Never Heard This Story Before...

[dvonk]

so, VIN 16360 just got listed on ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DeLorean-1983-DeLorean-DMC-12-/280725373382?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item415c8941c6)... (its in Nebraska! :shock:) i believe this D was given away in a sweepstakes contest by a radio station in the last year or so. i had posted something about the contest, but it was on the old forum, so there is no way for me to be sure.

however, this is not why i am posting. part of the auction description mentions a story about JZD which sounds to me like complete and total bullshit, but i thought id check to see what everyone else thinks.

from the auction:

...In the final days of the DeLorean Motor Company, John DeLorean brought 400 cars to the blimp hangers at the Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, CA. The cars were to be sold in a one-day-cash-only sale, with a ticket price of $25,000. John DeLorean had quite a few challenges to overcome at that time and despite raising $10,000,000 that day the company could not recover.


in my reading about JZD and DMC over the past 15 years, i have never heard mention of such this story before, but i dont claim to know everything...

[tkewley]

Based on a quick scan of a couple of the more notable DeLorean/DMC histories, I don't find anything even slightly similar to this story. As a practical matter, at the end JZD didn't own, or have any control over cars in the pipeline - Bank of America did. He couldn't have gotten his hands on 40 cars, much less 400.

[TTait]

I don't think $25k was a particularly attractive price at that point either, was it?

[David T]

A TRUE story was that about 2 dozen men showed up at the QAC center in Bridgewater, NJ and took about 2 dozen cars to JZD's Bedminster, NJ Estate which was not far away. The Bankruptcy Trustee eventually got the cars back. This story was told to us by the caretaker of the Estate, Ed Russo, when the DMA was there before it was originally sold to a Golf Resort. I never heard of the California story. There was no way they could have been sold without all of the paperwork (Titles) so maybe JZD was going to hold them hostage for a ransom?
David Teitelbaum

[tkewley]

A TRUE story was that about 2 dozen men showed up at the QAC center in Bridgewater, NJ and took about 2 dozen cars to JZD's Bedminster, NJ Estate which was not far away. The Bankruptcy Trustee eventually got the cars back. This story was told to us by the caretaker of the Estate, Ed Russo, when the DMA was there before it was originally sold to a Golf Resort. I never heard of the California story. There was no way they could have been sold without all of the paperwork (Titles) so maybe JZD was going to hold them hostage for a ransom?
David Teitelbaum

The "Bridgewater incident" is documented in both of the histories that I referenced in my comment above.

[dvonk]

I don't think $25k was a particularly attractive price at that point either, was it?

yeah, i figured it was just a load of crap... one thing (among others) that tipped me off was the $25k price tag.

[john 05141]

I can't say if this story is true, but There were many DeLoreans stored in a blimp hangar at one time. When I was reading this story, I immediately remembered this picure. I always wondered where this picture is taken and what type of warehouse it is becasue it is so huge. Maybe the story is partially true. I find this an impressive picture.
John

[nofear365]

That might be Sol Shenk's place when his consolidation company bought the remaining DMC inventory.

[Grover]

I can't say if this story is true, but There were many DeLoreans stored in a blimp hangar at one time. When I was reading this story, I immediately remembered this picure. I always wondered where this picture is taken and what type of warehouse it is becasue it is so huge. Maybe the story is partially true. I find this an impressive picture.
John

I have never seen this photo, thanks for sharing!

[David T]

That building is not a blimp hanger. It looks like a factory building with overhead cranes. It could be a building at a port where they kept the cars indoors when they came off the ship. I had not seen that photo either.
David Teitelbaum

[Dangermouse]

I understood that picture to be at Belfast docks when the cars were stockpiled there during receivership. I think Neal Barclay identified it, perhaps.

[dvonk]

+1, that sounds right to me.