John DeLorean, Innovative Automaker, Dies at 80
By DANNY HAKIM

An Automotive Maverick
John DeLorean, who left a successful career at General Motors to start his own car company, is dead at 80.


Norman Y. Lono for The New York Times
NURSING DeLOREANS Rob Grady cares for the bruised progeny of the once fabulous, now defunct DeLorean Motor Company in his West Sayville garage.




John Z. DeLorean, the flamboyant automobile industrialist whose dream of running his own car company dissolved into bankruptcy, died Saturday evening at Overlook Hospital in Summit, N.J. He was 80 years old and lived in Bedminster, N.J.

The cause was complications after a stroke, his family said.

Mr. DeLorean, a Detroit native, was once thought to be a contender for the presidency of General Motors but left the world's largest automaker in 1973 and went on to start his own company, DeLorean Motor Company, with the backing of investors like Johnny Carson and Sammy Davis Jr.

DeLorean Motor produced only one model, the DMC-12, but it made a lasting impression. In the early 1980's, with increasingly dull cars coming from Detroit, the unpainted, stainless steel-bodied sports car had doors that opened upward like a gull's wings and was featured in the "Back to the Future" movies starring Michael J. Fox.

Although the car remains a collector's item, the life of Mr. DeLorean's company was brief, with about 9,000 cars produced at a factory in Northern Ireland before the company went bankrupt in 1982. Soon after came charges by authorities in the United States that Mr. DeLorean was selling cocaine to prop up its finances. Mr. DeLorean was acquitted in 1984 after a highly publicized trial.

Although he was never able to rekindle his automotive dream-for a time he started a wristwatch company called DeLorean Time -he never let it go. His fourth wife, Sally, said in a brief interview yesterday that he had designed a sports car and hoped to start another automaker.

"He's been working on it for the last couple years," she said.

John Zachary DeLorean was born in Detroit on Jan. 6, 1925, the oldest of four sons of a Ford Motor Company foundry worker. Growing up in a working-class neighborhood, he graduated from the Lawrence Institute of Technology and went on to earn master's degrees in engineering and business.

He joined the small Packard Motor Car Company as an engineer in 1952. With ambition, insight and an eye for the unconventional, he became a rising star, first at Packard, and starting in 1956, within G.M., the world's largest automaker. At 40, he became the youngest general manager of G.M.'s Pontiac division, and four years later the youngest manager of Chevrolet. In 1972, at 48, he became a G.M. vice president.

 

big John, you made a huge difference in the automotive world at one time, and tried to make an even bigger difference on your own, buy any means possible...gods speed

 

He will be missed...

 

John was a great guy and a total performance fanatic. While at GM, he's the guy that got things like tri power on Pontiacs in the early/mid 60's. He got the factory ladder bars on the 67 Firebird. He also had his hands on the Vega and quit GM over that car. He wrote a book. In his book, he talked about how he designed a good little car and how managers at GM got their claws on it and basically turned it into a piece of junk. I'm pretty sure he also worked at Ford over his career. He will be missed; his contributions to the automotive industry were many.

 

I read his book many years ago. "On a Clear Day, You Can See General Motors" is the name of it. If you ever wonder "why they don't build 'em like they used to", read that book.

Too bad he got taken off track. Maybe he coulda been a contender....

 

He was definately a master in the automotive industry in his time.I am sure he will be missed.May God Bless Him and His Family!

 

He was the father of the GTO, he basically started the Muscle Car era.

 

F 250's: Both the GTO and the Firebird were John's personal projects and design.

Just as Ford had their Golden Haired Boys who had pet projects like the Mustang and enhancments attributed to Shelby,GM had John. Too bad he never got to
give all he had to offer once he snubbed GM but this is how we ended up with
only 3 auto makers when they will spend billions if necessary to squash guys like Tucker who only made around 900 cars that were all years ahead of anything the big 3 were planning to add to their autos untill the cost became necessary by public demand and Gov. regulations . Must be nice to weild that kind of power at the top and be able to influence law makers and markets to that extent . He will be missed where inovative ideas are listened to for sure .