DeLorean to Come Back (Sorta)

Alcibaides writes "DeLorean Motor Company, a suburban Houston company that rebuilds DeLoreans, is laying plans to bring the car back into limited production. The last DeLorean rolled off the assembly line in Northern Ireland in 1982. But like Duran Duran, the Rubik's Cube and other Reagan-era icons, the car retains a following. Of the 9,000 built in 1981 and 1982, about 6,500 are still on the road, according to James Espey, vice president of DeLorean Motor."

Comments

If you're going to build new ones

[hcdejong]

why not do it properly and use modern underpinnings, instead of the crappy engine and gearbox of the original? ISTR the suspension wasn't any good either, so change that as well. The shape may be iconic, but a good car, it wasn't.

Re:The car retains a following

[Alien Being]

Buick turbo might be a better fit.

Styling is the ONLY good thing about this car

[ChronosWS]

It's slow and heavy. It's grossly underpowered. It's nothing like a 'sports car' as the article ignorantly claims. Even if brought back, it's unlikely its styling would survive the major rehashing it would undergo to avoid offending the sensibilities of the modern automobile consumer. And then there are all the safety considerations which would likely change the chassis in significant ways. No, whatever car is brought back, it won't be your father's DeLorean. That might be a good thing.

Re:Styling is the ONLY good thing about this car

[TubeSteak]

Even if brought back, it's unlikely its styling would survive the major rehashing it would undergo to avoid offending the sensibilities of the modern automobile consumer. What?
Many of "the modern automobile consumer" would buy a new vintage car in a heartbeat, with the exact same exterior styling it used to have. The only reason restored cars go for a lot of cash at auction is because there is no production line to produce them at lower costs.

The only reason the old-is-new-again idea works is because the car companies stay close to the old look. Cars that don't (Pontiac GTO for example) have not done so well.

And then there are all the safety considerations which would likely change the chassis in significant ways. No, whatever car is brought back, it won't be your father's DeLorean. That might be a good thing Custom/Kit/Experimental/Historic cars are not regulated in the same fashion (at either the State or Federal level) as cars produced by Ford or Honda.

I doubt there are any laws about 'safety considerations' that will lead to significant changes, unless the guys building it feel like changing something.

Re:Styling is the ONLY good thing about this car

[mrchaotica]

Even if brought back, it's unlikely its styling would survive the major rehashing it would undergo to avoid offending the sensibilities of the modern automobile consumer.

What, are you kidding? The people who would buy it are the kind that like the 80's styling. For me, at least, cars like the DeLorean, C4 Corvette, 1st-gen 300ZX, and 2nd-gen CRX had some of the coolest styling ever.

Don't be so sure.

[Inoshiro]

"though I'm sure that newer cars have a lot less nasties coming out of the tailpipe due to the emissions systems they have (the weight of which is part of the reason why newer cars are heavier and..."

The 1976-1985 Honda Accords (generation's 1 and 2) used a CVCC engine which required no catalytic converter to meet California emissions circa the late 1990s. I'm not a US citizen and haven't had a chance to find out of these regulations changed, but there you have it. I still have a working 1984 Honda Accord. It's old, carb'd, rusted, and gets 27-29mpg if you drive it right (which means don't jack-rabbit every light, otherwise you get low 20s). It still is the most expensive car I've ever owned, at $900 in purchase price. Beyond a heavy tune up and periodic oil changes, it runs just fine.

I don't see why a lot of people have a fascination with newer cars. They're more expensive and, at least with regards to the domestics, seem a lot more prone to falling apart. My Accords (I have a couple since they're cheap and fun to drive) have a better maintenance record than the Oldsmobile Alero my friend recently rid himself of. I'd love to have higher fuel economy (the Accords only get the mid to high 20s in the city, although they get mid 30s to 40 on the highway), but I'd have to get a CRX or a Festiva to enjoy that. I pulled up Gnumeric and calculated that were I get to get a Honda Insight (which gets 50 mpg-ish in the city), I'd have to own the car for about 64 years, during which I'd have no money to pay for maintenance, nor would I be able to do anything else to it, if I wanted to make back the $20,000+ on its purchase price vs. the gas savings over my old Accords.

It's a lot cheaper to buy an old Japanese car, replace any broken parts and also maintain it by replacing all the consumables + replacing its fluid, and then keep to a regular maintenance schedule. It's so much cheaper, you can have two just in case one decides to not work!