John DeLorean
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John Zachary De Lorean (January 6, 1925 – March 19, 2005) was an American engineer and executive in the U.S. automobile industry, and founder of the De Lorean Motor Company. He was most well known for developing the Pontiac GTO muscle car, and the De Lorean DMC-12 sports car, which was later featured in the movie Back to the Future.
De Lorean was also well known for his high profile 1982 arrest on charges of drug trafficking, which preceded the demise of his automobile manufacturing company. He successfully defended these charges, showing that his involvement was a result of entrapment by federal agents.
Childhood
John Zachary DeLorean was born on January 6, 1925 in Detroit, Michigan, the eldest of four sons of Zachary and Kathryn Pribak DeLorean. The DeLoreans lived in a small house at 17199 Marx, near the corner of Six Mile Road and Dequindre in Detroit's Near East Side. It was a three bedroom abode in a tough, lower-middle-class neighborhood.
A millwright by trade, Zachary DeLorean was an immigrant from Romania. Born youngest of thirteen boys, he came to America when he was twenty, spending time in Montana and Gary, Indiana before moving to Michigan. When John was born, he had employment with the Ford Motor Company foundry in nearby Highland Park. His limited command of the English language, combined with his almost total lack of education relegated him to toil at menial and low paying appointments at the factory. When no work was to be found at Ford, he occasionally took jobs as a carpenter around town. At 6 ft-1 in and 220 lb (100 kg), he was a formidable man, and was known around the neighborhood as something of a drinker and a brawler, and for common bouts of familial abuse. Despite his propensity for drunken violence, John enjoyed spending time with his father working on the Model A in the yard, and simple woodworking projects that Zachary would undertake.
John's mother Kathryn was an immigrant from Hungary, and was employed mainly at the Carboloy Products Division of General Electric through much of John's early life. She would also take work wherever it could be found to subsidize the family's meager income. She generally tolerated her husband's erratic behavior, but during several of the worst times of Zachary's violent tendencies, she would take her sons to live with her sister in Los Angeles, California and would stay there for a year or so at a time.
The DeLoreans certainly did not live in opulence, but in depression-era terms, things undoubtedly could have been much worse. There was never a lack of food or clothing around the house, and the family was able to afford a few small luxuries like the music lessons that helped John earn scholarships to the better schools in Detroit.
In 1942, Zachary and Kathryn were divorced, and John subsequently saw little of his father, who moved in to a boarding house only to become a solitary and estranged full-blown alcoholic. Several years after the divorce, John went to visit him, and found his father so impaired by drinking that he could barely communicate.
Education
John attended Detroit's public grade schools, and was then accepted into Cass Technical High School, a technical high school for Detroit's honor students. There he signed up for the electrical curriculum. The young DeLorean found the Cass experience to be exhilarating, and excelled at his studies.
DeLorean's excellent academic record combined with his talents in music netted him a scholarship at Lawrence Institute of Technology (now known as Lawrence Technological University), a small but illustrious Detroit college that was alma mater of some of the area's best draftsmen and designers. There again he excelled in the study of industrial engineering, and was elected to the school's Honor Society.
World War II interrupted his studies. In 1943, DeLorean was drafted for military service and served three years in the U.S. Army before being honorably discharged, when he returned to Detroit to find his mother and siblings in economic difficulty due to the strains of Kathryn's single income. John went to work for the Public Lighting Commission for a year and a half in order to put his family on firmer financial ground before resuming at Lawrence to finish his degree.
His 1947 return to college saw his candidacy for Student Council President end in defeat, but he was quick to print a witty self-depreciating concession in the school paper, for which he was a popular contributor. These final years at Lawrence were also DeLorean's prologue to his contributions in the automotive world, when he worked part-time at Chrysler and a local body shop. In 1948, DeLorean graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering.
Instead of entering the engineering workforce after earning his degree, DeLorean worked a stint as a salesman of life insurance, and for the Factory Equipment Corporation. Both of these endeavors proved a success financially, but John's maternal uncle Earl Pribak, a foreman at Chrysler's engineering garage, recommended that he attend the Chrysler Institute, and John concurred. The car manufacturer ran a post-graduate facility that would allow him to advance his education while concurrently being allowed exposure to real-world engineering in action.
In 1952, DeLorean graduated the institute with a masters degree in automotive engineering, and signed on to Chrysler's engineering team. During this time, John also took on night classes at the University of Michigan to earn credits toward his MBA, which was awarded in 1957.
Professional life
Packard Motor Company
DeLorean's time in the employ of Chrysler lasted less than a year, ending when he was offered a $14,000 per year position at Packard Motor Company under supervision of noted engineer Forest McFarland. DeLorean quickly drew attention at his new employer with his development of an improvement to the company's Ultramatic automatic transmission, giving it a much improved torque converter and dual drive ranges; it was launched as the "Twin-Ultramatic". However, Packard was in serious financial trouble when DeLorean joined, due to a shifting paradigm in the automobile consumer market. While brands like Ford, General Motors and American Motors had begun producing affordable mainstream products, brands like Packard, Ewing, and Marquette clung to their pre-WWII era notions of high end, precisely engineered luxury cars. This exclusive philosophy was to take its toll on profitability. However, it proved to have a positive effect on DeLorean's attention to engineering detail, and after four years at Packard he would become McFarland's successor as head of Research and Development.
While still a profitable company, Packard suffered alongside other independents by their inability to compete as Ford and General Motors engaged in a price war. Seeing little to no hope, James Nance, President of Packard, merged with the Studebaker Corporation. A subsequent merger involving the equally new Nash-Hudson conglomeration American Motors never emerged past the discussion phase. DeLorean was considering the offer of keeping his job and moving to Studebaker headquarters in South Bend, Indiana when he received a call from Oliver K. Kelley, vice president of engineering at General Motors, and a man whom DeLorean greatly admired. Kelley called to offer John his choice of jobs in five divisions of GM.
General Motors
Pontiac
DeLorean accepted the $16,000 per year offer (plus a bonus program that normally took engineers several years to participate in), by choosing to work at the Pontiac Division as an assistant to chief engineer Pete Estes and general manager Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen. Knudsen was the son of the former president of General Motors, William Knudsen – who was called away from his post to head up the war mobilization production effort at the request of President Roosevelt. Bunkie was also an MIT engineering graduate, and at 42 he was the youngest man to head a division of GM. DeLorean and Knudsen were to quickly become close friends, and John would eventually cite Bunkie as a major influence and mentor. Knudsen wanted to improve Pontiac's youth and performance image, and DeLorean was in the middle of the action.
DeLorean's years of engineering at Pontiac were highly successful and produced dozens of patented innovations for the company, and in 1961 he was promoted to the position of division chief engineer. He is credited with developments such as wide track wheels, torque box perimeter frame, recessed and articulated windshield-wipers, the lane-change turn signal, overhead cam six-cylinder engine, Endura bumper, and a variety of other cosmetic and structural design elements. DeLorean's greatest contribution to Pontiac would be more conceptual than technical: The practical 1961 model Tempest, which he would later evolve into the LeMans, and ultimately become the sports car of the 1960s, the GTO, which debuted as a Tempest/LeMans option package with a larger, more powerful engine in 1964.
Despite a GM corporate policy that prohibited the use of engines larger than 330 in³ in intermediate-sized cars such as the Tempest/LeMans, DeLorean got around the rules by specifically offering the 389 in³ V8 as an option package. The rules were vague at GM as "new models" required corporate approval but "option packages" did not. When the 14th Floor (GM's executive row) caught on to the existence of the GTO, it was too late to pull it out of production and Pontiac responded that no more than 5,000 GTOs would be built in 1964, with that the corporate brass was appeased. Shortly thereafter, Car & Driver magazine in its March,1964 issue featured a road test of a '64 GTO with the optional Tri Power (three two-barrel carburetor) version of the 389 V8 and four-speed transmission to be tested against a Ferrari GTO, but the Ferrari didn't make it to the party so the magazine ended up testing the "Pontiac" alone and recorded a then-unheard of 0-60 mph time (for a stock production car as opposed to an exotic sports car)of 4.6 seconds and a standing quarter-mile of 115 mph in 13.1 seconds.
The publishing of that road test substantially increased demand for GTOs as Pontiac dealers often found themselves swamped with more potential buyers than cars to sell. Pontiac then responded by dramatically increasing GTO production to meet the demand. By the end of the 1964 model year, approximately 32,000 GTOs had been assembled - well above the initial projections of 5,000 units. For the 1965 model year, GM would increase the in³ limit for intermediate-sized cars to 400 in³ es, ensuring the future of the GTO as well as competitive musclecars from other GM divisions such as the Oldsmobile 4-4-2, Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 and Buick Skylark GS.
The Pontiac GTO (Gran Turismo Omologato, named after the Ferrari coupé) is credited for saving Pontiac from their dated stigma as producer of the "old lady's car" by creating a design that symbolized a generation of new, younger, more affluent drivers with a need for speed and style. From its launch in 1964, sales of the car and its popularity continued to grow dramatically in the following years. DeLorean received almost total credit for the success of the "first muscle car", which is probably due in large part to his talent for self-promotion. As with any new vehicle development, scores of individuals are involved with the conceptualizing, engineering, and marketing – but John DeLorean became the singular golden boy of Pontiac, and was rewarded with his 1965 promotion to head the entire Pontiac division.
John DeLorean was no longer a professional engineer. At 40 years old, he had broken the record for youngest division head at GM, and was determined to continue his string of success. Adapting to the frustrations that he perceived in the executive offices was, however, a difficult transition for him. DeLorean believed there was an undue amount of infighting at GM between divisional heads, and several of Pontiac's advertising campaign themes met with internal resistance, such as the "Tiger" campaign used to promote the GTO and other Pontiac models in 1965 and 1966.
In response to the ponycar market dominated by the wildly-successful Ford Mustang, DeLorean turned to the 14th Floor for permission to offer a Pontiac version of a similar vehicle then under development at the Chevrolet division that was set for introduction as a 1967 model named the Camaro. In May, 1966, Pontiac was granted approval to offer its version of the sporty X-body car. However, by this time it was too late for Pontiac to put the car in production with the usual fall introduction of the 1967 models in late September, so the division decided to hold off its introduction until February, 1967. Even the later introduction precluded the possibility of a truly distinctive Pontiac ponycar with its own sheetmetal so the 1967 Pontiac Firebird ended with virtually all sheetmetal shared with the Chevrolet Camaro except for the hood. The front end would get a pointed Pontiac split grille with quad headlights in contrast with the Camaro's flat front end and single headlights along with louvered taillights from the larger GTO. The Firebird would also be powered by Pontiac engines and marketed in five different models (both coupe and convertible) ranging from a base model with an economical six-cylinder overhead cam engine to the 400 in³ V8 from the GTO.
Shortly after the Firebird's introduction in 1967, DeLorean turned his attention to development of an all-new Grand Prix, the division's personal luxury car based on the full sized Pontiac line since 1962 but whose sales were sagging by this time, for the 1969 model year that would have its own distinct bodyshell with drivetrain and chassis components sourced from the intermediate-sized Pontiac A-body (Tempest, LeMans, GTO). The 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix looked a lot like a slightly scaled down Cadillac Eldorado with its razor-sharp bodylines and a six-foot long hood. Inside was a sporty and luxurious interior highlighted by a wraparound cockpit-style instrument panel, bucket seats and center console. The 1969 Grand Prix offered a sportier and higher performance alternative to the other personal luxury cars then on the market such as Ford Thunderbird, Buick Riviera, Lincoln Continental Mark III and Oldsmobile Toronado in a smaller size and lower price tag. The '69 Grand Prix was one of the industry's biggest success that year with production ending up at over 112,000 units - far higher than the 32,000 1968 Grand Prixs built from the full-sized Pontiac body.
During his time at Pontiac, DeLorean had begun to enjoy the freedom and celebrity that came with his position, and spent a good deal of his time traveling to locations around the world to support promotional events. His frequent public appearances helped to solidify his image as a "rebel" corporate businessman with his trendy dress style and casual banter.
Ralph Nader's book, Unsafe at Any Speed, which was published in 1965 criticized a number of Detroit automobiles as poorly designed for safety concerns, including the Chevrolet Corvair model. Even as General Motors would experience revenue declines, Pontiac remained highly profitable under DeLorean, and despite his growing reputation as a corporate maverick, on February 15, 1969 he was again promoted. This time it was to head up the prestigious Chevrolet division, General Motors' flagship brand.
Chevrolet
By this time, DeLorean was commanding an annual salary of $200,000, with yearly bonuses of up to $400,000. He had made sizable investments in the San Diego Chargers and the New York Yankees sports teams, and was becoming ever more ubiquitous in the popular culture.
DeLorean continued his jet-setting lifestyle, and was often seen hanging out in business and entertainment celebrity circles. He became friends with James T. Aubrey, president of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and was introduced to some of fame's biggest names such as financier Kirk Kerkorian, Chris-Craft chairman Herb Siegel, entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., and The Tonight Show host Johnny Carson.
The executive offices of General Motors headquarters continued to clash with DeLorean's non-conformity, and he was still not able to fit the traditional mold of conservatism that was usually expected of someone of his stature. When John was appointed, Chevrolet was having financial and organizational troubles, and GM president Ed Cole needed a first class manager in that position to sort things out – company man or not. The new model Nova was due out for the 1970 model year, and it was rapidly falling behind schedule. Redesigns for the Corvette and Camaro were also delayed, and unit sales had still not recovered from the past 4 years of turmoil, much of that due to the bad publicity surrounding the Corvair and well-publicized quality control issues affecting other Chevy models, including defective motor mounts that led to an unprecedented recall of 6.7 million Chevrolets built between 1965 and 1969. DeLorean responded to the production problems by delaying the release of the Nova, and simplifying the modifications to the Corvette and Camaro. He used the extra time to streamline Chevrolet's production overhead and reduce assembly costs. By 1971, Chevrolet was experiencing record sales in excess of 3 million vehicles, and his division alone was nearly matching that of the entire Ford Motor Company. Another promotion was imminent for DeLorean despite the deep-seated problems with the new compact Vega, introduced in 1971 as Chevy's import-fighter. The Chevrolet Vega suffered from cost overruns both on the assembly line and the showroom floor. The Vega's aluminum-block four-cylinder engine was prone to overheating, block warpage and high oil consumption and the Vega's body was susceptible to body cancer - often dubbed as "the car that began rusting on the showroom floor." However, DeLorean is not entirely to blame for the Vega's woes as that car was developed at the corporate level and handed to Chevrolet to build and sell just weeks before his arrival in 1969.
In 1972, DeLorean was appointed to the position of vice president of car and truck production for the entire General Motors line, and his eventual rise to president seemed inevitable. Instead, John DeLorean unexpectedly resigned from General Motors on April 2, 1973 at age 48, telling the confused press that "I want to do things in the social area. I have to do them, and unfortunately the nature of our business just didn't permit me to do as much as I wanted." GM gave him a Florida Cadillac franchise as a retirement gift, and DeLorean did in fact take over the presidency of The National Alliance of Businessmen, a charitable organization with the mission of employing Americans in need, founded by Lyndon Johnson and Henry Ford. GM were major contributors to the group, and agreed to continue his salary while he remained president of NAB.
Patrick Wright, author and former Business Week reporter, approached DeLorean with the idea of writing a book based on his experiences at General Motors. DeLorean agreed to dictate his recollections for Wright who would author the book. The final product, published in 1979, On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors, sold to the tune of some $1.6 million, but disagreements over the content led to a conflict between the collaborators and a libel suit against DeLorean. DeLorean claimed to have never received his share of the revenues.
De Lorean Motor Company
DeLorean then left General Motors to form his own company, the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), showing a two-seater sports car prototype in the mid-1970s called the DeLorean Safety Vehicle (DSV), with its bodyshell designed by Italdesign's Giorgetto Giugiaro. The car entered into production as the DMC-12, but generally known simply as the DeLorean. The DeLorean was skinned in stainless steel and featured gull-wing doors. The production model was powered by the "Douvrin" V6 engine developed by Peugeot, Renault and Volvo. Much of the money that was used to help develop the DeLorean was loaned to him by a good friend that worked with him at GM, Robert d'Angelo.
The factory to build this car was set up in at Dunmurry, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with substantial financial incentives from the Northern Ireland Development Agency (around £100 million) – this despite a report from a management consultancy firm that gave the project only a 1 in 10 chance of success. Renault was contracted to build the factory, which employed 2,600 workers at its peak production. The engine was made by Renault, while Lotus designed the chassis and bodywork details. The factory started manufacturing cars in early 1981, but was in receivership by February 1982. It turned out around 9,000 cars over 21 months before the British government ordered it closed down in November 1982.
Entrapment by Police
Preceding Margaret Thatcher's orders to cut off funds to DMC, DeLorean was getting desperate for outside funds to continue production. After investments from those such as Johnny Carson and Sammy Davis, Jr. did not fully procure the ongoing of DMC operations, DeLorean became desperate. Undercover agents from the FBI approached De Lorean suggesting that he hide cocaine in the door panels of his cars that were shipped overseas, which he agreed to do. On October 19, 1982, DeLorean was charged with the trafficking of cocaine by the US Government.
During the trial, tapes were leaked to the media showing that De Lorean told the undercover agents that he was not interested in the deal and begged to be let go. He agreed to the deal only after the agents threatened to kill his daughter if he didn't go along. He was found not guilty due to entrapment on August 16, 1984. DeLorean successfully defended himself with a procedural defense, arguing that the police had asked him to supply the money to buy the cocaine . His attorney stated in Time (March 19, 1984), "This [was] a fictitious crime. Without the government, there would be no crime."
It is common belief of many DeLorean DMC-12 owners and fans that the cocaine sting may have been related with the bridges John Z. DeLorean had burned when he left General Motors. According to the Game Show Network's Anything to Win, DMC's previously awaited funds had finally been secured for the continuation of production of the DMC-12 on the same day of the Government's sting operation, and his associates were looking for him to sign the paperwork.
Delorean, DeLorean or De Lorean?
De Lorean's name is most often seen spelled without the space, as DeLorean. Typewritten documents of the De Lorean Motor Company universally used the space, however, and this appears to have been the company's chosen form. In typeset documents, a half space, not a full space, appears between the two portions, and the same is visible in more stylistic representations, as on the automobiles themselves. This use of a half space probably influenced many people to see no space there.
The company's founder originally spelled his name as John Delorean. At some point in his life he began using the more European-looking De Lorean instead (but the proper spelling of a genuine aristocratic name of Romanic origin would be "de Lorean"). During the period the De Lorean Motor Company was operating, he used a space exclusively when spelling his name in the course of business.
Later life
According to his autobiography, both De Lorean and ex-wife Cristina Ferrare became born-again Christians following the "entrapment" controversy.
John De Lorean died at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey on March 19, 2005 from a stroke, aged 80. At the time of his death, De Lorean was working on a business venture project known as De Lorean Time, a company that would sell high-end wristwatches. De Lorean's death caused the dissolution of the company, and no De Lorean Time products were ever offered to the public.
His ashes are buried at the White Chapel Cemetery, in Troy, Michigan. At the request of his family, for his honorable service in World War II, he was given full military honors at the interment.
Patents
In 2006 US Patent and Trademark Office documents were uncovered showing a patent # 5,359,941 filed by John DeLorean on November 1st, 1994 for a raised monorail transport. [1]
- Abstract : A transport assembly for use, for example, in mass transportation, comprises a track and a frame mounted to the track for motion therealong, the frame including a housing which defines a traction chamber in communication with the track. At least one traction wheel is rotatably mounted to the frame in friction contact with the track. The traction wheel is at least partially disposed in the traction chamber. A car with a passenger compartment is coupled to the frame via a shock absorbing linkage so that the car is substantially isolated from irregularities in the track during motion of the frame and the car along the track. A suction source is operatively connected to the housing for generating a vacuum in the traction chamber during motion of the frame and the car along the track. A drive mounted to the frame is operatively connected to the traction wheel for drivingly rotating the wheel to propel the frame and the car along the track.
Notes
- DeLorean was married four times. His first marriage was to Elizabeth Higgins on 3 September 1954 and divorced in 1969. DeLorean then married Kelly Harmon on 31 May 1969 and divorced in 1972. His third marriage was to model Cristina Ferrare on 8 May 1973, ending in divorce in 1985. He was married to Sally Baldwin until his death in 2005.
- DeLorean's chemistry teacher at Cass Technical High School was Evangeline Lodge Land, mother of eminent pilot Charles Lindbergh.
- On February 14 2006 Game Show Network aired an episode of Anything To Win, featuring John De Lorean. The episode featured interviews with De Lorean's friends, family and De Lorean enthusiasts.
- When Back to the Future came out in 1985, featuring De Lorean's namesake car, De Lorean wrote a letter to Bob Gale, thanking him for immortalizing the car in the film. The letter can be seen in the special features of the Back to the Future DVD release.
- Grandmaster Flash's rap hit White Lines has lyrics that some suggest are a reference to John De Lorean: "A businessman is caught/With 24 kilos/He's out of jail/And out on bail/And that's the way it goes."
- El-P's track Delorean on his first solo album the incredible Fantastic Damage has lyrics by Aesop Rock with references to the DeLorean car and by El-P with references to the movie Back To The Future. Aesop Rock: "Who's that riding shotgun?/That's my homie El-Producto/Peddle to the floorboard delorean be gone, peace." El-P: "Before I hop in the Delorean I shit on Mr.Fusion/Great Scott, Doc/We need to go back in time to when motherfuckers could rock/88 miles per hour, bring it back to the block to get Mac Fly/peel the fuck out before the lightning hit the clock."
- A feature film is being developed on the life of John DeLorean by the independent film company, Stainless Steel Productions.
- De Lorean appeared in a widely published magazine ad for Cutty Sark whisky in the year prior to his arrest and the collapse of his company. It was captioned "One out of every 100 new businesses succeeds. Here's to those who take the odds."[2]
References
- DeLorean By John Z. DeLorean with Ted Schwarz
- Grand Delusions - The Cosmic Career of John DeLorean By Hillel Levin
- Stainless Steel Illusion By John Lamm - A history of the DeLorean car and DeLorean Motor Company
- On A Clear Day You Can See General Motors By J. Patrick Wright - "Provides rare perspective about the imperfect workings of a giant corporation." - The Wall Street Journal
- Hard Driving - My Years With John DeLorean By William Haddad - An insider's perspective of DeLorean and the DeLorean Motor Company by a former DMC Executive.
- Dream Maker - The Rise and Fall of John Z. DeLorean By Ivan Fallon & James Srodes
- The Maverick Mogul By Hillel Levin - Hillel Levin's second book about DeLorean.
- The DeLorean Tapes - The Evidence The Sunday Times Insight - This book chronicles the 4 months that the FBI had DeLorean on tap.
- United States Patent 5,359,941 Transportation system, vehicle and method (Monorail System)
Further reading
- Ivan Fallon, James Srodes, Dream Maker: The Rise and Fall of John Z Delorean (November, 1985), 455 pages, ISBN 0-399-12821-2
- William Haddad, Hard Driving : My Years with John DeLorean (August 12, 1985), ISBN 0-394-53410-7
- Hillel Levin, Grand Delusions: The Cosmic Career of John DeLorean, 1983, Viking Adult, 336 pages, ISBN 0-670-26685-X