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Delorean Time Machine Replica Up For Auction

PunkerTFC writes "I'm sure most of you remember the movie Back To The Future. Well, now you have a chance to own your very own 1982 Delorean, fully equipped for time travel. It has a "Flux Capacitor", "Time Circuits" and "exterior Flux Dispersion Banding". This thing is clearly a chick magnet, and if you can't get them on the first pass, you can always crank it up to 88 mph and go back in time to try it again! Seriously though, this car is amazing, definitely worth a look to see the details. Nothing has been missed, and my hat goes off to the builder."

431 comments

  1. I love that car... by bitchell · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Shame the designer was a junkie ;[

    1. Re:I love that car... by bitchell · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      I should clarify that the Irish designer of the delorian was a junkie not the man that stuck the flux capacitor in.

      BTW First post as well ;]

    2. Re:I love that car... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      He was neither Irish, nor a junkie. He was an American of French decent, and was charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine, and aquitted due to the cop's obvious attempt to entrap him.

    3. Re:I love that car... by thinmac · · Score: 4, Informative

      Shame the designer was a junkie ;[

      Actually, he wasn't a junkie, he was accused of dealing cocain but was aquitted on all charges because he was entrapped.

      IMHO, the real shame is that such a great designer didn't pair up with a great business manager who could make his ideas successful rather than a footnote in automotive history.

    4. Re:I love that car... by grahamlee · · Score: 1

      ...and that the CEO was a thieving bastard and swindled the .gov.uk out of so much money. But yeah, the DMC-12 is nice :-).

    5. Re:I love that car... by jeffkjo1 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually, he wasn't a junkie, he was accused of dealing cocain but was aquitted on all charges because he was entrapped.

      This guy is right. John DeLorean got teamed up with someone who he thought was going to fuse a large amount of cash into his company in order to save it (after his original loans by the royal family were spontaneously and unfairly called.) He had no idea that this guys plan was for him to sell coke in order to get the money.
      DeLorean attempted to back out, but the man threatened his daughters life. With this in mind, he agreed to go through with the deal. Only at this point did the true facts come out. This gentlman was ACTUALLY a very over zealous cop who did all of this deliberately.
      Entrapment.
      DeLorean was (very appropriately) acquited of all charges.

    6. Re:I love that car... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Shame the designer was a junkie

      Actually John Z. DeLorean was NOT a junkie, you yutz. Also, the DeLorean was crappiest design JZD ever put out. The '64 GTO was his first real stroke of genious. He created the friggin muscle car era but stuff the 389 into midsize body and adding some serious sex appeal. And who can deny that the 67 model year, with it's Coke bottle shape and "venturi" styling and 389 triple duece was not the peak of automotive development. Finally, let's not forget the '69 GTO The Judge!

    7. Re:I love that car... by ScottGant · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, according to the link you provided, it wasn't John Delorean (the CEO) that swindled the money out of the UK, it was Arthur Andersen, the U.S. accounting giant that handled DeLorean accounts.

      The Delorean had so many problems with tariffs and shipping and just a mess that many of the 9,000 cars they made sat in parking lots waiting to come to America.

      To call John Delorean a thieving bastard is to not understand everything that happened. John DeLorean has stayed out of the limelight. He's been entangled in about 40 legal cases stemming from his company's bankruptcy. He personally declared bankruptcy in September 1999. He was evicted from his house in 2000.

      So much for the "thieving bastard".

      --

      "Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
    8. Re:I love that car... by ScottGant · · Score: 1, Funny

      "If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits eighty-eight miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious shit."

      --

      "Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
    9. Re:I love that car... by jridley · · Score: 1

      the DeLorean was crappiest design JZD ever put out

      I'm glad someone said it. I don't have a lot of specific knowledge on the subject, but I've heard several exotic car enthusiasts say that the DeLorean was perhaps stylish, but it was a piece of junk.

      I saw a guy with one in a parking lot once, trying to get his door closed. He'd slam it down, it'd pop right back up again. He was wrestling with a screwdriver in the latch. I talked with him for a few minutes, and he confirmed that yes, the car got him noticed, but it was a pain in the ass to keep going, little bits of it kept breaking all the time.

    10. Re:I love that car... by slittle · · Score: 1

      What happened to the cop? He shoulda been tossed in gaol (jail) himself.

      --
      Opportunity knocks. Karma hunts you down.
    11. Re:I love that car... by Bertie · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It was an utter pile of shit, by all accounts. Basically, they built a show car with no regard for how to make it suitable for production, and got Lotus in to make a proper car out of it. Colin Chapman took one look at it and said "right, we'll basically have to start all over again", and it was a total rush job with nowhere near enough money spent on it. It was never meant to be made out of stainless steel, so it's slower and therefore heavier than it was meant to be. The perfect illustration of what a balls-up it was is the windows on the gullwing doors - it didn't occur to anybody until very late on that the windows couldn't actually be opened because of the door design, so they had to cut out those little windows-within-windows you can see if you look at the photos on the auction page.

    12. Re:I love that car... by grahamlee · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yes, they are what are referred to as "receivers". The .gov.uk had to sue them to get their JZDeLorean money back. Which they didn't manage to do.

    13. Re:I love that car... by ScottGant · · Score: 1

      Also, the firm of Arthur Andersen isn't/wasn't known for their totally legal business practices...as they were also the accounting firm behind Enron.

      --

      "Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
    14. Re:I love that car... by Sergeant+Beavis · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately he never got his reputation back. To many still think this poor guy is a drug dealer.

      --
      There is nothing inherently safe about liberty. That's why so many people died protecting it.
    15. Re:I love that car... by taernim · · Score: 2, Interesting

      John Delorean did have his scrapes with the law.

      He went to school at Lawrence Tech, where my ex just happened to have gone and shared with me stories that have been passed down about the man.

      One such story is that he typed up letters claiming to be from the power company, saying that the company had underpaid by $5 and to remit payment to a PO Box.

      He sent these letters to a number of companies -- the PO box being his own personal box.

      He was tried for it and levied a fine... ironically the fine was LESS than the money he made from the whole scam.

      So I'm not saying the man was guilty of everything accused, but he definitely was not a total angel.

      --
      "PC Load Letter? What the $@#% does that mean?!"
  2. Mr. Fusion? by grahamlee · · Score: 5, Funny

    This baby lacks a Mr. Fusion. I take it that the car also doesn't fly for use in 2015... :-(. Oh well, whoever buys it has much happy modding ahead of them!

    1. Re:Mr. Fusion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      gah - so so close to a first post :'(

    2. Re:Mr. Fusion? by Lussarn · · Score: 5, Funny

      This baby lacks a Mr. Fusion.
      Time to call the libyans. I'm going to send them a bomb full of pinball parts.

    3. Re:Mr. Fusion? by Catiline · · Score: 4, Funny
      No, no, no!!! The obvious lack of a Mr. Fusion is a good thing!

      It means you can beg off giving rides through time because Homeland Security has made it impossible to obtain enough Plutonium!

      With a Mr. Fusion you'd just have to give some lamer, cheap excuse....
    4. Re:Mr. Fusion? by AKnightCowboy · · Score: 2, Funny
      With a Mr. Fusion you'd just have to give some lamer, cheap excuse....

      Like "I never thought ahead to convert my flying time machine to run on an electric engine instead of this antiquated internal combustion engine"? What kind of scientist was Doc Brown anyway.. he couldn't think of that? I imagine electric engines would be VERY common in a time when you can buy a little conversion kit called Mr. Fusion to supply gigawatts of electric power to a car. Even still, you'd think he could've built an electric engine when he was trapped back in the old west and just used batteries to store power generated by Mr. Fusion if he wants to use the excuse that he needs every bit of power from Mr. Fusion at the time of time travel to power the flux capacitor. I guess I'm too much of a dork to be analyzing that lame ass third movie this much, but for the record, my time machine coupled with a fusion reactor that runs on garbage will most definitely be a GM EV1.

    5. Re:Mr. Fusion? by portwojc · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well that would be an upgrade accesory kit along with the hover conversion. I'm sure if you ask nicely you can find out what year you need to visit for the update.

    6. Re:Mr. Fusion? by peragrin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Just to be even more lame than you :-)

      My vechile is the soon to be out Ford Escape Hybrid. That way I can use Mr Fusion to bypass the gas engine when ever I want. Also the off-road is needed when travelling back to 1885.

      An EV1 as no ground clearance for those old west dirt paths

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    7. Re:Mr. Fusion? by bwy · · Score: 1

      Well, it probably doesn't count as flying either, but there used to be an 80's club in Manhattan that had a de lorean hanging from the ceiling. Anybody know the place I'm talking about? Maybe it is still open, even.

    8. Re:Mr. Fusion? by nyteroot · · Score: 1, Informative

      Also, this car is an automatic; or at least, the decription says so, from the poor angle the photos provide its impossible to tell. The scene at the beginning of BTTF1 in which Marty is raing away from the Libyans clearly shows the original time machine to have a manual transmission. Oh well.. :/

      --
      Ratio of replies to old sig content : replies to actual post content > 0.5. Sig changed.
    9. Re:Mr. Fusion? by LightningTH · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Here is the fun part, if you watch the first movie, you'll notice the tail pipes are missing. It also has an odd sound when it starts up, as if something electrical turned on. It was suppose to have a nuclear engine in it.

      They then did the 3rd movie, and needed a way to have the car break down, so the combustion engine came back.

    10. Re:Mr. Fusion? by Ancient+Devices+King · · Score: 1

      People still drive old cars which were designed for leaded gas (for example). My aunt used to have a really old Volvo that wanted leaded gas. When she refueled it, she had to put in the premium (97 octane) fuel, then add an octane booster to that. Perhaps it will simply become like that: possible, but a pain.
      Anyway, who's to say Doc Brown didn't run the car on electric power? The only time we see them try to fuel up the car is in 1885, when they try to run it on alcohol. Maybe the good Doctor just left in the old gas engine, just in case.
      Or maybe a Mr. Fusion is from even farther in the future than what we see, and the Doc knew that since he'd need to use it a lot in the 1985-2015 time range, it would pay to leave the gas engine in there.

      --
      -"It seems like you're trying to exploit a security hole. Would you like help?"
    11. Re:Mr. Fusion? by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      This baby lacks a Mr. Fusion.

      Can you even get a Krups 'Coffina' Coffee Grinder Model 223-A today to build one?

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    12. Re:Mr. Fusion? by ImpTech · · Score: 1

      What I want to know is, does it *sound* like the DeLorean Time Machine we all know and love? I'm assuming a stock DeLorean doesn't make that trademark 'whining' noise while accelerating. Without that, well, its just not the same...

    13. Re:Mr. Fusion? by ImpTech · · Score: 1

      EEEW! Furthermore, its a fsking *automatic* transmission! What kind of person goes to all this effort and doesn't start with a manual???

    14. Re:Mr. Fusion? by Quikah · · Score: 1

      How do you explain the engine dying/not starting in the first movie then?

      --
      Q.
    15. Re:Mr. Fusion? by ImpTech · · Score: 1

      Oops.. it says automatic at the top, but 5-speed manual in the description, and you can see the stick-shift and clutch pedal in the pictures. My bad.

    16. Re:Mr. Fusion? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not to mention that the DeLorean in BTF had a manual transmission and this one has an automatic transmission. 5 years of painstaking research eh? Pretty big oversite IMHO.

    17. Re:Mr. Fusion? by zonker · · Score: 0

      yeah, well with an administration that doesn't believe in evolution, i don't think you are going to convince them of time travel either...

    18. Re:Mr. Fusion? by geekoid · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Faulty electronics? OS malfunction? Your computer probably doesn't have a gas engine, but I bet it behaves oddly from time to time.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    19. Re:Mr. Fusion? by attercoppe · · Score: 1

      Look again at the pictures - the first two are quite different in quality from the rest. Also, the latter pictures show a BTTF "branded" OUTATIME license plate, the second of the first two shows a Florida license plate (the location of the seller). I suspect the seller only has two (poor quality) pictures of his (possibly poor quality) reproduction, and has used better pictures of someone else's repro, or a studio model, to supplement.

      --
      Hardware Geeks Do It With The Covers Off!
    20. Re:Mr. Fusion? by attercoppe · · Score: 1


      In fact, (from BoingBoing):

      BoingBoing reader Jesse Mazer says, "The guy who put up that Back to the Future DeLorean for auction is actually not the one who made it, and apparently he's using the creator's copyrighted photos of the car without permission, which previously resulted in a similar auction being taken down...also, according to the creator, he sold it to the guy because it had "a totally junked frame". The info is here.

      Sorry for the repost...

      --
      Hardware Geeks Do It With The Covers Off!
    21. Re:Mr. Fusion? by myov · · Score: 1

      IIRC (I missed this part when it was on TBS a while back), in Part 3, it's explained that the time circuits run on Mr. Fusion, but the internal combustion engine (which dies due to a fuel leak) physically moves the car. No engine = no movement = no way to get to 88 mph.

      (which is why they needed the train)

      --
      I use Macs to up my productivity, so up yours Microsoft!
    22. Re:Mr. Fusion? by Designadrug · · Score: 1
      The Mr Fusion wasn't in the "original" car - that took plutonium fuel rods remember?

      However one genuine inaccuracy is that the car from the movie was a manual, not an automatic. (Marty says "lets see if you guys can do ninety", changes gear, knocks the time circuits on, and the rest is history)

      --
      Cogitum Ergo Hatto
    23. Re:Mr. Fusion? by Mr.+Fusion · · Score: 1
      This baby lacks a Mr. Fusion.

      Of course it doesn't, it's not 2015 yet. What did you think it was, a time machine? Sheesh...

      -Mr. Fusion

    24. Re:Mr. Fusion? by fucksl4shd0t · · Score: 1

      Look, that third movie is so full of plotholes I pretty much try to ignore most of it. :( Clayton Ravine? Doc falls in love with Clara Clayton before Mad Dog Tannen shoots him? So, how is it that they saved Clara (who the Doc wouldn't have saved if Marty hadn't been there in the first place) and the ravine was still called Clayton ravine? Besides, after Marty knocked out Buford, they didn't even have to leave, anymore. Now they had plenty of time to build an electrical engine! WTF?

      And if he had the hover conversion done, why is the damn combustion engine still there? How is there room, in a car that only previously barely had enough room for what came on it out of the factory, how does this car now have room for a portable fusion generator that works with any kind of material and the hover gear? (We already know where all the time travel stuff is)

      The first movie was a great movie and a lot of fun. The second movie is a great movie and a lot of fun, too (even if it had a few plotholes in it, but not nearly as many as the third). The third movie (made at the same time as the second, iirc) was a sucky movie whose only redeeming trait is ZZ Top spinning their guitars in the old west.

      --
      Like what I said? You might like my music
    25. Re:Mr. Fusion? by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 1

      Firstly, the car isn't propelled by Mr Fusion. It's got to get to 88 Mph using plain gasoline, allegedly. Mr Fusion is for the time part of the car, not the go-fast part of the car. It replaces the need for the plutonium and gives the 1.21 "jigawatts".

      Secondly, there were a LOT of duplicate Delorians in 1955. I think there were something like 4 of them. I don't think the one Marty used was the one from the future, but one of the others.

      (Delorian #1 - the one that Marty took back to 1955, in the first movie. Delorian #2 - the one that old Biff took back to give the sports alminac to young Biff. Delorian #3 - the one Marty and Doc came back in. Delorian #4 - the one hidden in the cave behind the drive-in from the wild west to 1955. At one moment in the film, I realized all four of these were in the same time, in the same town, and they were really the same one jumping there many times. That was kind of odd to wrap my brain around.)

      --

      Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

    26. Re:Mr. Fusion? by AKnightCowboy · · Score: 1
      in Part 3, it's explained that the time circuits run on Mr. Fusion, but the internal combustion engine (which dies due to a fuel leak) physically moves the car. No engine = no movement = no way to get to 88 mph.

      Which is why I mentioned that in 2015 electric engines will be pretty common. You'd think he would've thought about swapping out that 30 year old internal combustion engine with a new efficient electric engine that probably puts out a LOT more power AND could run off Mr. Fusion directly. ;-)

    27. Re:Mr. Fusion? by opello · · Score: 1

      regarding the ravine:
      are you saying that marty (after they saved clara) should have instantly known it was not clayton ravine? and when the delorean comes rolling across the bridge on the tracks in movie 3, it's called eastwood ravine...

      hover conversion -- he was going to the present after the hover conversion, so a flying car may just be a bit out of the ordinary (but ... not a flying train? :) but the 'hover gear' is the tires / wheel conversion stuff and the big engine on the back that blows out coolant or something in the first movie (i never quite understood that)

    28. Re:Mr. Fusion? by fucksl4shd0t · · Score: 1

      are you saying that marty (after they saved clara) should have instantly known it was not clayton ravine? and when the delorean comes rolling across the bridge on the tracks in movie 3, it's called eastwood ravine...

      The plot is pretty convoluted, and there's something never quite explained. Ok, so Marty grows up calling it Clayton Ravine, named after some schoolteacher or whatever that fell in. Then he messes with the past in the first movie, but naturally didn't affect the name of the ravine. At the end of the second movie, Doc gets thrown back in time and falls in love with Clara, because her name is on his tombstone, and he's killed just a few days after writing the letter to Marty. So Marty goes back in time. Then we learn that the only reason Clara did not fall in the ravine is because Marty and Doc saved her. Trick is, they saved her precisely because they were looking for a way to get the DeLorean up to 88 to escape Doc's fate. So, when Marty gets the letter and Doc is already dead and buried, he was not there to cause Doc to be anywhere near that ravine when she was going to fall in. Therefore, Doc didn't meet her, they didn't dance, they didn't have their first kiss, and they didn't fall in love.

      So, the plothole is simple. ;) Doc saved Clara and fell in love with her while he and Marty were looking for a way to get up to 88. If marty had not been there (or rather, before he was there, in the history they were trying to prevent), he had no business at the ravine, so how did her name get on his tombstone?

      --
      Like what I said? You might like my music
  3. 99% certainty the buyer is ... by Hekatchu · · Score: 5, Funny

    Somehow I've got a feeling Steve Ballmer is going to buy that thing too.

    1. Re:99% certainty the buyer is ... by chamenos · · Score: 3, Funny

      Assuming the shocks don't punch through the frame under his weight and the underpowered engine somehow moves with him in it, you can look forward to him cruising past your neighbourhood with "Developers! Developers! Developers!" blasting on the stereo.

      Aren't you trembling with excitement already? Doesn't matter if you're not. I know I am.

      *sniffle*

    2. Re:99% certainty the buyer is ... by chamenos · · Score: 3, Funny

      in case anyone needs a visual/audio experience use this link:
      http://achurch.org/media/ballmer.avi

    3. Re:99% certainty the buyer is ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hah! It is funny to insult people based on their weight or other superficial physical characteristics. Please post your picture soon so we can get started.

    4. Re:99% certainty the buyer is ... by RamboCalrissian · · Score: 1

      I don't know, my money's on Huey Lewis buying it and rocking up and down the block blasting "The Power of Love"

    5. Re:99% certainty the buyer is ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ooh! Gettin' touchy, are we? I know getting beaten up for your lunch money everyday in 4th grade sucked, but its time you lost some weight so you could actually get off your own ass after I pound you into the ground, fatboy.

    6. Re:99% certainty the buyer is ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      fuck that video is hillarious! the screaming bit starting at approximately 0:28 made me literally fall of my chair laughing my ass off.

    7. Re:99% certainty the buyer is ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "literally fall of my chair laughing my ass off."

      Literally fall -OFF-, idiot. Go back to grammar school, asswipe.

      kthxbye~!

      Grammar Nazi Police Unit

    8. Re:99% certainty the buyer is ... by Ctrl-Z · · Score: 2, Informative

      ... That and "Back in Time".

      --
      www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
    9. Re:99% certainty the buyer is ... by spectecjr · · Score: 1

      Assuming the shocks don't punch through the frame under his weight and the underpowered engine somehow moves with him in it, you can look forward to him cruising past your neighbourhood with "Developers! Developers! Developers!" blasting on the stereo.


      Nah, he'll just be cruising through *your* neighborhood, and you'll either be the top billing at a drive-by, or he'll just run you over.

      --
      Coming soon - pyrogyra
    10. Re:99% certainty the buyer is ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He may be working on his own conversion..

      There is a bike path in Mountain View, CA that I ride almost every day. It goes right by the Microsoft campus (formerly WebTV, Ultimate TV, etc.. I'm not sure what they do there now).

      But, there has been a Delorean parked in their parking lot for at least a couple years now. If I didn't know better I would think it was abandoned (though it appears to be in excellent shape). Obviously, Steve has technicians coming in under cover of night to retrofit this baby with the appropriate time machine gear.

    11. Re:99% certainty the buyer is ... by marko123 · · Score: 1

      Delorean! Delorean! Delorean! Delorean... Delorean! Delorean! Delorean! Delorean! ... Heeerrrrrruuuuuaaaaaghhhh!!!

      I... love... this... movie!!!

      --
      http://pcblues.com - Digits and Wood
  4. good job. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    way to fuck up a perfectly nice and rare car.

    1. Re:good job. by PepsiProgrammer · · Score: 4, Funny

      At least it isnt a ricer.

      --
      "The United States has no right, no desire, and no intention to impose our form of government on anyone else." - Bush 05
    2. Re:good job. by Amiga+Lover · · Score: 5, Funny

      At least it isnt a ricer.

      Are you kidding? with that amount of neon, this is the ORIGINAL ricer!. All others are fakes!

    3. Re:good job. by mollyhackit · · Score: 2, Funny

      With all that time travel gear it has the ability to become the original ricer.

    4. Re:good job. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Agreed. I enjoy the Back to the Future movies as much as the next guy, but Delorean modding is getting disturbingly popular -- especially the BTTF mods.

    5. Re:good job. by ValourX · · Score: 5, Informative

      It's not that rare. You can buy a brand new DeLorean from the DMC. Only runs about 30 grand -- not too bad for a "Rare" car, eh?

      -Jem
    6. Re:good job. by dubdays · · Score: 1

      Where on that site does it say that you can buy a new DeLorean? All I see are a bunch of parts to basically refurb your own. Seriously, though, that would be very cool!

    7. Re:good job. by ValourX · · Score: 4, Informative

      Do I have to do everything for you? Click on the "Sales" tab.

      "All refurbished cars are "built to order" using only quality, rust-free (while the stainless bodies will never rust, the frames are prone to it, particularly in the Northeastern states) cars, using our years of expertise and our vast supply of original and correct DeLorean parts. By doing it the right way, we can offer a six month, six thousand mile limited warranty on our refurbished cars. It's as close as you can get to a brand new DeLorean, and for about the same price as you'd have paid for one when it was new!"

      -Jem
    8. Re:good job. by Julius+X · · Score: 1

      Sheck out the "Shop" link. You can buy one from there. Although, $30k is a lot for a "new" Delorean - you can usually find one in very nice shape for under $20k - but of course, that's used.

      --

      -Julius X
      remove "-whatkindofspamdoyoutakemefor-" from email to send
    9. Re:good job. by LurkerXXX · · Score: 1

      Wow, a six month, six thousand mile warrenty. Yeah, most 'new' cars come with such a wonerous warrenty. Get real. A refurb car is NOT a new car.

    10. Re:good job. by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      There were only just under 10,000 DMC-12s made during its original run. There aren't any more being made. Sure, you can buy restorations but that doesn't produce a new car.

    11. Re:good job. by p4ul13 · · Score: 2, Informative
      R'ing TFA, I was pleased to see "All of the interior and exterior Time Machine components were made to last, but at the same time not damage the integrity of the original vehicle."

      Otherwise I'd quickly agree with you. On the other hand, I think doing something like this would be the main idea behind me ever buying a Delorian anyway.

      --
      Paul Lenhart writes words!
    12. Re:good job. by cayenne8 · · Score: 1
      "Although, $30k is a lot for a "new" Delorean - you can usually find one in very nice shape for under $20k - but of course, that's used."

      Hmm...for about $31K...you can get a '93-'94 Viper....that's what I'm in the market for. Better looking and MUCH more powerful....

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    13. Re:good job. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can buy a Delorian from www.DMC.com

    14. Re:good job. by ncc74656 · · Score: 1
      You can buy a brand new DeLorean from the DMC.

      Refurbished != "brand new."

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
    15. Re:good job. by blincoln · · Score: 1

      Hmm...for about $31K...you can get a '93-'94 Viper....that's what I'm in the market for. Better looking and MUCH more powerful....

      Are you kidding? The DeLorean is the only decent-looking American car produced between 1969 and a few years ago, and that's only because it was designed by an Italian.

      --
      "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
    16. Re:good job. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And made in Ireland!

  5. Try again? by nmoog · · Score: 5, Funny
    This thing is clearly a chick magnet, and if you can't get them on the first pass, you can always crank it up to 88 mph and go back in time to try it again!
    Sorry, but if your cup of poison is building a replica of nerd car from a movie from the 80's, then its going to take more than a few trips back in time to score with a chick...
    1. Re:Try again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't underestimate the sluttiness of the 80s.

    2. Re:Try again? by luminea · · Score: 5, Funny

      Speaking as a chick...if you've got the ability to travel back through time, let me tell you: you are hot. Dead sexy, even. Alas, replicas just don't do it for me. But it's still pretty cute...

    3. Re:Try again? by nmoog · · Score: 4, Funny

      Unless of course you go back in time to your childhood, put a pair of headphones on yourself from the past, played yourself Korn until you scared your shelf shitless and convinced yourself to smash your C64 and kick your little eating-peanut-butter-from-the-jar habbit.

      Ofcourse, if you could do that you most likely wouldnt be reading this. Best not to mess with the space time continueum I guess.

    4. Re:Try again? by MacroRex · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Don't forget that you'll have to fight one more of your previous instances every time you try again. However, they are YOU so it'll be easy to exploit their weak spots. Oh, wait...

    5. Re:Try again? by KDan · · Score: 1

      Yeah lol. I almost spillt my coffee when I read that. Nerdy car? Chick magnet? Which planet do you live on mate? Hahahaha... Best of luck in finding a girl - you'll need it.

      Daniel

      --
      Carpe Diem
    6. Re:Try again? by builderbob_nz · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well at least he has all the time in the world...

      --

      Karma? Hey I just call it as I see it.
    7. Re:Try again? by D-Cypell · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well I have the ability to travel forward in time...

      Your place or mine? ;o)

    8. Re:Try again? by luminea · · Score: 3, Funny

      Funny, I would have thought you'd already know the answer to that if you could do as you claim. Hmph. (I think we know the answer here)

    9. Re:Try again? by Hogwash+McFly · · Score: 2, Funny

      But when he travels back in time surely be his old self will still be asking out the girl (with rejection inevitable)? So he's gonna be competing for the love of a woman with himself?

      Unless, he travels back in time to 5 minutes after the initial rejection. No wait, that would mean the girl would say 'But you just asked me out 5 minutes ago, can't you take no for an answer?'

      So I guess he'd have to travel back to a point in time before the previous attempt to ask out the girl. The only trouble with that plan is, he'd have a finite number of attempts before she becomes a 'lolita'.

      Maybe I just read into jokes too much...

      --
      Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
    10. Re:Try again? by D-Cypell · · Score: 1

      Everybody can do as I claim, infact, ive travelled forward in time since I began typing this post.

      However, I will gracefully accept your rejection, it is unlikely my fiancee would approve anyhow! ;o)

    11. Re:Try again? by LC+Gundo · · Score: 2, Funny
      All I know is, if I ever wake up in the morining to find a time machine sitting in my driveway, I wouldn't waste any time.

      I'd amass a fortune in the usual time-travel-exploit manner, go forward into the future to a time when you can buy a time machine, buy one and deliver it to my driveway in the 21st century.

      You couldn't do it with the DeLorean, though.

      I worked for a machine shop/ fab shop that built and modded parts of two of the original cars (the first car, and the car with the railroad wheels), and I know first hand, they couldn't really travel any way through time other than forward at a rate of about 1/24th of a day per hour.

      --
      I'm time traveling, right now
    12. Re:Try again? by Safety+Cap · · Score: 1
      ~ hen its going to take more than a few trips back in time to score with a chick...
      Damn straight! Any nerd from the 80s won't score with a chick without the proper attire. Don't forget to style your hair properly, either!
      --
      Yeah, right.
    13. Re:Try again? by p4ul13 · · Score: 1
      This thing is clearly a chick magnet

      I think this is just refering to the stainless steel body and it's ability to hold a magnetic charge. Just think, you can further mod it just using some common refridgerator magnets. Hot!!

      --
      Paul Lenhart writes words!
    14. Re:Try again? by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "However, they are YOU so it'll be easy to exploit their weak spots."

      I'm kicking my ass! Do you mind?!

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    15. Re:Try again? by asoap · · Score: 1
      Well you would have to hit on the girl, and then when you get rejected you would have to go back in time an hour, and find yourself to tell yourself not to hit on this girl. Then convince yourself that yourself is much more well suited to do the talking, and not yourself.

      So then you can hit on the girl yourself, while your previous self hides somewhere. Thus she would never run into you twice.

      Hmm.... But then, if your previous self never got rejected and never went back in time, then how would you exist? Wouldn't you get like...

      Erased from existance?

      So then wouldn't you have to go back in time and tell your previous self and give him the low down on this lady of the night, instead of you talking to this girl twice? Then you can return back to your normal time......

      bah.

      I started writing this thinking I had a grip on this, but now I'm just confused. Damn you /.

      -asoap

      --
      Treat me like a marketing stat, and I'll treat your movie like a series of ones and zeros
    16. Re:Try again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From 5 down to 2 in like two minutes? Why don't you take your overrated mods, and stick them up your ass? Seriously, stop following me around like a lost puppy, grow some balls and post your own damn comments.

    17. Re:Try again? by darkpixel2k · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Wow.
      You just admitted you're a chick to the Slashdot crowd.

      I'm betting your 'fans' list just grew by several hundred thousand entries.

      --
      There's no place like ::1 (I've completed my transition to IPv6)
    18. Re:Try again? by ScrappyLaptop · · Score: 1

      Hey, Thanks for tomorrow night, I had a great time. -Scrappy

    19. Re:Try again? by strike2867 · · Score: 1

      A guy walks into a bar and sits down next to a good looking girl and starts looking at his watch. The girl notices this and asks him if his date is late.

      "Oh, no!" he replies, "I've just got this new state-of-the-art watch, and I was just about to test it."

      "What does it do?"

      "It uses alpha waves to telepathically talk to me."

      "What's it telling you now?"

      "Well, it says you're not wearing any panties."

      "Ha! Well it must be broken then because I am!"

      "Damn! This thing must be an hour fast."

      --

      Vote for new mod!!! Score:-2,Imbecile
    20. Re:Try again? by amembleton · · Score: 1

      lol, brilliant. I haven't heard that one before.

    21. Re:Try again? by boy_afraid · · Score: 1

      And a nice looking geek chick girl at that.

      Here's a picture of here.

      Now, don't everyone rush all at once!

    22. Re:Try again? by taernim · · Score: 1

      Bill & Ted: "If you really could travel time, you'd already know the answer!"

      --
      "PC Load Letter? What the $@#% does that mean?!"
    23. Re:Try again? by nacturation · · Score: 1

      Funny, I would have thought you'd already know the answer to that if you could do as you claim. Hmph.

      What you didn't realize is that he had to ask the question in the present, so that he could travel into the future to find the answer. Time travel != fortune telling.

      Alas, the answer has already been found! :)

      --
      Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
    24. Re:Try again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You forgot special relativity. The faster the car goes, the quicker through time it travels. So your 1/24th of a day per hour is purely relative, my friend.

    25. Re:Try again? by thetaikung · · Score: 1

      However, I will gracefully accept your rejection, it is unlikely my fiancee would approve anyhow! ;o)

      It's funny how you mentioned that you had a fiance after failing to pick up a girl on the internet.

      --
      P226 .40cal
    26. Re:Try again? by Mr.+Fusion · · Score: 1
      • Speaking as a chick...if you've got the ability to travel back through time, let me tell you: you are hot. Dead sexy, even.
      I knew I'd find you sooner or later! Prepare for temporal displacement last Friday around dinnertime...

      -Mr. Fusion

    27. Re:Try again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Korn fucking sucks you fucking wanker.

    28. Re:Try again? by Resident+Netizen · · Score: 2, Informative

      Um, sorry. Too much nickel in most stainless steels to be magnetic. Don't know what series the DeLorean was made from but it was probably not 400 (ferrous). Does knowing that make me a chick magnet? Please?

      --
      My other sig is a Porsche!
  6. It has to be said,,, by ZaMoose · · Score: 4, Funny

    Great Scott!

    There. Now I've gotten that out of my system.

    --
    I wish I had a kryptonite cross, because then you could keep Dracula and Superman away.
    1. Re:It has to be said,,, by Ralp · · Score: 3, Funny

      This is heavy.

    2. Re:It has to be said,,, by JabberWokky · · Score: 1
      "It seems our friend here has found a way of perfecting it. A device which is capable of breaking down solid matter and then projecting it through space, and - who knows - perhaps even time itself!"

      --
      Evan "Oops, wrong movie, wrong Scott"

      --
      "$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
    3. Re:It has to be said,,, by AgentUSA · · Score: 4, Funny

      There's that word again; "heavy". Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?

    4. Re:It has to be said,,, by DarKrow · · Score: 0

      Oh... Oh, if only I had mod points....

      "A COSMIC VIBRATOR!"

      --

      It lives up to it's name: http://www.sanspoint.com
    5. Re:It has to be said,,, by Jeremi · · Score: 1

      You mean -- he's going to take us to another planet?

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
  7. Corrections by SimianOverlord · · Score: 5, Funny

    This thing is clearly a chick magnet, and if you can't get them on the first pass, you can always crank it up to 88 mph and go back in time to try it again!

    Please use phrases in the story outline the average slashdotter can understand. All this talk of "chicks" and making a "pass" is incomprehensible gobbledegook to the average Slashdot nerd. Though "you can always crank it" is perfectly OK.

    P.S. The birds won't be impressed by a replica DeLorean, just like they were probably unimpressed with a glow in the dark TRON costume. Except that hacker goth chick Raven.

    --
    Meine Schwester ist sehr, sehr reizvoll - Nietzsche
    1. Re:Corrections by krygny · · Score: 1

      "All this talk of "chicks" and making a "pass" is incomprehensible gobbledegook to the average Slashdot nerd."

      Ah, you are forgetting about the technosexuals. But hopefully, only the dead ones read /.

      --
      Research shows that 67% of those who use the term "research shows", are just making shit up.
    2. Re:Corrections by lrucker · · Score: 1
      The birds won't be impressed by a replica DeLorean, just like they were probably unimpressed with a glow in the dark TRON costume

      Speaking as a chick, I was impressed by the glow in the dark costume, just not by how visible the package of the guy wearing it was (trust me, *nobody's* package looks good in spandex). The car's cool too.

      But then, while I'm a chick, I'm also a Slashdot nerd.

    3. Re:Corrections by nlindstrom · · Score: 1
      ...glow in the dark TRON costume.
      That was truly horrifying. The image of a fat geek who lives with his mom stuffed inside that spandex costume will forever haunt me. I think I'll go gaze upon goat.cx in an effort at ridding myself of the TRON costume memory!
  8. The good technology always dies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    What a pity Deloreans never came into the full success they deserved.

    Stainless steel body that couldn't rust. Light, efficient and well designed midmount engine. Gullwing doors. Brilliant weighting and suspension that were 10 years ahead of what was in anything but supercars...

    The fact that so many great ideas start off in this country and are killed before they can get the success they deserve is what's driving america down the drain

    1. Re:The good technology always dies by hkroger · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually I heard that it didn't sell so well because it had relatively underpowered engine for the market.

    2. Re:The good technology always dies by Anonytroll · · Score: 2, Interesting

      In the end, things die because they are ahead of their time. It's human nature, I think. We as a whole are not made for revolutionary steps, just small evolutionary ones.
      I would say "Welcome to the post-modern time", but it is supposed to be over.

    3. Re:The good technology always dies by Alioth · · Score: 4, Informative

      Driving *America* down the drain? The Delorean was designed and manufactured in Northern Ireland!

    4. Re:The good technology always dies by jobbegea · · Score: 4, Informative

      Don't forget that stainless steel won't rust, but stains very easily just by touching it. Also, the doors of the DeLorean did leak, which is particulary bad if you have gullwing doors.

      --

      Net sa best, mar it koe minder
    5. Re:The good technology always dies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Stainless steel doesn't rust, but it will still corrode. It is susceptible to its own special form of decay: crevice corrosion, also known as oxygen starvation. Stainless steel contains significant amounts of chromium, which when exposed to air oxidizes slightly and a thin film of chromium oxide forms, which stops any further oxidation. If exposed to ONLY water, salt or fresh, without the presence of air, this film will not form and stainless steel will corrode, and badly. Salt water is even worse.

      Oxygen starvation happens anytime stainless steel is covered, so anywhere it's in constant contact with other materials the chromium oxide can wear off (admittedly it's tougher than rust there) and corrode. Grommet holes, contact points for suspension and plastic resin extras are all places that the deloreans that have until today are corroded.

    6. Re:The good technology always dies by timpaton · · Score: 1
      The fact that so many great ideas start off in this country and are killed before they can get the success they deserve is what's driving america down the drain

      No wonder this component failed - it was made in Japan!

    7. Re:The good technology always dies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      > Stainless steel body that couldn't rust.

      Stainless steel corrodes instead of rusting.

      > Light, efficient and well designed midmount engine.

      Underpowered unreliable engine

      > Gullwing doors.

      Doors incompatible with 75% of parking spaces

      > Brilliant weighting and suspension that were 10 years ahead of
      > what was in anything but supercars...

      Go drive one. They wallow like a boat.

      I think you're a bit too influenced by the image of the car rather than the reality.

    8. Re:The good technology always dies by Amiga+Lover · · Score: 3, Informative

      Don't forget that stainless steel won't rust, but stains very easily just by touching it.

      Like many things made for marketing I think. The name is a lot better than the reality. Titanium is COOL when it's on a blackbird (ok actually the stuff gets really hot) and the correct alloy is used for its purpose as an extreme exotic material. Use it on a Powerbook though and it's really just another metal, which dents easily and needs to be painted otherwise it too marks just by touch. But it still sounds cool.

      Like the delorean. Stainless Steel is just COOL marketing wise, but it's a pain in the ass on a car.

    9. Re:The good technology always dies by adrianbaugh · · Score: 1

      It's also still steel, and therefore heavy as shit. A modern non-rusting lightweight alloy is a much better bet for car design.

      --
      "'I pass the test,' she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.'"
      - JRR Tolkien.
    10. Re:The good technology always dies by caluml · · Score: 2, Funny

      Don't let misplaced chest-beating, flag-waving American "patiotism" get in the way of facts. You must be incorrect.

    11. Re:The good technology always dies by Amiga+Lover · · Score: 1

      When I was in the UK I saw plenty of Land Rovers with aluminum bodies. I thought that was more suitable. So so light, and there seemed to be enough places that knew how to fix panels made from it that damage wasn't a big problem.

      By the exterior condition of many of them, fixing the damage wasn't an immediate priority anyway :).

    12. Re:The good technology always dies by wathead · · Score: 1

      Yea but the Engine was pure 100% small block chevy and a powerful one at that. I also am fairly sure Delorean designed it in the states.

    13. Re:The good technology always dies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you're a bit too influenced by the image of the car rather than the reality.

      I think you didn't get the joke.

    14. Re:The good technology always dies by Julius+X · · Score: 5, Informative

      I do hope that's a joke. The stock V6 PRV engine was designed by Peugot, Renault, & Volvo (hence its name, PRV) with an original output of 130bhp. Hardly powerful, and definitely not Chevy-built.

      From Delorean Motors UK:
      It's a Peugeot Renault Volvo V6 (PRV-6) 2849cc Bosch K-Jet fuel injected SOHC 90 degree V6. It's a US emission-controlled amalgum of the Renault 30 and Volvo B28 engines. It's often mistaken for a Renault engine due to the belts, pulleys, alternator and water pump using the Renault configuration, but the internals are common to the Volvo engine. The transmission is a slightly modified version of the R30's (both 3-speed auto and 5-speed manual). The gears are taller and the transaxle is rotated through 180 degrees for rear-mounting. The PRV-6 has been a popular choice among kit-car enthusiasts for years due to its flexibility and availability. The 3-litre 24 valve version of the PRV-6 was in new production cars up until only a few short years ago, for example in the Citroen Xantia V6 and Renault Espace V6.


      Delorean Motors offers upgrades for this engine.

      --

      -Julius X
      remove "-whatkindofspamdoyoutakemefor-" from email to send
    15. Re:The good technology always dies by mccalli · · Score: 5, Informative
      I also am fairly sure Delorean designed it in the states.

      The DeLorean was a predominately British design, by Lotus and Colin Chapman, though there were other inputs too. The idea was American - DeLorean and Bill Collins, but the details and implementation were British.

      More here.

      Cheers,
      Ian

    16. Re:The good technology always dies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes the engine was an underpowered V6 Volvo engine NOT A CHEVY engine (as somone elsr suggested). You are thinking of the Briklin (sp?) which also had gullwing doors. I believe it either had a Chevy or Ford engine in it, not sure. The Delorean engine is underpowered BUT one that was very reliable. There are a lot of Deloreans today with their original engines pushing 200K +

      The myth abouth the doots not working in as you say "75%" of parking spaces is FALSE. I can open my door with LESS space then you need for a traditional car door. Have you ever opened a door on a Delorean or seen one open? The way it swings up dosn't make it go out then up...it just goes up while staying in the same radius as it was closed. The door is curved and not flat, that's why it opens without needing any room....maybe your thinking of the Briklin car which did have flatter gullwing doors that needed extra space to open them.

      They don't wallow....they actually have a very nice drive...underpowered but a nice drive for a car made in the 80's. If you did drive in one maybe it had an unbalanced wheel or something.

    17. Re:The good technology always dies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I have one with all the original body panels and not one spot of corrosion at all....the panels look factory new still. How long does this take since the car is well over 20+ years old....40, 50, 60, 100 years? If so then I think I can live with that. And yes I do keep my car covered and yes I have removed the panels as part of a restoration project and no corrosion at all on the underside where it is in contact with the resin body.

    18. Re:The good technology always dies by LightningTH · · Score: 4, Informative

      I sure hope you are not an owner, I am though so...

      > Stainless steel corrodes instead of rusting.

      Only with certain chemicals

      > Doors incompatible with 75% of parking spaces

      You try opening up a normal car door with only 11 inches of space on the side of the car. Yes, 11 inches of space.

      > Go drive one. They wallow like a boat.

      You must have been in one with a poor suspension, mine is nice. Take some turns at high speed that other cars have to slowdown for due to how low it sits.

    19. Re:The good technology always dies by macrom · · Score: 1

      with an original output of 130bhp

      Which is why if you look here (middle picture, bottom row) you'll see that the speedometer only goes to 85.

      Hey, wait a minute...I think we need a petition here. Spielberg should edit the BTTF trilogy and have Doc Brown say, "IF this baby reaches 88 miles per hour, you MIGHT see some serious shit."

      That way we can make sure the film is historically accurate and all.

    20. Re:The good technology always dies by zsazsa · · Score: 2, Informative

      All cars manufactured for sale in the United States during that time, regardless of performance, were legally required to have speedometers that only reach 85MPH and also highlight the speed of 55, which was the national maximum speed limit.

    21. Re:The good technology always dies by potus98 · · Score: 1

      Let's not forget that John D was busted for cocaine transport and use!

      I'm all for legalized drug use, but hey, the man blatently broke the existing laws and flushed HIMSELF down the drain.

      Put the tin hat back on and go figure out how the oil industry has secretly killed 6 different cold-fusion lab successes over the past 10 years. Hurry! Before they re-establish the sat-link to your implants!

      --
      This one gang kept wanting me to join cause I'm pretty good with a bo staff.
    22. Re:The good technology always dies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So ah... what's going on this weekend? can I come over? :)

    23. Re:The good technology always dies by Weaselmancer · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not on topic at all, but I had to jump in here and point out that a guy named "Amiga Lover" is posting to a thread named "The good technology always dies."

      Just kinda struck me funny.

      Weaselmancer

      PS: I'm an Amiga fan too... I still have a working 500, and a 2000 with a working GVP 120 mb hard drive/8 mg mem card.

      --
      Weaselmancer
      rediculous.
    24. Re:The good technology always dies by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      John Delorean was completely acquitted - the only time he ever touched cocaine was when it was planted by a couple of the shadier FBI agents. The courts saw through it.

    25. Re:The good technology always dies by ryanwright · · Score: 4, Informative

      Doors incompatible with 75% of parking spaces

      LOL... Another wannabe who doesn't know a damn thing about DeLoreans. A typical car door requires something like 40 inches of space to fully open. The DeLorean's gullwing doors, hinged near the center of the car, only swing out 11 inches.

      Next time try some basic research before opening your mouth.

      --
      -Ryan, with the unoriginal sig
    26. Re:The good technology always dies by smithmc · · Score: 1

      All cars manufactured for sale in the United States during that time, regardless of performance, were legally required to have speedometers that only reach 85MPH and also highlight the speed of 55, which was the national maximum speed limit.

      Yup. I remember going with my parents, when I was a kid (ca. late '70s?), to a VW/Audi/Porsche dealership (we were looking for a used Bug - <sigh>) and of course I was all google-eyed over the 911s. The dealer had a good laugh when I ran over to them and asked why a 911 can only do 85 mph...

      --
      Downmodding is the refuge of the weak. Don't downmod, make a better argument!
    27. Re:The good technology always dies by X86Daddy · · Score: 1

      Doors incompatible with 75% of parking spaces

      No. The Delorean doors require about 13" of clearance to open. That is generally less than most side-swinging doors.

    28. Re:The good technology always dies by AGMW · · Score: 1
      When I was in the UK I saw plenty of Land Rovers with aluminum bodies. I thought that was more suitable. So so light, and there seemed to be enough places that knew how to fix panels made from it that damage wasn't a big problem. By the exterior condition of many of them, fixing the damage wasn't an immediate priority anyway :).

      Indeed, you can now order your Land Rover pre-dented, at three 'dent' levels.

      . "School-Run Mum" (minor dents and some missing glass)
      . "Boy-Racer Abrasions" (full length side scrapes, no wing mirrors)
      . "The Off-Road Load" (no panel undented. seats slightly soiled)

      --
      Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
      handmadehands.co.uk
    29. Re:The good technology always dies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey you, I don't know where you are from, but in a civilized society you are innocent until proven otherwise. Damn, you sound so ignorant. Let me guess, you are an American partriot ...

    30. Re:The good technology always dies by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      The original name for that model was the DMC 10. The 10 meaning $10,000 US. They showed up about two years late at $14,000, a considerable increase in price.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    31. Re:The good technology always dies by lazybeam · · Score: 1

      What do you mean, Doc, all the best stuff is made in Japan.

      --
      --
      no sig for you. come back one year.
    32. Re:The good technology always dies by wagemonkey · · Score: 1

      Agreed, that's pretty good.
      What about in a multi-storey, how much height do you need - the old Lamborghini's didn't need any side clearance but had to have fair bit of headroom.

    33. Re:The good technology always dies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      that would be the bricklin dumbass.

      http://bricklin.org/

    34. Re:The good technology always dies by Raptor+CK · · Score: 1

      > You try opening up a normal car door with only 11 inches of space on the side of the car. Yes, 11 inches of space.

      While this is true, and amazingly cool, this is Slashdot. You try getting the average slashdotter *out* of the car with only 11 inches of space.

      --
      Raptor
      "Procrastination is great. It gives me a lot more time to do things that I'm never going to do."
    35. Re:The good technology always dies by twenty-exty-six · · Score: 0

      Back off man, He's a scientist!

    36. Re:The good technology always dies by Stonent1 · · Score: 1

      The movie version must have had an upgraded engine. Several times throughout the movie you can hear the gurgle of a larger engine, such as when Marty parks the car behind the billboard in 1955. Also, would a 130hp engine be able to sit there and spin the tires like that? Yeah I know... movie magic.

    37. Re:The good technology always dies by Keeper · · Score: 1

      Having heard a Delorian in person, the exhaust note is pretty mean sounding.

      It is also a lot easier to spin tires on wet pavement (as they did in the movie) than it is on dry pavement -- my 105hp '84 ranger could do a burnout on wet pavement if I tried hard enough...But, if the wet pavement wasn't enough, it would have been easy for them to coat the surface of the tires with something slippery (ex: tire shine) to make things easier...

    38. Re:The good technology always dies by KaLogain · · Score: 1

      DMC-12 and $30 000

      --
      Life's a bitch, then she kills you.
    39. Re:The good technology always dies by Keeper · · Score: 1

      Yet the total weight of the vehicle was somewhere around 2700 lbs. Which isn't bad by todays standard, where it isn't uncommon to find sports coupes that weigh in excess of 3200lbs (350z anyone?)...

    40. Re:The good technology always dies by Aggrazel · · Score: 2, Informative

      Heh, don't laugh at the delorean's doors.

      Open wide

      (Taken from a delorean thread on newbeetle.org)

    41. Re:The good technology always dies by Jeremi · · Score: 1
      Don't forget that stainless steel won't rust, but stains very easily


      You're telling me that stainless steel stains easily? Either you're trolling, or I just lost all faith in humanity...

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    42. Re:The good technology always dies by booch · · Score: 1

      Here's my DeLorean story. The exotic car dealer down the road from me had a DeLorean in stock. (I saw 3 different DeLoreans in one day, which I took as an omen.) I did all the research to determine a good price, if I could get parts for it, and if I could get insurance for it. Everything turned out good, and the price was decent for having only 3000 miles on it. Quite a find.

      So after I did all the research, I went in to take a look at it and go for a test drive. One of the struts on the gullwing door was very weak. Not the easiest to find a replacement part for, but not too difficult. The seats had a lot of wear for a car with 3000 miles. Papers in the glove compartment seemed to show that the milage was legitimate though, so I suspect that the car was shown a lot and people got to get in to sit in it.

      I took a test drive, about 10 miles. The thing had absolutely no visibility. I could barely see the road out the front windsheild when I was going up the hill out of the driveway. The side-view mirrors were small, and turning to look at the blind spot didn't really cover the blind spot. The back window wasn't much better. The motor was also really under-powered. The automatic transmission didn't help. It also seemed to have some electrical problems -- when the AC kicked on, power went way down. My 1985 Fiero 4-cylinder (2.5L) had more power, better visibility, and was a lot more fun to drive.

      So after all my excitement about wanting to buy such a cool and rare car, I was very disappointed to find that it wasn't any fun to drive. I considered buying it just for the collector value, but my heart wasn't in it after the test drive.

      --
      Software sucks. Open Source sucks less.
    43. Re:The good technology always dies by loshwomp · · Score: 1
      Also, the doors of the DeLorean did leak, which is particulary bad if you have gullwing doors.

      Nonsense. Speaking as a DeLorean owner, there is no problem whatsoever with the doors leaking, provided you keep an eye on the weatherstripping -- true of any car.

    44. Re:The good technology always dies by kacymartin · · Score: 1

      It was designed by John Z. DeLorean, the same guy who designed the GTO for Pontiac.
      Too bad he was a coke head or else we could have seen some more cool cars from him.

      --
      -Kacy
    45. Re:The good technology always dies by loshwomp · · Score: 1
      Underpowered unreliable engine

      Underpowered compared to what? Even corvettes of the day barely had 200HP -- auto manufacturers were still wresting with things like catalytic converters back then.

      Doors incompatible with 75% of parking spaces

      Nonsense again -- I can open my gulls in spaces where there's absolutely no way you could get out of your conventional doors. They only need about 10 or 11 inches of horizontal clearance (they mostly open upwards).

      Go drive one. They wallow like a boat.

      I'm starting to think you don't know what you're talking about. DeLoreans have exceptional handling. Many of the cars that are still on the road have been lowered an inch or two in the front, which only makes it better. (The original production car was raised a bit just before mass production, to comply with a bumper-height law of the day.)

    46. Re:The good technology always dies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its hilarious when you think that they got rid of that law a few years later and there were 4-cyl K-cars with 130 speedos. Ha, off a cliff maybe.

    47. Re:The good technology always dies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And a clutch you need a kangaroo legs to opperate.

    48. Re:The good technology always dies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure beats non-stainless steel.

    49. Re:The good technology always dies by alakon · · Score: 1

      I often see them on eBay with lists of the parts recently replaced by the owners, presumably in an attempt to prove the quality of their care, but in reality, just reminding me of the endless hassle of owning a two-decade old car. Is there really so much maintenance required? Does it ever break down on you? Can you use it as an everyday car?

    50. Re:The good technology always dies by radish · · Score: 1

      I had a Mazda MX5 (Miata in the US) a couple of years ago which was abour 130hp. It would easily hit 110mph and quite happily spin the rear wheels, particularly if the road was wet.

      --

      ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

    51. Re:The good technology always dies by Chemical · · Score: 1

      I'm curious as to when this law was in effect. My 88 Acura Legend and 87 Honda Accord both had spedometerss that went up to 130 or so, but my 91 Ford Explorer only went up to 85, and had 55 highlighted as you said.

    52. Re:The good technology always dies by jred · · Score: 1

      Hell, my '73 Datsun 1200 (1193cc 4-banger) could spin the tires on a wet road, easily. If there was a little bit of sand or you were really lucky, you could do it on dry pavement, too. Manual tranny helped, though.

      --

      jred
      I'm not a mechanic but I play one in my garage...
    53. Re:The good technology always dies by jred · · Score: 1

      I've noticed that Ford's usually have a lower speedo. I think it's a Ford thing. I wouldn't understand :)

      --

      jred
      I'm not a mechanic but I play one in my garage...
    54. Re:The good technology always dies by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      Good catch. Sorry. Wish I had known the actual price, as then I could have said in confidence that that is in the marketplace for Porsche 928's and other, much more exotic vehicles than the DeLorean.

      Oh, and those other vehicles have motors not ripped from French taxis.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    55. Re:The good technology always dies by adrianbaugh · · Score: 1

      Ah, but the DeLorean was made back in the good ol' days where vast amounts of heavy cumbersome safety equipment wasn't mandated by nannyish laws.

      --
      "'I pass the test,' she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.'"
      - JRR Tolkien.
    56. Re:The good technology always dies by potus98 · · Score: 1

      Hi you!

      ...you are innocent until proven otherwise... In general, I would tend to agree with this statement! Although I'm not sure about the relevance of this concept here.

      ...you sound so ignorant... Yea, seems I didn't have all the facts. I read an old biography of John DeLorean last year since I am considering the purchase of a (non-time-travel-equipped) DeLorean. I think the book was written and released before the final "not guilty" ruling.

      From Wikipedia: On October 19, 1982, De Lorean was charged with the crime of selling cocaine to undercover police (at the Los Angeles International Airport); De Lorean successfully defended himself with a procedural defense, arguing that the police had asked him to sell them the cocaine (and threatened him as a form of coercion); he was found "not guilty" due to entrapment on August 16, 1984. His attorney stated in Time (March 19, 1984), "This [was] a fictitious crime. Without the Government, there would be no crime."

      ...Let me guess, you are an American... True, but not a strong demonstration of insight on your part considering this is /. From the /.FAQ: "...Slashdot is run by Americans, after all, and the vast majority of our readership is in the U.S..."

      Cool: Ignorance can be easily remedied! Unfortunately, being an anonymous-flaming-butt-monkey-trolling-coward is a difficult affliction to overcome.

      --
      This one gang kept wanting me to join cause I'm pretty good with a bo staff.
    57. Re:The good technology always dies by Stonent1 · · Score: 1

      All these anectdotes (sp?) are mentioning wet roads. Doc Brown power braked the car and just stayed in one spot spinning the tires.

    58. Re:The good technology always dies by X86Daddy · · Score: 1

      With the doors open, it's about 6.5 feet tall. I have a normal apartment garage and it fits fine... However, if a guy has to duck his head to fit in your garage, you'll have problems with a D.

    59. Re:The good technology always dies by fucksl4shd0t · · Score: 1

      Anti-radar paint, turbo-charged fuel! Nobody can stop us now, ha ha haaaaa. Nobody!

      (famous last words)

      --
      Like what I said? You might like my music
    60. Re:The good technology always dies by nyseal · · Score: 1

      No, apparently what's driving down this innovation is the war on drugs. Americans just can't seem to get all those ideas on the dream car without them.

      --
      [SIG] Remember Mattel handheld games?
  9. Yep by OriginalChops · · Score: 5, Funny

    Car is amazing... But I think I'll stick to my flying train...

    1. Re:Yep by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What advantages does this motor car have over, say, a train -- which I could also afford?

  10. Replacement parts? by adamofgreyskull · · Score: 4, Funny

    Does anyone know the availability of replacement parts in this time-line? Willing to travel up to 15 years. Cash waiting.

    1. Re:Replacement parts? by Monkelectric · · Score: 1

      I know you're being silly, but IIRC the parts (motor/transmission) are fairly common, and the factory produced *THOUSANDS* of spare body panels before john delorean was framed which are expensive but quite abundant.

      --

      Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley

    2. Re:Replacement parts? by isorox · · Score: 1

      You might want to shop here (reference

    3. Re:Replacement parts? by ValourX · · Score: 1

      www.delorean.com (duh!)

      -Jem
    4. Re: Replacement parts? by Adhemar · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Mods, what's so funny? Time travel *does* exist, you know. (And questions about the availability of replacement parts are very legitimate when purchasing cars.)

      Quoting Douglas Adams's proof The Salmon of Doubt, page 121 (in the British version):

      Time travel? I believe there are people regularly travelling back from the future and interfering with our lives on a daily basis. The evidence is all around us. I'm talking about how every time we make an insurance claim we discover that somehow mysteriously the exact thing we're claiming for is now precisely excluded from our policy.

      Quod erat demostrandum.

    5. Re:Replacement parts? by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      Forget it. The last guy that traveled to this timeline couldn't get replacement parts. He started emailing everyone he could get an address for, looking for a new dimensional generator.

      The emails seem to have stopped... I think he might have just given up, or he found a pron site.

  11. Yeah.... by HiQ · · Score: 5, Funny

    Imagine that: stepping out of that car in your brand spanking new spandex Tron suite. The girls would be over you like bees on honey...!

    1. Re:Yeah.... by FrankNFurter · · Score: 1

      That's definitely NOT the image I needed shortly after lunch...

      --
      "Slashdot - the one place on the internet where guys brag about how small it is." - that IT girl
    2. Re:Yeah.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think "flies on shit" was the metaphor you were looking for. :)

    3. Re:Yeah.... by Surak_Prime · · Score: 1

      That would ruin BOTH effects - people would just think you were Automan!

      --
      :::The Spear in the heart of the Other is the Spear in the heart of You; You are He - Surak of Vulcan:::
  12. VMax by troon · · Score: 4, Informative

    you can always crank it up to 88 mph

    ...if you can get it to 88mph. Those things were heavy (1200kg/2700lb) and underpowered (130bhp), and the build quality was pretty poor. And yes, I have seen one in the flesh.

    --
    Ydco co ,df C erb-y go. a Ekrpat t.fxrapev
    1. Re:VMax by jeffkjo1 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Those things were heavy (1200kg/2700lb) and underpowered (130bhp), and the build quality was pretty poor.

      There were problems with some of the original 1981 run that caused them to need extensive work. The kinks got very quickly worked out, however. While you are correct that the vehicle, from a sports car point of view, were overpowered, don't think for a second that the car is on the level of say, Toyota Tercel. The vehicle has a V6 built by Renault-Volvo, and my old Saturn weighed just shy of 2700 lbs. The Saturn also had equal horsepower. It could do 120mph without a problem (so I hear.... cough cough), and Saturns don't have gull wing doors, or a flux capacitor.

    2. Re:VMax by builderbob_nz · · Score: 3, Informative

      And yes, I have seen one in the flesh.

      If there is anyone in NZ wanting to see one, there was one in the auto-museam north of Wellington (well there was one last time I looked anyway)

      --

      Karma? Hey I just call it as I see it.
    3. Re:VMax by tgd · · Score: 4, Informative

      Having driven one, I can tell you they'll hit 88 without much effort, but they are quite a bit slower than their exotic image would make you think.

      I'm not sure how many people really get it, especially on /. where everyone is pretty young, but the 88mph wasn't a randomly chosen speed. Back when the Deloreans were made and around when the movie was made, US law make all cars have to have an 85mph speedometer. Porsche's, Ferrari's, they all had 85mph speedometers.

      So of course it was (dripping with sarcasm) a big deal for a car to get to 88!

    4. Re:VMax by mav[LAG] · · Score: 4, Funny

      Those things were heavy

      Weight has nothing to do with it!

      --
      --- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
    5. Re:VMax by juuri · · Score: 0, Troll

      False.

      --
      --- I do not moderate.
    6. Re:VMax by raynet · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Humm.. My Volvo 360 weights about 1110kg/2447lb and has only 100bhp but still goes up to 110mph so i'm guessing that this much nicer looking car must go atleast as fast as my bulky car :)

      --
      - Raynet --> .
    7. Re:VMax by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      Compared to other cars made the same time, it isn't too bad. Remember, this was just after the emissions controls, introduction of unleaded AND the Arab oil embargo. Being more powerful would have been much too inefficient at the time.

    8. Re:VMax by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      False.

      Gee, can you please state exactly what was false? Many statements were made in the grandparent post, if they are all false, then what are corrections to them?

    9. Re:VMax by juuri · · Score: 0, Troll

      Speedometers of the time were not limited to 85mph.

      --
      --- I do not moderate.
    10. Re:VMax by bjb · · Score: 2, Informative
      Probably also worth mentioning that in the movie, the car had a whine sort-of like a turbo charger, which the car did not have. Also, the ripping, gutteral roar of the engine was sampled from another engine, because this V6 sounded (obviously) more like a family car's six (in other words, not a very impressive sound).

      I've driven two different DeLoreans in the past, and no, they're not speed demons. However, they DO look cool as heck.

      You can find a LOT of information on the car at http://delorean.com. Good hour of reading or so.

      --
      Never hit your grandmother with a shovel, for it leaves a bad impression on her mind...
    11. Re:VMax by ThosLives · · Score: 2, Informative

      130 HP in a 2700 lb car might not scream off the line, but top speed is only a function of power, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, driveline losses, and gearing. Many vehicles in the mid 100 HP range can hit well over 100 MPH (I've had my 170 HP car up to 135 on a track). Weight only factors into top-speed by a small mutliple in rolling resistance. Typically there's a tradeoff between acceleration and top speed due to mechanical limitations of fixed gear ratio transmissions and tire grip characteristics.

      --
      "There are a dozen opinions on a matter until you know the truth. Then there is only one." - CS Lewis (paraprhase)
    12. Re:VMax by chuckgrosvenor · · Score: 1

      Speedometers of the time were not limited to 85mph. Yes they were, by federal law. It's Federal mandate from 1980 I believe. One that I believe is ignored now, but actually still in effect. The theory behind the law was that people would see a speedometer that went up to 160mph and would try and see if the vehicle could actually do it. When digital speedometers came on the market, they began ignoring the law.

    13. Re:VMax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I've driven two different DeLoreans in the past

      Whoah, how far in the past?

    14. Re:VMax by RESPAWN · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's not so much a problem of the top speed attainable. It's a problem of how long it takes to get there. 130hp isn't going to move that car up to 120 very quickly. Certainly not quick enough to be considered a very good sports car. I'd also like to mention that 2700lb is less than ideal for a sports car, but these days most of the "sport cars" produced weigh even more than that, so the weight really isn't that bad by comparison. Still, that's not exactly an ideal power to weight ratio.

      --

      If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will.

    15. Re:VMax by tgd · · Score: 4, Informative

      You know, doing a quick google search would've kept you from looking stupid.

      In 1980 the US government restricted speedometers to 85mph. That lasted until 1985/1986. The majority of cars sold in the US went from 0-85mph on the speedometers. In some cases the manufacturer skirted the law in creative ways, for example Ford I believe had speedometers on their Thunderbirds or maybe it was the Mustang that went to 120mph, but the numbers stopped at 85mph, to stay within the letter of the law.

      Thats why early 80's 911's originally had 85mph speedometers even though my 1968 goes up to 250kph, although most had them replaced by their owners at some point after the law was removed.

    16. Re:VMax by tgd · · Score: 0

      Wish I could edit posts on here.

      If you spent a few more minutes searching, you would've discovered that the DeLorean's top speed is 130+mph, it came from the factory with an 85mph speedometer, it was changed for the movie to a 95mph max speedometer.

    17. Re:VMax by artemis67 · · Score: 1

      And yes, I have seen one in the flesh.

      Um... ok, I'll bite. What were you doing naked at a used car lot?

    18. Re:VMax by tzanger · · Score: 1

      "But if I become a warrior, I'll lose my pantyhose!"

      I damn near spit coffee on the screen -- where is that from?

    19. Re:VMax by Drunken_Jackass · · Score: 1

      Thank you!

      I attended a wedding around that time, and instead of driving off in a limo, the bride and groom zoomed off in a Ferrari 308. Naturally, all of the guys in attendance were huddled around the car at the reception and i distinctly remember thinking "WTF?! The speedometer only goes up to 85?!"

      Good to know it was just good ol' Governmental control in effect.

      --
      There are 01 types of people in this world. Those that understand binary, and me.
    20. Re:VMax by coso · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I understood they choose 88 because it looks a lot like BB. BB=Buckaroo Banzi, the first movie they made. BTTF had a lot of Banzi references, including the Flux Capicator standing in for BB's Oscolation Overthruster and Christopher Lloyd.

    21. Re:VMax by Noren · · Score: 1
      Those things were heavy
      There's that word again; "heavy". Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?
    22. Re:VMax by EulerX07 · · Score: 1

      The first car I bought was a 1992 Acura Integra, I sold it years ago. It weighted 1100kg and had 130hp. The rated top speed was 207kph, and I can confirm that the fuel cut off (beyond red line) in 5th speed really was at aleast 205kph (128 mph).

      My current car has a rated top speed of 224kph, but I have yet to confirm this. Anyways, 1200kg and 130hp is more then enough to hit 88mph. Hell, an '89 civic has less then 100 hp and it can hit 170kph (~105mph). You just have to keep in mind that a small car has a small frontal area and needs much less power to go at high speeds.

    23. Re:VMax by Fulcrum+of+Evil · · Score: 1

      I'd also like to mention that 2700lb is less than ideal for a sports car, but these days most of the "sport cars" produced weigh even more than that, so the weight really isn't that bad by comparison. Still, that's not exactly an ideal power to weight ratio.

      You ain't lyin'. I've got a MR2 spyder, and it weighs ~2200 lbs and puts out about 138Hp. If I build the engine up, it'll do twice that, but right now it's got rather nice acceleration and excellent handling.

      --
      "We returned the General to El Salvador, or maybe Guatemala, it's difficult to tell from 10,000 feet"
    24. Re:VMax by RESPAWN · · Score: 1

      2200lbs is a good weight IMHO. That's what I'm shooting for with my Corolla when all's said and done. I haven't decided on a target for HP yet though. Probably I'll just take whatever I can get after installing a turbo, and maybe that will be enough. But the handling is where it's at. Light weight and good handling are always a good combination for a sports car in my book.

      --

      If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will.

    25. Re:VMax by Zerbey · · Score: 1

      The Saturn also had equal horsepower. It could do 120mph without a problem (so I hear.... cough cough), and Saturns don't have gull wing doors, or a flux capacitor.

      They are completely unkillable, however. My SIL has one (a 1992 SL1 I think) that has gone well over 250,000 miles with very, very poor maintanence. For example, she never gets the oil changed, it's had a coolant leak for as long as I can remember and regularly runs out of coolant for days at a time before she refills it with tap water!

      The car still runs pretty good, however. We keep expecting the poor thing to just give up and die but it's still running.

      Definitely a testimate to its designers.

    26. Re:VMax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Once in 1955 and once in 1885.

    27. Re:VMax by Fulcrum+of+Evil · · Score: 1

      I haven't decided on a target for HP yet though.

      280 is about the limit for a 1ZZ 2.0 engine. You might get better power from a 2ZZ, but that's going to be expensive.

      --
      "We returned the General to El Salvador, or maybe Guatemala, it's difficult to tell from 10,000 feet"
    28. Re:VMax by yakfacts · · Score: 1

      The've got engine upgrades to 190HP available from DMC USA.

    29. Re:VMax by tgd · · Score: 1

      Interesting theory but the original screenplay didn't have the flux capacitor, that was much later in the process. The movie was supposed to originally have the time machine built in a refrigerator, but there was worry about children getting trapped in a refrigerator, so it was changed.

    30. Re:VMax by taernim · · Score: 1

      Don't worry ... he's going to go back in time, leave YOUR comment instead, and everyone will think he's the genius.

      It's foolproof! ;-)

      --
      "PC Load Letter? What the $@#% does that mean?!"
    31. Re:VMax by RESPAWN · · Score: 1

      Whoops. I guess I should have mentioned that it's a 1986 Corolla GTS. I haven't yet finished looking around on the web, but I would imagine it would be even less power for the 4AGE. No matter, I have a pretty-close-to-free T25 from an SR20, so that's what I'll use for the first install and we'll just see what we can get after tuning it. Heck, 4AGE's are cheap enough that I can probably afford to just keep cranking up the boost until I blow this engine. :-D That will give me a good idea of what the engine should be able to handl. The car will be primarily used for autocross anyway, so huge power numbers aren't as important as good handling anyway.

      That said, I forgot to mention that it was refreshing to see somebody actually interested in the MR Spyder. Too many people just discount the car due to its having less horespower than the previous generation.

      --

      If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will.

    32. Re:VMax by ThosLives · · Score: 1

      Hehe - It's actually a quote from my roommate while playing Munchkin.

      --
      "There are a dozen opinions on a matter until you know the truth. Then there is only one." - CS Lewis (paraprhase)
    33. Re:VMax by Fulcrum+of+Evil · · Score: 1

      That said, I forgot to mention that it was refreshing to see somebody actually interested in the MR Spyder. Too many people just discount the car due to its having less horespower than the previous generation.

      Thanks, I'm really enjoying my toy - it's getting a LSD next week, and sportivo in a couple months. Power will have to wait a bit.

      --
      "We returned the General to El Salvador, or maybe Guatemala, it's difficult to tell from 10,000 feet"
    34. Re:VMax by fucksl4shd0t · · Score: 1

      Dude, you can drop-in replace a 22-R in that car, why are you fumbling around with all this other crap? Port the head, spend a little money on a cam, and you're done. Turbo is optional. And the fuckin' thing will last forever.

      --
      Like what I said? You might like my music
  13. Must have for a geek my age by 192939495969798999 · · Score: 1

    If you're in your mid-20's, this car probably means somewhat as much to you as it does to me... I basically have to have that. However, what happens when it gets wet? What if I time-travel and hit a pothole at the same time? That wasn't an issue in the valley, but in the Midwest it sure is! :(

    --
    stuff |
    1. Re:Must have for a geek my age by Anonytroll · · Score: 2, Funny

      You sure you mean "pothole" and not "plothole"?

    2. Re:Must have for a geek my age by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You might have heard of a movie, with sequels, called "Back to the future"?

    3. Re:Must have for a geek my age by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, Deloreans are known for leaking roofs... so if it gets wet, the headliner will droop. That's why you'll see a lot of owners who are selling their Deloreans making a big deal about it always being garaged or covered... or never driven in the rain.

    4. Re:Must have for a geek my age by ryanwright · · Score: 1

      However, what happens when it gets wet?

      The same thing that happens to any other car: The water eventually dries up and the car isn't wet anymore. Why would you even ask such a silly question?

      --
      -Ryan, with the unoriginal sig
  14. old or new? by dragonfly28 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is this the old one or the new one?
    To put it in different words do I have to feed it plutonium or bananas?

    If it's plutonium then it has too be overpriced, really difficult to get at your local gas station.

    But seriously, nice job man!

    1. Re:old or new? by I+confirm+I'm+not+a · · Score: 1

      If it's plutonium then it has too be overpriced, really difficult to get at your local gas station.

      You could try asking any local Libyans - but don't rip them off. I knew this Professor that tried that...

      --
      This is where the serious fun begins.
    2. Re:old or new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is the original, so there is no Mr. Fusion.

      If you're handy you could probably make one, it was basically just a Krups coffee grinder, IIRC.

    3. Re:old or new? by SamSim · · Score: 1

      As is well-established in the movies, the engine itself runs on ordinary gasoline; the plutonium is only needed to generate an electrical pulse for time jumps. If that's too hard to get hold of, Mr. Fusion will be around in just 11 years - just wait patiently and save up your banana skins.

    4. Re:old or new? by Bobman1235 · · Score: 1

      To put it in different words do I have to feed it plutonium or bananas?

      If it's plutonium then it has too be overpriced, really difficult to get at your local gas station.


      C'mon, dont you know your movie trivia? The engine runs on ordinary GASOLINE, it's the time circuits that need the 1.21 gigawatts (jiggawatts?) from the plutonium / bananas. And since it does not have a "Mr. Fusion," I would assume time travel would require a plutonium rod.

  15. The 80's .. by sporty · · Score: 2, Funny

    The 80's are calling. It wants its fanboy back. Good thing you have that delorian there McFly. :)

    --

    -
    ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only

    1. Re:The 80's .. by Ralp · · Score: 5, Funny

      The 80's are calling. It wants its fanboy back.

      I couldn't help but notice your sig:
      "Wait till they get a load of me!" - Joker, Batman the Movie (1989)

    2. Re:The 80's .. by sporty · · Score: 1

      Busted.

      --

      -
      ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only

    3. Re:The 80's .. by AndroidCat · · Score: 1

      Note that by 1985, the Delorean was already becoming a "remember when" car.

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  16. My goodness by jabbadabbadoo · · Score: 4, Funny

    This guy obviously banged his head in the toilet.

  17. Chick Magnet by Bricklets · · Score: 4, Funny

    This thing is clearly a chick magnet

    Maybe if you filled the cup holders full of chicken feed.

    --
    Little Bricklets
  18. I hope it's not a unibody by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Stainless steel is great for corrosion resistance, except for one little problem. Stainless steel cold hardens when deformed. As beautiful as the brushed metal exterior is, it would be impossible to repair any dents to the bodywork, all the creases harden where they were bent. Any damaged sheet metal would have to be replaced. Well, maybe not, you could always smooth it with some Bondo and paint it... ;-)

  19. Flux capacitors indeed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  20. Hahahahah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I own a Delorean and let me tell you this car is in no way, shape or form a chick magnet.

    1. Re:Hahahahah by Carrion+Creeper · · Score: 5, Funny

      I saw a DeLorean with Back to the Future trimmings on the road a few months ago. It was in Boston on Mass Ave headed north. In that direction lies MIT, where a DeLorean may indeed be considered a babe magnet.

      So in some contexts, and dependig on what babes you are looking for...

    2. Re:Hahahahah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope, the one your speaking of is "if it's who I think it is" registered in NY. BTTF Deloreans are very rare believe it or not so its easy to keep track of who owns what. That being said even the geeks of MIT probably wouldn't wanna get caught dating in this car....it's a penis car practically no females own one.

  21. Why can't this crap stay in the past? by asbestos_tophat · · Score: 3, Funny
    Why can't this crap stay in the past? =o)



    That's the trouble with time travel, the probable development of a predestination paradox to irritate with outdated hype. ;o)

  22. Bah! I'll be impressed when a replica of.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The Interceptor of Mad Max is on Ebay! Ford big block, supercharged, the baddest of bad ass movie cars by a long, long way.

    Sheer

    Brutal

    Horsepower

    1. Re:Bah! I'll be impressed when a replica of.... by wagemonkey · · Score: 1

      I'd have the TVR Tuscan from Swordfish, thanks.

  23. Low Bidding? by objekt404 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Thanks Slashdot, now everry nerd will be watching this. There goes my chances of snipering it on the cheap....

    --
    "Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun."
  24. It's just a shame by Stopmotioncleaverman · · Score: 1

    That I can't find anyone selling a flux capacitor. 1.21 Jiggawatts? Where the hell am I going to get that kind of power? I mean sure, that lightning rod thing works, but it gets so damn messy every time, PFFFZZZZTT, let alone the scratches on the paintwork and the need to travel during a storm. Pain in the ass, that. Mind you, they might throw in a few plutonium cores, then I'll be hapy. Although let's face it, the damn Libyans are a problem too. Always chasing me with freaking rocket launchers. In hindsight, it's probably more trouble than it's worth.

    1. Re:It's just a shame by psyklopz · · Score: 1

      I thinbk that's really 1.21 GIGAwatts.

      But of course in the 80's, that prefix was unheard of.

    2. Re:It's just a shame by Cerv · · Score: 1

      The prefix "giga-" was coined in 1951. What rock were you living under?

      --
      sig
    3. Re:It's just a shame by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just give the Libyans some pinball parts and they'll leave you alone.

    4. Re:It's just a shame by burtman007 · · Score: 1

      Even still, with the MASSIVE 130 bhp motor, that manages to only create 96.98 KILOwatts of power... I think you've got a long way to go!

    5. Re:It's just a shame by ildon · · Score: 1

      I love explaining jokes! He means the average person had never heard of it. The only reason people know about it now is gigabyte hard drives, gigahertz telephones and cpu's, etc.

    6. Re:It's just a shame by KaLogain · · Score: 1

      It is giggawat. If you look in the dictionary it says it can be pronounced gigga or jigga.

      jigga is eccentric, Doc was sopossed ot be eccentric so it fits.

      --
      Life's a bitch, then she kills you.
    7. Re:It's just a shame by fucksl4shd0t · · Score: 1

      What the hell is a gigawatt?

      --
      Like what I said? You might like my music
  25. worst car... ever by samhalliday · · Score: 1
    they made these things in Belfast (northern ireland) and they handle like shit. i went to school with someone and his father actually owned one (possibly the last one left in the country?), so this is first hand information i heard.

    if it weren't for Back to the Future, i swear they would have all been melted down. i heard the manager of the plant was skimping on materials to finance white powder for his nose at the time... but thats just all rumour.

    1. Re:worst car... ever by phrasebook · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Well, you hit the nail on the head.

      This car isn't about BTTF and it isn't about the fun and novelty of having such a car.

      Nope, we needed a nerd like you to come along and piss all over it because technically there are better cars on the road.

      Guess what?

      Fuck you.

    2. Re:worst car... ever by GrahamCox · · Score: 1

      It's not a rumour - John Delorean was arrested and charged with selling cocaine to help prop up the failing business, but he'd sold it to some undercover cops, and later got off by pleading entrapment. The firm went bust despite the British government pouring millions into it, and 2000 people lost their jobs. It was a bag o' shite anyway.

    3. Re:worst car... ever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >(possibly the last one left in the country?)

      The last one I saw in the UK was in Bath last summer. The owner was obviously bored one Saturday afternoon. He parked in the middle of the town centre and posed with it for an hour or two.

    4. Re:worst car... ever by samhalliday · · Score: 1
      The last one I saw in the UK

      i meant northern ireland itself.

    5. Re:worst car... ever by ryanwright · · Score: 1

      *sigh* another clueless /. poster. John DeLorean never sold cocaine. Never even touched it, for that matter. The only time he was anywhere near the vicinity of the stuff was on the day of his arrest: He was brought to a hotel room by FBI agents. Agents who promised him cash financing for his company, then threatened to murder his wife and children when he tried to back out after finding out there were drugs involved. Based on this threat, he was brought to a hotel room, the cocaine was shown to him, and he was subsequently arrested.

      The evidence clearly showed entrapment. This wasn't an OJ Simpson where everyone knew the guy was guilty. DeLorean was clearly innocent, and anybody who has bothered to do even basic research on the matter knows that.

      DMC failed due to a lot of politial and financial issues. In short, the British government owed him money. He owed them a small fraction of this money back. They demanded the money owed to them while refusing to pay the money owed to him. When he couldn't pay, they put the company into receivership. This is simplified, but you get the point: They screwed DMC over.

      --
      -Ryan, with the unoriginal sig
    6. Re:worst car... ever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      were you at the game, moderators?

  26. WARNING: not for drag racing by weiyuent · · Score: 4, Funny


    At inopportune moments, the engine might not start. Especially at around 10:04pm on dark stormy nights.

    1. Re:WARNING: not for drag racing by macgyvr64 · · Score: 0

      All you have to do is hit your head against the steering wheel :-P

  27. Something like this? by BiggerIsBetter · · Score: 1
    --
    Forget thrust, drag, lift and weight. Airplanes fly because of money.
    1. Re:Something like this? by Monkey · · Score: 1

      I wish I never read that. Now I can't watch the movie the same way knowing the blower is fake.

    2. Re:Something like this? by nyseal · · Score: 1

      Now those pictures are cool; thanks!

      --
      [SIG] Remember Mattel handheld games?
  28. BTTF trivia by ColonBlow · · Score: 5, Informative

    from IMDB, trivia about the Delorean Time Machine:

    # The time machine has been through several variations. In the first draft of the screenplay the time machine was a laser device that was housed in a room. At the end of the first draft the device was attached to a refrigerator and taken to an atomic bomb test. In the third draft of the film the time machine was a DeLorean, but in order to send Marty back to the future the vehicle had to drive the DeLorean into an atomic bomb test.

    # The device originally considered for use as the time travel machine was a refrigerator. Director Robert Zemeckis said in an interview that the idea was scrapped because he and Steven Spielberg did not want children to start climbing into refrigerators and getting trapped inside.

    # The "Mr. Fusion Home Energy Converter", which is sitting on the DeLorean when Doc returns from the future, is made from (among other things) a Krups coffee grinder.

    # The script never called for Marty to repeatedly bang his head on the gull-wing door of the DeLorean; this was improvised during filming as the door mechanism became faulty.

    The DeLorean time machine is a licensed, registered vehicle in the state of California. While the vanity license plate used in the film says "OUTATIME", the DeLorean's actual license plate reads 3CZV657

    When Marty is trying to re-start the DeLorean in 1955 as he prepares to return to 1985, the car's headlights flash the Morse Code for "SOS".

    # The DeLorean used in the trilogy is 1981 model with 6-cylinder PRV engine, and the base for the nuclear reactor was made with hubcap from a Dodge Polaris. It is incorrectly quoted as being a 4 cylinder on the 2002 special edition DVD.

    --
    free online diet tracking.
    1. Re:BTTF trivia by BreadMan · · Score: 1

      >> The DeLorean time machine is a licensed, registered vehicle in the state of California.

      I was at a trade show (Embedded Systems Conference) and they had what looked to be the prop from the movie, Mr. Fusion and all. They even had the hook thingy from the second movie attached to the car. It had GA plates, as I thought it would be registered in CA as well.

      I asked the guy at the booth if it was the actual prop and he wasn't sure. Considering the detail, it even had those LED panels for entering the date and time, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Real Thing. I was surprised on the wear level and amount of grime in the interior/exterior, it looked like this thing hadn't been cleaned since the mid 80's.

    2. Re:BTTF trivia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The "hook thingy" was used in the end of BTTF1. in order to send marty back to 1985, Doc Brown of 1955 figured they could harness the lighting that stuck the clocktower and dump it directly into the flux capaciter, thus providing the 1.21 jiggawatts needed for time travel.

    3. Re:BTTF trivia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the idea was scrapped because he and Steven Spielberg did not want children to start climbing into refrigerators and getting trapped inside.

      You have to wonder about that one.. hey, guys! It's not the 50's.. refrigerators don't lock shut anymore.

      Ah well, what won't Hollywood do to avoid a lawsuit?

    4. Re:BTTF trivia by Dirtside · · Score: 3, Interesting
      The DeLorean time machine is a licensed, registered vehicle in the state of California. While the vanity license plate used in the film says "OUTATIME", the DeLorean's actual license plate reads 3CZV657
      I wonder about this. The California license plate sequence wasn't anywhere near 3CZV657 back in 1985. We still had the 2 series in 1990, so either the plate listed is wrong, or the DeLorean wasn't registered until much later (1993 or so), or was reregistered and got new plates. (Nitpick mode off!)
      --
      "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
    5. Re:BTTF trivia by aardwolf204 · · Score: 1

      Obviously the owner drove the car into the future to register the plates. Duh.

      --
      Im dreaming ofa big bndwdth, That can resist the /.crowd.May ur days b merry & bright & may al
  29. watching BTTF by MikeHunt69 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Im going to have to watch back to the future again as I don't remember the car being that ... sucky.

  30. just last night... by EvanTaylor · · Score: 1

    I was walking by a delorean (literally less than 8.4 hours ago) and I thought DAMN that car is small, I couldn't fit in it. There goes a small childhood dream. Thanks to that, I can't really imagine owning one.

    --
    Sleep is for the weak.
    1. Re:just last night... by Lumpy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Sorry but it's GIGANTIC compared to the mint 1988 fiero GT I have in my garage. and even a 300lb man can sit comfortably in a fiero... I know, my uncle who is QUITE large drove it off the assembly line for me in 1988 and handed me the keys. It is one of the last 100 made.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    2. Re:just last night... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks for nailing the time frame down to the 10th of an hour for us, Sparky.

      Helps with the whole time travel calculation, now we can go back and give you a good ass kicking for being so anal.

    3. Re:just last night... by ryanwright · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      You want to sell that '88 GT? I've been looking for one for awhile.

      --
      -Ryan, with the unoriginal sig
    4. Re:just last night... by Lumpy · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      That 88 GT I would be willing to part with starting at $160K. it has exactly 429 miles on it, it has lived in a heated and dry garage it's entire life (basically a living room that you can open a wall) and has only ever had synthetic lubricants in it except for the initial wear-in lubricants that the factory installed and was changed at 100 miles.

      It is the rare yellow color. with all options including the rare T-tops.

      In other words, if someone DESPERATELY wanted this show-car I'll let them desperately pay for it. or I'll trade it for the new Ford supercar :-)

      if you really want one, Ebay is the best starting point. and if you want it for fun not to preserve... get one that is in good body shape but crap engine condition... and have V8archie in chicago upgrade it for you to a Chevy 350 and turn it into a car that will utterly destroy any BMW,Mercedes, or import car on the roads.

      I know this as a friend of mine has one with the V8 modification.. and he was able to at the US131 dragway make a Fararri look pretty silly.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    5. Re:just last night... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You need help

    6. Re:just last night... by megabeck42 · · Score: 1

      You mean, like this one? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ewItem&rd=1&item=2474652269&category=6 419

      --
      fnord.
    7. Re:just last night... by ryanwright · · Score: 1

      So essentially it's not for sale. :) Considering the best you could reasonably get for the car would be $15k-$20k. That's cool, I understand. I wouldn't pay more than $10k for a Fiero, anyway. For $20k I can buy one hell of a nice DeLorean. I've had my eye on them for awhile now.

      --
      -Ryan, with the unoriginal sig
  31. A bit of history... by dubdays · · Score: 1

    Since I haven't seen anything about the history of the car posted so far, here's a link to some info about the history of the Delorean Motor Company.

  32. One thing is sure... by mritunjai · · Score: 1

    ... that whom-so-ever buys that thingie will have a nice time with the bomb disposal squad and couple of dozens of armoured police cars and military helicopters.

    Good luck explaining them that you are not a terrorist trying to take out the whole city with that HUGE car bomb... if they don't shoot you on sight, that is.

    --
    - mritunjai
  33. the joys of owning one by aixou · · Score: 0

    If I owned this thing, I would cruise the highways at 87 mph (not one hair over). I'd have a great excuse to give to the cops.

  34. Nasty url by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    www.bttfmovie.com

    oh, that's so nasty, cleverly disguised though!

  35. The other car in Back to the Future... by slipgun · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What car is it that Biff is driving in 1955? I seem to remember being told it was a Ford '48 Ragtop, but can't remember...

    --
    SpamNet - a spam blocker that really works
    1. Re:The other car in Back to the Future... by Nick+of+NSTime · · Score: 2, Informative

      It's a 1948 Ford Custom convertible.

  36. Deloreans for sale by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If any of you live in the Buffalo area, I've seen a classic car shop on Main Street near downtown that had 2 of them for sale... Not sure how much they'd run you.

    1. Re:Deloreans for sale by DownTownMT · · Score: 2, Funny

      If any of you do live in Buffalo......Im sorry

      --
      "Insert Sig Here"
    2. Re:Deloreans for sale by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're from Victor, I feel even worse for you... Buffalo's the cultural mecca of the world compared to there. My ex lived in Farmington and it was trailer park central.

  37. For the budget-conscious BTTF fan... by phillymjs · · Score: 1

    I think this Delorean might be more in line with the average /.er's budget.

    I just used mine to compare with the photos of the real thing, and the attention to detail is astonishing. Whoever built that did an amazing job. I don't know about "chick magnet," but I'd say it would turn the head of any child of the 80's you'd drive by on a given street.

    ~Philly

    1. Re:For the budget-conscious BTTF fan... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anonymous Coward... I like it... :)

      You can see more about this Replicas creation via its original website here...

      http://members.cox.net/bk2dftr/home

      The website above has now evolved into a new one...

      http://www.bttfparts.com/board

      Hving built the car, I can tell you that its not 100% accurate but it is very nice (probably about 90% of what it COULD be).

      My next conversion will be much more accurate and have the 2015 Style MR Fusion

      Hope you all enjoy the links and the true history of the replica...

      -Gary Weaver II
      Owner/Administrator www.bttfparts.com

  38. Bah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wake me when someone auctions off a fully-functioning "Pit Bull" rocket-powered hoverboard.

  39. Heh--read that as "Debian Time Machine" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and thought--hey! This must be right--running Debian is like getting into a time machine and going back two years!

  40. Chick magnet? by t_allardyce · · Score: 2, Funny

    Theres no back seat! :P

    --
    This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
  41. Simple answer by chegosaurus · · Score: 1, Funny

    you just have to go back twice. On its way back to the future your first self runs over your recently arrived second self, the girl takes pity on you, looks after you, falls for you. Isn't that how it works?

    Maybe I just watch too many movies...

    1. Re:Simple answer by lazybeam · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't it be easier to climb up a tree outside her house and do some "birdwatching" and fall out just as her father comes home landing in front of his car so he think he ran you over? :)

      --
      --
      no sig for you. come back one year.
  42. Cars are for dimwits.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    but, the old Kawa Z's in MadMax were awesome...

  43. Forget that, I want a Buckaroo's Jet Car! by trims · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually, it's a modified F-350 with a GE jet turbine.

    More information

    As cool as the DMC-based Time Machine is (and I have to admit, the original B-T-T-F movie is a good memory of my teenage years), the whole BB stuff just rocked. Soooo much more wacked, and so much more fun.

    Now, if I can just get Kaneda's Bike from Akira...

    -Erik

    --
    There are always four sides to every story: your side, their side, the truth, and what really happened.
    1. Re:Forget that, I want a Buckaroo's Jet Car! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's the model of that GE turbine, I need to do a conversion. I just hope I don't end up This Guy.

    2. Re:Forget that, I want a Buckaroo's Jet Car! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kenada's bike is a project in the works. We're nowhere NEAR completing it, but we've found electric motors for the wheels and a few other parts we can use while staying within the design of the bike. The hydraulically actuated frame is being hand built. Only problem with all of this is the lack of really useful information about the original bike that's actually *correct*. I have no idea how long the forks are because people like to make up their own measurements when they make replicas.

  44. Not *quite* a replica... by Stopmotioncleaverman · · Score: 3, Informative

    It says it's automatic transmission, but I distinctly remember in BTTF, Marty changes gears on the run up to the lightning wire.

    1. Re:Not *quite* a replica... by musikit · · Score: 0

      yes in BTTF the car was a stick shift.

    2. Re:Not *quite* a replica... by nxg125 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yeah, you're right... I remember Marty flooring the gas and dumping the clutch and thinking, wow, good thing he didn't stall :)

      Check out the pictures on eBay, though, it's clearly a manual transmission.

      --Nick

    3. Re:Not *quite* a replica... by LightningTH · · Score: 2, Interesting

      True, it does state automatic, however, in the pictures you can see it is a manual, and looking at the production info on dmcnews.com, that vin number is marked as a manual.

      However, that car lacks the grooved hood (need a 1981 model for that), and the metal plate where the window switches are is improper for the car (suppose to be 5 switches across, 2 are dummies, with the cigarette lighter located elsewhere).

      Buttons on the steering wheel is also improper.

      I'll stop glancing at photos and nit-picking. i know I could find more.

    4. Re:Not *quite* a replica... by sik0fewl · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it says "Transmission: Automatic" at the top. This is wrong. If you look a little farther down you'll see this under "Back to the Future - Time Machine Recreation":

      Stainless steel body panels, grey leather interior, 5-speed manual transmission, V-6 engine with Bosch Fuel injection.
      --
      I remember when legal used to mean lawful, now it means some kind of loophole. - Leo Kessler
  45. Some factual information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The builder (an architectural designer) of this replica time machine actually only sold it at a public auction for $22,000. Less than the price of a new refurbished DMC-12. The seller is now trying to sell this car for $35,000.
    The frame is badly rusted, and little mechanical work was done to it to ensure its reliability as a driver's car. Not to mention, the electronics were in a large part fabricated by someone without an electronics degree (stainless steel incinerator, anyone?).
    As far as movie accuracy, it's very close, but far from perfect. Many details were left out since this car was built to generate income rather than be accurate to the films.
    There's actually some legal dispute going on right now between the seller and the builder, being that the seller is using the builder's own photos to promote the item, i.e., copyright infringement.
    Most of the comments I've seen so far here about the DeLorean as a car have been pretty misinformed. Stainless does corrode, but only in an environment that lacks oxygen. The chromium forms a protective oxide that protects the carbon steel component from rusting away. Gull-wing doors on it only take about 1 foot of clearance. The engine is heavily based on the Volvo B27 and B28F and was used for many years by them. It has a reliable track record seeing as there are real timing chains, not timing belts, that are used on it, as well as a very accurate, albeit, primitive, mechanical fuel injection.
    While the car itself is not necessarily practical, the concepts behind it are. Can you imagine the reduction in paint fumes released into the environment if every car built was stainless steel? Not to mention, when some jerk comes and keys your car, not only will he destroy his key, but with some sandpaper, you yourself can remove the scratch. I'll admit the car has its flaws, but nothing that can't be corrected by someone knowledgeable about DeLoreans.

    1. Re:Some factual information by zakezuke · · Score: 1

      Can you imagine the reduction in paint fumes released into the environment if every car built was stainless steel? Not to mention, when some jerk comes and keys your car, not only will he destroy his key, but with some sandpaper, you yourself can remove the scratch.

      I think the current auto trend regarding less fumes is powder coating. While not as cool as stainless steel, it being a dry process doesn't fume nearly as much as traditional paint.

      --
      There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
    2. Re:Some factual information by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      That's right: let's skip paint, because the manufacture of stainless steel is 100% benign to the environment.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    3. Re:Some factual information by Laebshade · · Score: 1
      It has a reliable track record seeing as there are real timing chains, not timing belts
      AFAIK, though IANAAM (<- auto mechanic), while timing chains are more reliable, timing belts can be just as effective and (sometimes) easier to replace. I have a 1987 Oldsmobile Delta 88 and it has a 3.8L V6. It's also front-wheel drive. In such a case, the timing chain attaches to the engine and is covered by other parts of the car. The engine has to be dropped to changed the timing chain, and by dropping the chain the radiator fluid has to be drained and refilled too. As far the timing belt reliability goes, I've seen great-running V8s using a timing belt. Timing belts are cheaper and usually easier to replace. It seems to me that since the 80s timing belts have been used where possible as opposed to timing chains.

      Oh and OT, I think DeLoreans without the BTTF mod are ugly.
  46. no way by in4mation · · Score: 5, Funny
    This thing is clearly a chick magnet

    Seriously though, everyone knows that magnets have two poles...and this one is definitely on the repelling side. Chicks will run away so fast that not even a time machine can catch up with them.

  47. What, no right hand drive option ? by Napoleon+Blownapart · · Score: 1

    What should UK based slashdotters do ?!

  48. Umm, it's a DeLorean you're talking about? by GrahamCox · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Basically an Isuzu Piazza wrapped in a not very practical body design, built by a guy with the morals of a weasel, with money extorted from the fine taxpaying folk of Ireland. It doesn't even look good!

    1. Re:Umm, it's a DeLorean you're talking about? by operagost · · Score: 1

      I'd say the fact that it's essentially rustproof and doesn't need paint is pretty practical.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    2. Re:Umm, it's a DeLorean you're talking about? by ryanwright · · Score: 1

      built by a guy with the morals of a weasel, with money extorted from the fine taxpaying folk of Ireland.

      This is insightful? The parent is a libelous liar. John DeLorean was an upstanding man. The problems with DMC were not his fault; anyone who has done even the slightest research on the subject knows this.

      --
      -Ryan, with the unoriginal sig
    3. Re:Umm, it's a DeLorean you're talking about? by whoever57 · · Score: 1
      John DeLorean was an upstanding man.

      Innocent of any criminal conduct, yes. But upstanding people generally don't get caught in sting operations. At some point, he must have realized that what was being discussed were illegal actions and an upstanding person would have backed off then.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    4. Re:Umm, it's a DeLorean you're talking about? by ryanwright · · Score: 2, Informative

      At some point, he must have realized that what was being discussed were illegal actions and an upstanding person would have backed off then.

      This proves exactly how much you don't know about what happened. John did back off. Once he found out drugs were involved, he told the guys - who were undercover FBI agents - "No deal."

      Do you know how they responded? They told JZD that if he didn't follow through, they would murder his wife and his children. He didn't know they were FBI agents. He thought they were gangsters, so he cooperated. He even sent letters to his attorney before going to meet with them explaining everything, "in case they kill me." Then he meets them and lo and behold, they're FBI agents.

      All of this came out in court. There were statements made by several reputable people that one of the agents in question had bragged about "bringing down someone big... someone like John DeLorean" long before any contact was initially made with him. So our own FBI screws up this guy's life - forever - because someone wants a cheap thrill. And people like you have the gall to come on a public forum 20 years later and spout off about how immoral and awful DeLorean was, without doing any research whatsoever.

      He's an innocent man. Always has been.

      --
      -Ryan, with the unoriginal sig
  49. Next Best Thing, a VW by FutureShoks · · Score: 2, Informative
    The guy who designed the DeLorean also designed the VW Scirocco.org.

    If you look at the pics the design similarities are quite obvious.

    --
    ___FutureShoks___
    1. Re:Next Best Thing, a VW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I also recall that he designed the look of the Subaru SVX.

  50. Delorean factoid by scharkalvin · · Score: 4, Funny

    Funny thing about the DeLorean. You can't keep them in lane, they want to drive inbetween lanes (to suck up the white line.....)

    1. Re:Delorean factoid by REBloomfield · · Score: 0

      as stated many times above, Mr Delorean was *not* a cocaine head....

  51. When this baby hits 88 miles per hour.... by www.sharkdefense.com · · Score: 1

    ...you're going to see some serious $hit! -Doc Brown

  52. Guigiaro... by GrahamCox · · Score: 3, Informative

    He also designed nearly everything that we drove in the 70s and 80s in Europe. VW Golf, Polo and Scirocco, Fiat Uno, Citroen BX, Fiat Panda, Lotus Esprit, Lancia Delta, SAAB 9000, Audi 80, Alfasud. He practically invented the "folded paper" school of auto design, those that weren't his were copying his.

  53. Why, oh why . . . by OPR33 · · Score: 1

    did you have to post the link for buying a DeLorean? My credit cards and home equity credit line are now burning a hole in my wallet. (And I don't need the chicks, I'm happily married.)

    1. Re:Why, oh why . . . by geekoid · · Score: 1

      you spend that money ob a delerean, the emotional state of your marrige will change.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  54. Re:The good technology always dies eh by AndroidCat · · Score: 1

    If you wanted something with that 70's gullwing look, you could get yourself a Bricklin from Canada. Oh wait, it flopped too.

    --
    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  55. Wrong on the gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    >> Gullwing doors.

    > Doors incompatible with 75% of parking spaces

    Actually, this is wrong. The hinges that the doors pivot on are towards the center of the roof, meaning that the doors can actually open in TIGHTER spots than a regular car.

  56. Deloreans started life ugly. by alcmaeon · · Score: 1

    I'm stunned that anyone really thought a Delorean looked good to begin with. At the time, I was interested in seeing a new car company and all that, but the car itself looked pretty crappy even for it's time. Stainless Steel was an interesting gimic and might have pre-figured all the silver colored cars we see today, but that was about it. It looked to me like it has the front end of a period Datsun stuck onto the ass-end of a Dodge Daytona.

    1. Re:Deloreans started life ugly. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Silver colored cars have a longer and more interesting history than being inspired by DeLoreans. If their popularity is due to one thing in particular, it's likely because of the early racing history of Mercedes-Benz. See: The Legend of the Silver Arrows. This, incidentally, is why the new cars Mercedes displays are silver.

  57. 1982, not 1981 by Rhett · · Score: 2, Funny

    The car from the movie was a 1981 delorean, i believe, and this one is a 1982. Pretty major detail for someone who claims he researched everything for 5 years.

  58. What, No sense of hummor? by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · · Score: 1

    Yes, OBVIOUSLY, a nerdish car isn't going to be a chick magnet. Thats what makes it FUNNY. Hello, McFly! Anyone home?

    --
    Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
  59. ebay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is it me, or did e-bay motors get /.ed?

  60. I have a problem with this... by irving47 · · Score: 0

    I don't have a first-born child to sell... My sister is giving birth this weekend, though. Maybe when her back is turned...

    --
    I had a sucky sig.
  61. Perpetual Motion by thpdg · · Score: 1

    Whatever happened to the clowns that were essentially turning one of these into a perpertual motion machine? Something about getting hundereds of miles per gallon by harnessing brake energy? Weren't they exposed as frauds?

    --

    -Patrick

    "They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

  62. Time travel to the futuristic time of 2015 by brocktune · · Score: 4, Funny

    So far, other than big screen flat panel TVs, Robert Zemeckis' vision of the future is not panning out. No flying cars. No Jaws 17. No hovering skateboards.

    Then again, Buck Rogers was supposed to leave on the last of NASA's deep space probes in 1987, the moon was to hurtle out of Earth's orbit in 1999, and the exploration of Jupiter's moons began in 2001.

    Of course, we still have 11 years left. But even if we get Mr. Fusion, who will control the world's supply of banana peels and Old Milwaukee cans that supply its fuel? I say to you now: No Blood for Banana Peels.

    1. Re:Time travel to the futuristic time of 2015 by Trespass · · Score: 2, Funny

      Maybe we're just on the timeline where Biff found the book.

    2. Re:Time travel to the futuristic time of 2015 by HungWeiLo · · Score: 1

      No Blood for Banana Peels.

      Too late. Where do think the name "Banana Republic" comes from?

      --
      There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
    3. Re:Time travel to the futuristic time of 2015 by Rgb465 · · Score: 1

      ..Only Biff's name is now 'Bill', and the book is really an operating system...

    4. Re:Time travel to the futuristic time of 2015 by binbag · · Score: 0

      Not sure about the rest of it, but there's no shortage of banana peels over here

    5. Re:Time travel to the futuristic time of 2015 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mod Parent Up!

      I'm just waiting for casino to open up in Hill Valley. This place is so square now.

  63. I have driven one, total POS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The one I drove was a low mileage example; the car was a chore to drive... very poorly engineered compared to it's contemporaries; ferrari 308 and porsche 911, which are both much faster and more fun to drive. Delorean uses a Rear engine, not mid; the only successful car to do this is the 911... Lotus was brought in and they did what they could with the suspension, but with all that weight in the back, it wasn't much.

  64. But what they'll be wearing... by Chemisor · · Score: 3, Funny

    > stepping out of that car in your brand spanking
    > new spandex Tron suite. The girls would be over
    > you like bees on honey...!

    Unfortunately, if you look closely, you'll see that the girls are all dressed in white and are carrying syringes. You probably won't have much time to conteplate it.

  65. Debian!# by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, now we can go into the future a few decades and get that debian release instead of waiting. When do you guys think the next one will be? 2020? 2022?

  66. FX is going to love this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This will somehow end up on world's wildest police chase videos.

  67. New poll option needed? by Nakanai_de · · Score: 1

    Thanks to this car, my last crash was in the future, you insensitive clod!

    --

    Sono koro, bokura wa, sore ga sekai no shinjitsu da to shinjite ita.

  68. Saturn top speed by hawkeyeMI · · Score: 1

    My 1991 Saturn does at least 110, but that's as high as the spedometer goes. It's a great car. Such a great one that I'm about to replace it with a 1995 make of the same model.

    --
    Error 404 - Sig Not Found
  69. Waitaminute.... by abb3w · · Score: 1


    This recreation was painstakingly researched for nearly 5 years before construction.

    So were those the five years before construction of the replica, or the five years before the construction of the original?

    --
    //Information does not want to be free; it wants to breed.
  70. That's for amateurs by bkhl · · Score: 1

    True geeks get the original from Buckaroo Banzai.

  71. Missing most important part! by Jedi+Holocron · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't bit more than $500 for this!

    It's lacking the Mr. Fusion unit!

  72. Quite impressive, by Xilo · · Score: 1

    ..but does it make a trail of flames on the road?

    I wonder how it's supposed to be "powered". Where's the plutonium receptacle? Actually, how was it powered in the second movie? I don't remember anything obvious.. it wasn't by any normal means, that's for certain. Dang, break isn't for another hour.. I can't wait that long to research this.

    Also, from eBay: 5-speed manual transmission
    But also: Transmission: Automatic
    What's up with that?

    --
    Read; Write; Execute
  73. Star Wars Star Destroyer scaled for 4" figures by Elanor · · Score: 1

    There's also a Star Wars Star Destroyer scaled for 4" figures for sale on EBay

    Here

  74. You Tease by The+Tyro · · Score: 1

    When I first read the title of your post, I thought you were going to make some sort of creative comparison between the Delorean and the Yamaha Vmax (which is one formidable bike).

    Oh well... another day, another bitter disappointment.

    BTW, You wouldn't, by chance, be the mightiest sorcerer in these isles, would you?

    --
    Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
    1. Re:You Tease by troon · · Score: 1

      Sorry.

      "in the lands." 'Tis not I. To those who are wondering what this is all about, read this.

      --
      Ydco co ,df C erb-y go. a Ekrpat t.fxrapev
  75. automatic transmission? by craqboy · · Score: 1

    I thought that the transmission in the DeLorean in the movie was a manual tranny. Correct me if I am wrong.

    1. Re:automatic transmission? by xv4n · · Score: 1

      Indeed, if you guys look at picture no. 13 from top to bottom, there are three pedals, clutch, break and gas. The description talks about auto transmission. What's up with that?

  76. talking about magnets... by esaglam · · Score: 0

    >This thing is clearly a chick magnet It is a geek magnet :D

    --
    -- There is no spaam
  77. Sweet! by !Freeky2BGeeky · · Score: 0

    But with all that built in stuff, does it have a radar detector?

    --

    Visualize Whirled Peas

  78. A cautionary note! by breon.halling · · Score: 1

    To whomever wins the auction:

    Whatever you do, DO NOT travel back in time and kill the fellow who built the car!

    I'd rather not have the universe collapse in on itself, thank you very much.

    --
    "Yeah, well, Dracula called and he's coming over tonight for you and I said okay."
  79. You guys call yourselves geeks? by dedeman · · Score: 1

    I have to say it. Heavy.....

  80. needs some 1955 style by theycallmeB · · Score: 1

    I want one with white-walled tires and a vacumm tube array strapped across the hood.

    They can keep the cowboy clothes.

  81. Hit Counter by ssafarik · · Score: 1

    Hey, look at that hit counter go!

  82. What a deal!! by turbomonkey2k · · Score: 1

    ...for $35,000 I can get an overweight, underpowered, ugly, rebuilt piece of Northern Irish junk that won't even keep up with a base model Dodge Neon? Sign me up. Why would I ever want to buy a movie car that's actually cool like the X-Men 2 RX-8 when I could cruise in this polyester leisure suit of a chariot?

    1. Re:What a deal!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      An RX-8 with a gay third door like the Saturn coupe?

    2. Re:What a deal!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      RX-8 is a 4-door hatchback dontardo

  83. no Mr. Fusion by MoFoQ · · Score: 1

    too bad, it's not the Delorean from Part 2; with the Mr. Fusion and the hovercraft conversion.

  84. BURN !!!!! by boy_afraid · · Score: 1

    HA HA! D-Cypell, You've just been BURNED on /.

    How does it feel?

  85. Re:Arthur Anderson by joggle · · Score: 1

    And before Enron, Waste Management (big time fiasco there too).

  86. Mod parent up! by phillymjs · · Score: 1

    Cool links

  87. As an added bonus... by Alsee · · Score: 1

    you'll never get a speeding ticket for going 89 MPH!

    -

    --
    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  88. Ok fine, I'll do it... by clambake · · Score: 1

    Since I don't see anyone else popping up with it: What's the correct pronunciation of G/Jigawatt? Discuss. Go.

  89. John Z DeLorean, Ireland, Flux Capacitors by BigBlockMopar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    He was neither Irish, nor a junkie. He was an American of French decent, and was charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine, and aquitted due to the cop's obvious attempt to entrap him.

    That's right. I used to have a DeLorean (rare, 1983 model, note the fuel fill door on the hood) and still have a driver's side gull wing door kicking around my garage. Lemme tell you, they're already a pain in the ass to work on - the engine is in the back and there are the little "sail windows" which give it the rough profile of a hatchback when it isn't. I can't imagine how it is to try to get at the motor with all the BTTF props on it!

    Anyway, I read a lot about DeLorean. Here's the problem. DeLorean was a former Pontiac executive, and one of the creators of the Pontiac GTO.

    Angered with GM, he wrote a scathing book, "On A Clear Day You Can See General Motors" in which he detailed how the first Chevy Vega tore itself in half after only 8 miles on the test track.

    (The Vega and its twin the Pontiac (dis)Astre, was the predecessor to the Chevette, produced from 1971-1977, and is probably the single worst car ever made by Detroit - still not so bad compared to lots of early Japanese and Eastern European cars, though... Renault Beep-Beep Dauphine!)

    DeLorean decided to make his own personal luxury car, the ethical luxury car. Stainless steel body that would never rust, best of the best materials (yeah, as a former DeLorean owner, tell me how to fix dents in the stainless steel!). By the time he'd arranged for the production (factory in Ireland for the tax breaks), it was 1981.

    When the Guigaro (same styling house that did most VW, Hyundai, Audi) styled the DeLorean, it was the mid-1970s. Such a simple rectangular, clean car was unheard of.

    In 1978 Ford introduced the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr, also the restyled "Fox-body" Mustang. GM introduced the super-square Impala about this time - all of these are things that we associate with 1980s cars, versus the rounded and skirted shapes of 1970s cars. All of a sudden, the DeLorean's simple clean angular body wasn't so cutting-edge.

    In 1981, inflation was rampant, and the economy was doing poorly. Chrysler was on the verge of bankruptcy. When you factor in inflation, gasoline was more expensive then than it is now. People were not in the mood to buy luxury cars; people were buying Chevettes and Ford Escorts and Plymouth Reliants. DeLorean's nascent car company launched at the wrong time.

    By 1983, he was running out of money. The cars were already looking dated as the simple early 1980s angular shape was giving way to the "Aerobird" shapes of the new 1984 Thunderbird, Cougar and Tempo, all premiering in the 1983 car show circuit. There was no money to restyle and retool, and DeLorean started to look for other ways of keeping the company afloat, at least for a little while.

    The car had been produced with massive subsidies from the (North/South - can't remember which) Irish government. When the company finally folded (with a little over 2,000 DeLorean DMC-12 sports cars produced), the government destroyed all the stamping dies and tooling to ensure that no more DeLoreans would ever be made.

    --
    Fire and Meat. Yummy.
    1. Re:John Z DeLorean, Ireland, Flux Capacitors by gront · · Score: 1

      Early 81's had the gooved hood and fuel flap. Some 81's have a grooved hood and no flap. All 83's had no flap and no grooves. If you did in fact have an 83, the hood was from an 81.

    2. Re:John Z DeLorean, Ireland, Flux Capacitors by BigBlockMopar · · Score: 1

      Early 81's had the gooved hood and fuel flap. Some 81's have a grooved hood and no flap. All 83's had no flap and no grooves. If you did in fact have an 83, the hood was from an 81.

      That's news to me; but I did have the grooved hood which I'd always associated with the earlier cars - I thought they'd gone back to an older styling idea (probably because the grooves would have added strength to the hood).

      The VIN number was an '83, and the date code on various parts (including the engine block casting) was all late 1982-early 1983. There were no signs of a collision, but the car was missing the grille and a few other front-end parts when I got it (as you can see in the pic).

      Paid $1800; put $2000 of parts and labor into it, sold it for $14,000 a little over 6 months after buying it. Still see it driving around every now and then, though I've lost touch with the owner. Wish I'd held onto it, even though it was purely a show car - parts expensive and hard to get, not especially quick, doesn't handle very well, feels like a kit car. But still beautiful.

      --
      Fire and Meat. Yummy.
    3. Re:John Z DeLorean, Ireland, Flux Capacitors by KaLogain · · Score: 1

      They produced 8500 not just 2000.

      --
      Life's a bitch, then she kills you.
    4. Re:John Z DeLorean, Ireland, Flux Capacitors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Among other details you got wrong, well over 2,000 cars were built. You being a previous owner does not mean you know all the facts, obviously.

  90. bike by ProfBooty · · Score: 1

    I actually saw one at the tokyo motorcycle show earlier this month.

    You would never want to drive it, the wheel base is enormous. Oddly enough, it was one of the few bike displays that didn't have booth babes.

    --
    Bring back the old version of slashdot.
  91. Message from the original builder... by bttfparts.com · · Score: 1

    Good day to you all... I had originally posted this anonymously in another thread, but realized this would be a little better.

    I'm always suprised by the response this car gets. Even months after I UNDERsold it via public auction. That was a pretty sour experience but as my wife always points out - over and done with :)

    You can see more about this Replica's creation via its original website here...

    http://members.cox.net/bk2dftr/home

    This was the website I tried to get going last year as I was working on the car. In the rush to build the car I really slacked off in updating the site. Once the car was sold, I felt it would be better to assist other fans and collectors out there regarding the Delorean Time Machine, so the website above has now evolved into a new one...

    http://www.bttfparts.com/board

    Having built the car just last year, I can tell you that its not 100% accurate but it is very nice (probably about 90% of what it COULD be).

    My next conversion will be much more accurate and have the 2015 Style MR Fusion

    I truly hope you all enjoy the links and the true history of the replica...

    -Gary Weaver II
    Owner/Administrator www.bttfparts.com

  92. Any other extra features? by Jerk+City+Troll · · Score: 1

    While they're going all-out, did they stash any cocain in the seat cushions?

  93. The description says yes. by Inoshiro · · Score: 3, Informative

    The pictures make it very clear. There are 3 pedals in the car, and the shifter knob is manual.

    Unless those pictures are of the "real" one from the movie, then the one up for auction is a manual 5-speed, and someone goofed up the auction listing.

    --
    --
    Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
    1. Re:The description says yes. by User+956 · · Score: 1

      ...not to mention that the only automatic option on Deloreans was a 3-speed automatic, not a 6-speed.

      --
      The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  94. The joke... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is that why people are always like, "Oh, yeah! Delorean! That car follows the white lines better than any other!" or something to that effect.

  95. Chick Cops Maybe by g-san · · Score: 1

    Sorry, Female Police Officer. You might attract one of those.

    There is obstruction over both rear brakelights, those things are probably obstructing the license plate too much, and there is no front license plate. It also appears the rear view is completely obstructed with a metal plate.

  96. Yeah, well, the scale is f****d by NarrMaster · · Score: 1

    Last time I checked, these suckers were 1.59 km long. If someone made one really scaled to 4" figures, then I might be tempted. But it just looks crappy. Yeah, yeah, troll, whatever

    --
    That's right. All your base.
  97. DeLorean, Hyundai Excel - Both styled by Giugiaro by BigBlockMopar · · Score: 1

    I should clarify that the Irish designer of the delorian was a junkie not the man that stuck the flux capacitor in.

    There was no "Irish designer of the DeLorean".

    John DeLorean is American.

    John DeLorean founded the company. The exterior design (and what you would probably associate with DeLorean styling) was done by the very famous Giugiaro in about 1975 - pictures on their website here along with some other cars they've done; by the time it actually hit production in 1981, it was already looking a little old. The car was built in Ireland (North or South, I can't remember which) only because the government there was willing to invest massively in the DeLorean Motor Company (BTW, that's where the DMC on the grille and dashboard comes from).

    --
    Fire and Meat. Yummy.
  98. But what about next year? 2005? by moriya · · Score: 1

    What about the coming year of 2005? If I don't see or hear about a big war break out in some mountainous region between many giant robots, then I'm gonna be disappointed.

  99. BS Huey would never sit in that P.O.S. by turbomonkey2k · · Score: 1

    He's a Porsche guy. That's his car in I need a new Drug video

  100. I'm sorry... by cZ4r · · Score: 1

    That Michael J. Fox wouldn't be able to drive it in a right line.

    --

    NO FAT CHICKS.
  101. On the origin of the car being sold by j1ggl3x · · Score: 2, Informative

    Any prospective buyers who might be interested on the history of the car being sold:
    Should check out the discussion on the car by the original creator

    And the creator and his timeline on building the car

    In short, its a re-sell and the original creator is getting no credit. In fact the person re-selling the car is using copyrighted images on ebay (which is why the auction was previously pulled).

  102. dup by boojum.cat · · Score: 1

    This is a dup! I submitted this same article next week.

    --
    Lost: one sig, witty, 120 chars, sentimental value. Reward offered.
    1. Re:dup by dizzypenguin · · Score: 1

      ha! Thats a good one. Speaking of dup...anyone look close at the pics? Not matching cars in the pics. Look close.

    2. Re:dup by bttfparts.com · · Score: 1

      I can assure you that the car is the same in all the pictures... The "Night" shots were made by me when I owned the car and the other shots were made at the auction by the vehicles current owner. Needless to say he knows nearly nothing about the car as indicated by the Automatic v. Manual screwup in the description... -Gary Weaver II Owner/Administrator bttfparts.com

  103. Re:DeLorean, Hyundai Excel - Both styled by Giugia by BattyMan · · Score: 1

    Didn't this same guy do the (Lincoln-Mercury) Pantera?

    --
    Exceeding the recommended torque is not recommended.
  104. Please mod parent up by istewart · · Score: 1

    I was reading those discussions as they happened. They do indeed capture the creator (Gary Weaver)'s attention to detail, and they also describe how he was ripped off when he auctioned the car. Mr. Weaver originally wanted $30k for the car, but ended up getting much less. The person who has the car now is selling it for at least twice what he paid for it. Something to think about if you're considering a bid.

    1. Re:Please mod parent up by bttfparts.com · · Score: 1

      Better yet, if you really want one contact the builder directly and he could convert a Delorean for you :)

      -Gary Weaver II
      Owner/Administrator www.bttfparts.com

  105. Unfortunately it was 1983 by BattyMan · · Score: 1

    which was about the summit of the Reagan-era cocaine glut.

    I can remember gradually losing each and every one of my friends and co-workers to that coke shit. It was like pot wasn't expen$ive enough to be cool anymore, and everybody was into that coke shit, which I didn't care for and couldn't afford (while working _and_ going to school) so I wasn't cool. Coupled with Nancy Reagan's "War Against [some] Drugs" which institutionalized pre-employment drug screening (which detects pot usage for weeks while cocaine is gone in about 36 hours) and the popular myth that that coke shit was _safer_ than pot and somehow not addictive, it became actually tougher to get pot than that coke shit, and more expen$ive too! By about '88 all of my old friends (and some new ones) were all screwed up (either medically, legally, or financially) from doing that coke shit. It's safe all right.
    </rant>

    Throughout those times allegations of coke usage simply required no proof. A sniffly nose was enough. The guys who were into it the deepest had the greatest funding at their disposal with which to beat any rap (this was before RICO).

    The coke-trafficking charges against JDL were quickly and easily shaken off, which meant no thing to his (largely coke-using themselves) potential customers, most of whom had seen their own dealers navigate similar difficulties. Today people's memories (what they have left) include John being busted and his use of that coke shit being understood implicitly to be the reason for DMC failing (_many_ businesses failed due to cocaine-influenced management). The withdrawal of funding by the Qween never got the press that the arrest did.

    --
    Exceeding the recommended torque is not recommended.
  106. You guys are both all wet by BattyMan · · Score: 1

    The stainless-steel body was an important component of the time travel system.
    With a plastic & mild steel body, an EV1 or even a Ford Escape isn't going to do any time travel.

    Though the off-road ground clearance would be essential for trips into the past.

    --
    Exceeding the recommended torque is not recommended.
  107. Buckaroo Banzai by pelrun · · Score: 1

    You're correct that 88 wasn't randomly chosen, but if memory serves it's a reference to the movie The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Through The Eighth Dimension, of which there are several in BTTF. (Lloyd and producer Neil Canton worked on both movies.)

    The 88 was taken from Banzai's stylised 'BB' logo, of course both B and 8 are identical on the time machine's digital LED display :)

  108. Just think... by Cryptnotic · · Score: 1

    In only two days, tomorrow will be yesterday.

    --
    My other first post is car post.
  109. Someone should... by k3y · · Score: 1

    tell the time traveller guy about this auction. Maybe he can bear with it instead of the watch model time machine, he has.

  110. Maybe for Jordan by serutan · · Score: 1

    The character in the movie Real Genius. Or girls of similar bent.

    Not that there's anything wrong with that.

  111. The auction has been relisted... by bttfparts.com · · Score: 1

    If anyone is still following this auction it was originally removed for an image copyright violation. That situation has now been resolved and the auction has been relisted here... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ewItem&item=2475620517 -Gary Weaver II Owner/Administrator www.bttfparts.com

  112. Update by complete+loony · · Score: 1

    Seems there was some confusion with the copyrights of the photos, and ebay closed the auction.
    This has been resolved and the new auction can be found here.

    --
    09F91102 no, 455FE104 nope, F190A1E8 uh-uh, 7A5F8A09 that's not it, C87294CE no. Ah! 452F6E403CDF10714E41DFAA257D313F.
  113. YOU MAY NOT HAVE GOT FIRST POST by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But you sure got BEST POST!