Extract from the book "Dream Maker " what do you think?

[nick sutton]

I have read this book many times and it can be regarded as factually correct. It is accurate and can't be faulted for any description of major events that affected the company; except for a few minor slips what happened at what time etc. Its fault lies when the writers give opinions of people or events they didn't know or experience, this includes the car.

Looking for more detail on a specific event I read the following passage on page 452 which reflects on how history (the book was first published in 1983) will treat the car. As they say in the best colleges and Universities "discuss":-

"The DMC12 at its best is a low performance counterfeit of better cars and will never be the museum piece of quality its sellers claim today. At its worst individual models are seriously flawed and in some cases may be dangerous."

What do you think about the accuracy of these words.

Nick Sutton

[Farrar]

Interesting! I saw my first DeLorean in a museum -- so it is a museum piece! And as far as "dangerous" goes, of course a car is dangerous: ANY motor vehicle can be dangerous if wielded incorrectly -- my driving instructor started my first lesson with "Remember, you are in control of a couple of tons of metal and gasoline, some of which is already on fire." Heh.

Farrar

[WelmoedJ]

Farrar is right: any car can be dangerous.

However making a statement like the author did will only lead to a smile on the current owner's face.
How wrong he - the author - has been.

As an addition:
Which car manuafacturer can state that after 30 years almost 2/3 of its production still exists, one way or another.
I'm not saying that they are all drivable or all safe, but the majority is and .... they are still here!

[Jeff K]

I don't think much of that statement. He was guessing and time has proven different.

These cars are icons of the 80's and a mans dream idea. Also it's a movie star (for better or worse)

Almost every time my car is parked, I see people taking photos of it. I never see that with a Ferrari or Lambo. I live in SoCal, so I see a lot of those.

Jeff

[Dracula]

It's interesting to see just how wrong that assessment is. It's the exact opposite. It attracts infinitely more attention than the other cars it's a "counterfeit" of.

The DeLorean is the ultimate alibi; you can't drive the car anywhere without someone taking a picture of you. You can't say that about many cars. It also means that if you want to commit a murder or rob a bank, you need a second car.

The limited number of them produced guarantee its museum-piece status for all time and the flaws are no worse than a lot of the other cars I've owned.

[SamHill]

That kind of editorializing is unfortunate because it discounts their otherwise thorough reporting. It was the same in the Playboy interview where they compared it to a Karmann Ghia. Maybe certain statements were made to be quotable and sell books.

[Dracula]

Maybe certain statements were made to be quotable and sell books.

A good theory, but I'd like to present the alternative. When "Dream Maker" was written, who was the intended target audience? The only groups that readily come to mind are auto enthusiasts, DeLorean owners, and DeLorean (The man, not the car) enthusiasts. The first, if they care enough to read that book, would have formed their own opinion on the car, so it's not going to sway them. Owners are going to be biased towards their car; even if, in some cases, it's only to save face and justify their purchase. Fans of DeLorean: the man, would see him through the rose-colored glasses that most current owners of these cars have or dislike him because of the drug charges, but those people would hardly be inclined to read a book on someone they dislike.

I think it's merely one man's opinionated statement, and slightly biased at that, and it merely turned out to be wrong by the virtue of time.

[Sidaries]

I think BTTF helped a lot to the Delorean to be famous. Without it no one can say, what could have happened. Maybe the prophecy in the beginning would be true.

[Michael]

Based on your assesment of the book I bought a copy. I did not read "Hard Drivin" because I felt(from people who reviewed the book) it was written with a negative bias.

[nick sutton]

Michael,

When you read the book remember two things - factually the book is very good and although there are some minor errors in the history as it progresses the detail is good. However the writer then gives opinions of people and events that he had not experienced but gained these details second hand. In this regard it is not give a balanced view.

The book is about the DeLorean scandals and it’s extremely well researched but because it concentrates on the negative it doesn't give any real detail as to the tremendous efforts by DeLorean staff in Belfast who made the dream work.

Let me know what you think when you have finished reading it.

Nick