Stolen DeLorean on Jalopnik

[dmc6960]

I am really the first one to post this here?

http://jalopnik.com/help-find-this-stolen-and-incredibly-original-black-del-1347417030

Robert (DMCVegas) has already made some good comments, there are a lot of details missing here which would be very important.

[Dangermouse]

I was just coming to do that!!!

Why would the owner go to Jalopnik and not here?


And what does "a dealer-applied non-color" mean??

and isn't this the very car?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/4072177084.html

before or after it was stolen??

(PR to help sell the car???)

[OverlandMan]

Something doesn't add up there. A stolen black DeLorean with distinctive wire wheels in non-running condition posted on Jalopnik AND a Craigslist ad in San Francisco of the same car for sale with very little information.

[DrJeff]

Something doesn't add up there...

Something does add up, it is just not legitimate. Besides the one on Craigslist is a Dalorean not a DeLorean, easy mistake :)

[LordFly]

The Craigslist one is now gone....

[Mark D]

My prediction:

The guy who stole it knows the heat is on. He'll realize he has no chance of selling the car since it's now been publicized. I bet somewhere in the flood of craigslist callers he was tipped off to the Jalopnik article.

Next week the car will be found abandoned somewhere and the owner will get it back.

[dmc]

Someone did that poor car a favor by taking it. Better than sitting and rotting.

[Mark D]

Someone did that poor car a favor by taking it. Better than sitting and rotting.

I couldn't disagree more.

Did you even read the article?

The guy that owns the car fell on financial hard times and didn't have the means to restore it. Does that mean he should have his car stolen from him?

[Dangermouse]

It's either:

a) Mikey is an idiot and listed the highly identifiable car he just stole on CL, in the same city with photos of his workplace and a contact cell number,

or

b) Mikey is a genius and sent a letter to Jalopnik generating lots of interest in the car that he is legitimately selling.

[Kane]

I don't understand your "genius" theory. No one will buy it from the thief because they will all know it was "stolen". So now the owner would have to fabricate a way that it was magically "found" and then try to sell it again as "the famous stolen DeLorean".

The post on CL from the "thief" would only hurt the sale if they are trying to just get publicity for their for sale ad. He will have to have it "recovered" and then try to sell it in a separate post.

[Josh]

Someone did that poor car a favor by taking it. Better than sitting and rotting.

I really don't understand why people think like this. It is still stealing. The owner legally possesses the car, so they can do with it as they wish. If you don't like what they are doing with it, that is not in your control.

[Dangermouse]

I don't understand your "genius" theory. No one will buy it from the thief because they will all know it was "stolen". So now the owner would have to fabricate a way that it was magically "found" and then try to sell it again as "the famous stolen DeLorean".

The post on CL from the "thief" would only hurt the sale if they are trying to just get publicity for their for sale ad. He will have to have it "recovered" and then try to sell it in a separate post.

He could just fess up that it was all a ruse and show that his drivers license details matched those on teh title.

Maybe he didn't think it all the way through.........................

(I guess I just can't believe someone would be so dumb as to steal a recognizable car like that and just craigslist it in the same town.)

[DrJeff]

Someone did that poor car a favor by taking it. Better than sitting and rotting.

I suspect humor at play... (anthropomorphism). Yeah stealing is bad, but pretending cars have feelings is funny and sometimes profitable. Just ask Pixar - "Cars" grossed $461million. Now what would be neat is if a DeLorean were included in "Cars 3".

Perhaps another opportunity for Italics or blah blah, lol

[OverlandMan]

I really don't understand why people think like this. It is still stealing. The owner legally possesses the car, so they can do with it as they wish. If you don't like what they are doing with it, that is not in your control.

Agreed. Regardless of how you feel about something, stealing is still stealing. You cannot justify it no matter how hard you try.

[virtualchuck]

" I am selling a dalorean straight body clean interior v6 stick if interested plz call me mikey 4085996952 "

Nothing at all suspicious about that ad!

Chuck

[Dangermouse]

UPDATES? Updates, dammit, I was promised Updates!!!

[Farrar]

UPDATES? Updates, dammit, I was promised Updates!!!

22116

[thirdmanj]

22116

^^ I hear they're great on French toast. :p

[Dmcfan1981]

That area code is for the southern part of the SF Bay Area...Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San Jose etc...idk if that means anything but oh well

[Dangermouse]

22116

You've been waiting to use that for a while haven't you ?

(Made me laugh though )

[DMCVegas]

I am really the first one to post this here?

http://jalopnik.com/help-find-this-stolen-and-incredibly-original-black-del-1347417030

Robert (DMCVegas) has already made some good comments, there are a lot of details missing here which would be very important.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b282/eveningsky339/hey-guys-whats-going-on-thread.jpg

Which is pretty much how I am on any DeLorean thread on Jalopnik. Ready to attack any and all misinformation.

I really don't know what the hell was going on with this whole thing. I would seriously doubt that someone would steal a DMC-12 because it is so hard to dispose of. I honestly figured that it was either impounded for code violations as a derelict vehicle, the seller was going about a lame attempt to stir up interest in the sale (why you would even need to do that for an exotic is beyond me), or if the OP was legit, the uncle hit hard times and went to discreetly sell the vehicle. But to avoid the embarrassment of being broke would have made up some story about the thing being stolen. I've had prideful relatives who've done crap like that, so it wouldn't surprise me.



I really don't understand why people think like this. It is still stealing. The owner legally possesses the car, so they can do with it as they wish. If you don't like what they are doing with it, that is not in your control.

As the owner of a DeLorean that's been sitting abandoned for a few years, I agree. You touch my car, and I'm coming after you. It's a long story to be sure. And between trying to plan for a family and needing a second car (where it's just cheaper to restore a DeLorean than buy a new car), the priority of restoring my car has been moved up for the wife and I. So yes, I do indeed plan on getting the thing back on the road. Now that I finally have a job where I can check in with the DeLorean community daily, I'm lurking and trying to catch up on things to get me motivated. But still, don't touch my car. I'm not fond of the idea that people think I'm a bad owner (though the requirement of owning a DeLorean is the ability to detach yourself from others opinions/approvals, so I'm pretty immune to this) but you have no idea what the situation is, what my plans are, and absolutely no say so.

As I start to work on the car, I'm going to document the restoration. But the biggest thing I've been working on is an explanation to help others understand what exactly it is that the owner of a car goes through when they have their dream car rotting, let alone what brings you there in the first place, and how it impacts the entire family. And believe me it does.

Dave Stragand wrote a fantastic piece called Zen and the Art of DeLorean Maintenance (http://www.projectvixen.com/zen.htm) that deals with gumption, or more simply put: What fuels someone to take on a project car, what keeps them going, and what are the biggest pitfalls that cause someone to abandon a project. I can attest that Dave is spot-on with with his essay. What he doesn't cover, what I'm wanting to, is the companion to this regarding the funk that a classic car owner succumbs to when you loose that battle and will to continue on with your project. Like this guy in the Jalopnik story with the project car, and myself with my own project car that save for ownership we've abandoned and walked away from. Certainly life changes happen to us that divert resources away from projects (be it attention or finances), and it's understandable. But I really don't think that many people actually understand what that owner goes through. And that is something that I'm looking forward to sharing. If nothing else, perhaps it will help you relate to an owner of such cars to assist in the buying of it.

[Farrar]

You've been waiting to use that for a while haven't you?

No, I just did a Google image search for dates and placed them at the top of a blank image. You were the sole inspiration, Dermot.

[Dangermouse]

It reference to my earlier post, he was just a stuipid dumbass

http://jalopnik.com/how-internet-commenters-tracked-down-this-stolen-delore-1398642792?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+jalopnik%2Ffull+%28Jalopnik%2 9

VIN 4712 for the record

[Mark D]

My prediction:

The guy who stole it knows the heat is on. He'll realize he has no chance of selling the car since it's now been publicized. I bet somewhere in the flood of craigslist callers he was tipped off to the Jalopnik article.

Next week the car will be found abandoned somewhere and the owner will get it back.

Did I call that shit or what?

[dmcerik]

200 cars away from mine.

[Dangermouse]

Did I call that shit or what?

:worship:

[Farrar]

200 cars away from mine.

Your car was stolen, too?

[dmcerik]

Your car was stolen, too?

No. the vin of that black delorean is 4712. Mines 4512.

I did move from Michigan to California last month and didn't bring the Delorean...so in a way I feel like the Delorean was stolen from my every day life. But thats a little far fetched. Its still safely tucked away in Michigan.

[yip]

I was just coming to do that!!!

Why would the owner go to Jalopnik and not here?


And what does "a dealer-applied non-color" mean??

and isn't this the very car?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/4072177084.html

before or after it was stolen??

(PR to help sell the car???)
Can't you guys stop hating Jalopnik? It might not be a DMC purist blog, but its better than many others, persay others.

[thirdmanj]

Can't you guys stop hating Jalopnik? It might not be a DMC purist blog, but its better than many others, persay others.

Bit late to the party, aren't we?

[Michael]

Can't you guys stop hating Jalopnik? It might not be a DMC purist blog, but its better than many others, persay others.

I'll stop hating on them when they get a basic...repeat BASIC knowledge of the DeLorean before reporting on it like they are the end all of DMC knowledge.

[Dangermouse]

Can't you guys stop hating Jalopnik? It might not be a DMC purist blog, but its better than many others, persay others.

Welcome :)

How do you read into those statements that we hate Jalopnik? The question was why did the car owner post to J instead of (or as well as) here?

There are several threads on here about, or featuring that site, and the general consensus is that their coverage of the car is very favorable. Of course there are many different authors on J, and some may not get it right, but Matt in particular seems to like the car.