A DeLorean Article from the Norfolk, Nebraska Newspaper - June 29, 2006

[dvonk]

my mom sent me this article from the front page of the Norfolk Daily News nearly 6 years ago; i thought you guys might like to read it. ive included a transcript as well as images of the actual article so you can see the images, captions and sidebar.

i believe i am the only Nebraska native that is currently active on this forum, but i would love to be wrong. if there are any others, feel free to speak up!

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Just 6,000 of John DeLorean's DMC-12s still exist – including three in Norfolk.

Famed DeLorean car stands the test of time
By Tom Behmer

In 1973, John DeLorean quite his job as vice president of General Motors. Five years later, he pursued a dream of creating a new sports car.
In the early 1980s, DeLorean's dream came true–for a short time, anyway.
The gull-winged DMC-12 was put into production, but because of financial problems and other factors, DeLorean's dream vanished as quickly as the car did when lightning was channeled into the flux capacitor as the car hit 88 miles per hour in the movie, "Back to the Future."
Although actors Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd aren't in town, Norfolk is home to a few DMC-12s of its own–minus, of course, the flux capacitors.
According to James Espey of the DeLorean Motor Co. in Humble, Texas, there are at least three DeLoreans in Norfolk.
While one has some minor body damage and is parked in a hangar and another is on a Florida vacation, the third can sometimes be seen driving the streets of Norfolk.
Owned by Jason Judt, this particular 1981 DMC-12 could easily be mistaken for one of the cars that was used in the "Back to the Future" movies.

"This time of year, I probably get it out about once a week. In the fall, it might be once a month," he said. "Once snow hits the ground, the cover goes on and it doesn't see the road, usually until about March."
For Judt, a longtime fascination with the DMC-12 that began the first time he saw "Back to the Future" led him to purchase a DeLorean.
"At the time, I didn't realize that it was an actual car," he said. "I remember seeing one in Omaha. I kind of did a double take and I thought, 'That's the "Back to the Future" car.' "


'This was destined to be my car'

For Judt, the road to buying his car was not easy.
After finding a DeLorean in Wisconsin that piqued his interest about three years ago, the car disappeared and its owner discontinued communication with Judt. Still, Judt had the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and other information about the car.
Nearly nine months later, Judt found a DeLorean registered to an Arkansas owner on eBay.
"I noticed the VIN and I thought that it looked familiar," Judt said while looking over his car in the garage of his Woodland Park home. "I had saved the e-mails from nine months ago. Sure enough, it was the same one."
Judt then contacted the owner in Arkansas, who verified that the car was the one he had been looking at in Wisconsin. The rest is history.
"I probably would have preferred a manual (transmission), but when I ran across this one twice, I figured it was fate," he said. "This was destined to be my car."
While the interest in the DeLorean may have started with "Back to the Future," cars have been a part of Judt's blood for most of his life.
He and his father, John, regularly attend car shows together. John Judt owns a 1955 Chevrolet Nomad–a far cry from a 1981 DMC-12.
"Usually, we'll go together. We'll take our cars," Judt said of their trips to car shows. "This time of the year, it's almost every weekend."


Fewer than 10,000 were made

While most 1981 models don't qualify as classic or show cars, the fact that fewer than 10,000 of the cars were manufactured sets it apart.
"With cars being totaled out over the years, they estimate that there's about 6,000 left in the whole world," Judt said.
From the moment that DeLorean created the Pontiac GTO while working at General Motors to his death last year, it's all part of Judt's knowledge about DeLorean's life and the life of the cars that he created. "You have respect for it because you know the history of it," he said. "(No other car) has the history surrounding it that this does."
And despite the fact that DeLorean has died and the cars are no longer made, the legacy of the DMC-12 lives on.
It lives on so much, in fact, that a new DeLorean Motor Co. has been born. Originally formed in Texas, the company now has facilities in Florida and Europe. But, according to Judt, new DeLoreans won't be coming out of the company anytime soon.
"They've got crates and crates of engines with zero miles on them that have never been in a car before. They could build brand-new, 25-year-old cars, because the parts are all 25 years old," Judt said. "If they did that, they would have to change their status and become an auto manufacturer."
Since the cars were made with stainless steel bodies, though, a brand-new 25-year-old car isn't much of a stretch. The stainless steel prevents the possibility of rust, which means that if the vehicle is well-maintained, it can take on the appearance of being a new car even when it is 25 years old.
Judt's DMC-12–despite having more than 45,000 miles on it and changing hands several times–appears to be almost new.


Gull-winged doors take 'less room'

As for unique aspects of the car, the gull-winged doors are at the top of the list. One might think that could cause a space problem in some small garages, but that's not the case.
"Actually, you need less clearance room to open these than you do for a standard car door," Judt said. "For these, you only need 11 inches of clearance."
With its gull-winged doors; a 2.8 liter, rear V-6 PRV (Peugeot, Renault, Volvo) engine and a Lotus-designed frame, the car's unique look is accompanied by a bit of power. Because of the weight of the stainless steel, though, Judt said it doesn't accelerate the way he would like it to.
"One-hundred and thirty horse is the stock horsepower, so that's the one downfall," he said. "The engine itself is a good engine, but when it's trying to push a ton-and-a-half car, it lacks the get-up-and-go factor."
And while it may not have the flux capacitor, Judt says it's still a time machine.
"A Lot of people ask, 'Can you travel through time in this?' " he said. "I always tell them, 'Yeah I can, I just can't go backward. It only goes forward through time–very slowly.' "

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[BTTF-1]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

Ed

[dvonk]

no problem! reading this article makes me wonder: what is the ratio of DeLorean owners that are members of the forum to owners that are not members?

if every single member is was an owner, the ratio would be c. 1700:6500 (yes, the total is debatable, but lets just use it for the sake of an argument). that would be roughly 26% of owners. obviously it is not the case, myself being a prime example of a non-owner. also, there are quite a few members with multiple DeLoreans... and lets not forget the cars are squirreled away and unused, the owners waiting to sell their 'gold mine' for $100,000.

i suppose the vendors would actually have a more accurate estimation of how many DeLoreans are actively being used/restored instead of rotting.

oh well, just thinking 'out loud.' feel free to comment.

[Dangermouse]

Humbly suggest that you start another thread in the Open Discussion on this (owners/members), as it's not really "Historical Docs"

[ccurzio]

This thread has been moved to Open Discussion.

[dvonk]

fair enough.

[Sidaries]

I like, that no drugs were mentioned, only: "because of financial problems and other factors, DeLorean's dream vanished"

[Chris Burns]

I like it when it says, "The engine itself is a good engine". True words! Not a powerful motor, but reliable.

[skynet]

no problem! reading this article makes me wonder: what is the ratio of DeLorean owners that are members of the forum to owners that are not members?

if every single member is was an owner, the ratio would be c. 1700:6500 (yes, the total is debatable, but lets just use it for the sake of an argument). that would be roughly 26% of owners. obviously it is not the case, myself being a prime example of a non-owner. also, there are quite a few members with multiple DeLoreans... and lets not forget the cars are squirreled away and unused, the owners waiting to sell their 'gold mine' for $100,000.

i suppose the vendors would actually have a more accurate estimation of how many DeLoreans are actively being used/restored instead of rotting.

oh well, just thinking 'out loud.' feel free to comment.

1700:6500 is roughly 20%

[Bitsyncmaster]

Why do a lot of people think stainless steel weighs more than ordinary steel?