis-represented or just mis-understood when they are re-told.

The truth of the matter is that there are still many, MANY other facts that to this day remain unknown. The biggest example of this is the portrayal of how JZD "abandoned" the DMC-12 shortly after it's inception to focus on other products such as the DMC-80 & the DMC-44. It's been a while and all of my reference materials are sealed up with my car in storage so I can't remember for certain of it was SSI or Dream Maker, though I'm certain it was SSI. Anyhow, there is this forward written by some psychologist or something that profiles JZD and says all this stuff where he diagnoses the man with all these issues where he wants to be on the cutting edge of starting a project, but never seeing it through to the end, has ego problems, etc. It's very, very negative.

And as I found out years later, it was also highly, HIGHLY inaccurate.

I spoke with Jeff Nesseth once who painted a very clear picture that JZD's plans for the company was to be a global conglomerate with various divisions. Later on James Espy debuted the investor prospectus film of the DMC-44 at the 2005 Open House event which had clear comparisons against the Jeep CJ for agricultural use. And the pamphlets for the DMC-80 did comparisons against other competitor buses (GM N.A. Truck Division's RTS Line of buses, though not specifically).

Coupled together, it's clear to see what happened. JZD wasn't "bored" with the DMC-12 in the least. Think about it; what was the reason which he created a sports car in the first place? By De Lorean's own reasoning, it was a niche market in which he could easily compete. Packard and Kaiser both had monumentally failed because they tried to go directly after the Big 3's bread and butter of normal commuter cars. Something that De Lorean was quite aware of. But Kaiser did have one particular vehicle that not only avoided failure, but flourished and still exists to this day: Jeep (even as much as GM just loves to tout the Suburban's age, they remain quiet about it's origins as a transport vehicle designed around the dimensions of an adult coffin to discretely transport corpses from hospitals to funeral homes). Jeep has survived several companies, and numerous spin-offs 4x4s over the years because it is a niche vehicle. It survived because of that. Niche vehicles have both lower competition levels and much higher profit margins. That was precisely what the gullwinged DMC-12 was designed to do. Same with the DMC-44 & DMC-80; niche markets with growing demand that was supplied by a vary limited number of competitors.

So was JZD really someone who wasn't all that committed to the DMC-12, and became dismissive of it solely for personal fund raising? Hardly. What he was trying to do was go after other markets with other products to expand the company's portfolio in order to develop as many income sources as possible. So that way when sales of the DMC-12 slumped, they could fall back on the other product's profits to keep things afloat. Now yes, some of this, like the DMC-80 definitely had the trigger pulled on it way to early. But the DMC-44 would have been a great, moderate investment. And his desire for a turn-key auto company via acquisition would have sealed the deal ever further.

More importantly here is the lesson that you can't take everything simply at face value. Even these old books. They are biased, most of it's really only because they never had all of the facts at hand. It's easy to look at that "psychological profile" of John Z. De Lorean and say, "Woah, this guy is right! JZD *didn't* see his project through like he says!" Then when you start getting a clearer picture of what what the entire operation of the corporate machine was rather than the central gear that was JZD, that whole opinion just looks like utter and complete horseshit. People tend to incorrectly treat viewpoints as opinions, rather than what they literally are: a vantage point that offers a different view of things that can result in totally different insight.

Which on a somewhat related note, JZD has always been this consummate gentleman businessman. So for myself, the 1985 Playboy interview and his audiobook narration of Smokey Yunick's autobiography where he cusses like, well, how I also do, were very refreshing to allow you to hear just how human and relatable the man really was.

[louielouie2000]

Has anyone received their copy of Barrie Wills book John Z, the DeLorean and Me ...Tales From an Insider yet? Sounds like it should be interesting!

[dtavres]

...there is this forward written by some psychologist or something that profiles JZD and says all this stuff where he diagnoses the man with all these issues where he wants to be on the cutting edge of starting a project, but never seeing it through to the end, has ego problems, etc. It's very, very negative.

Yeah, that interview with the psychologist lost me pretty quickly, as the psychologist hadn't actually known or even interviewed JZD himself! His analysis was completely based on things he had read about JZD. Once that became obvious, I discounted it completely.

I'm nearly through the book now, really trying to study it and understand what went on with the development of the car.

One of the biggest things I'm getting out of it is that it doesn't seem to be an overly complex vehicle. Others have recommended getting a shop manual for the car and studying that. I think I'd like to spend a few months really pouring over the manual so I have a better chance of doing some maintenance and repairs myself (with the help of DMC Parts).

[DMCVegas]

One of the biggest things I'm getting out of it is that it doesn't seem to be an overly complex vehicle. Others have recommended getting a shop manual for the car and studying that. I think I'd like to spend a few months really pouring over the manual so I have a better chance of doing some maintenance and repairs myself (with the help of DMC Parts).

No, it's not at all. After having seen the Bricklin SV-1 and it's atrocious interior consisting of things from cheap upholstery, to off the shelf VDO gauges you could order from any hot rod catalog, JZD's mantra for the DMC-12 was that anything the driver could see or touch MUST be unique to the car to deliver a premium experience that let them know they were in a DeLorean and nothing else. However, anything mechanical that was hidden away was to use off the shelf parts that were readily available for both mass production as well as quick and simple repairs. He took allot of crap for worrying about the wrinkle pattern, but it was for a good reason.

Interestingly enough, I once saw a guy who had an SV-1 for sale in the paper, and I contacted him. I said I'd never seen one and couldn't buy it, but would really love to just look it over. And in return he could go over my DeLorean. The guy said sure, and off we went. My buddy actually was interested in buying the car if he liked it, but wasn't sure. The Bricklin guy actually commented to me that he couldn't believe my interior. He poured over all of the gauges, knobs, handles, switches, and the like and said he couldn't figure out what any of them were cross-referenced from. He said that he had a new respect for the car because it truly was designed from the ground-up as it's own car.

[Dangermouse]

one of the biggest things i'm getting out of it is that it doesn't seem to be an overly complex vehicle. Others have recommended getting a shop manual for the car and studying that. I think i'd like to spend a few months really pouring over the manual so i have a better chance of doing some maintenance and repairs myself (with the help of dmctalk).

ftfy

[dtavres]

...and then there's this...

"A TV miniseries is planned on the late auto industry maverick John Z. DeLorean, who was the subject of several films and books in which a Hollywood producer said “never got his story right."
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...nned/76853576/

[Jonathan]

I saw this one in the bookstore the other day: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ins...=9781493032310

It is called 'Inside the Star Wars Empire' and it has a lot more in it than just Star Wars stuff. Turns out the author was a big part of the special effects team for many great movies and BTTF 3 was one of them. There's a fair bit of good info and pictures on how they crashed the train down into Eastwood ravine back in 1885.

Wondered if anyone here has seen this one or read it.

This guy could be a possible VIP guest idea for a future DCS...