Legends: John Z. Delorean

Not many of us would ever dream of beginning an automobile company, let alone actually know how to do it or run it. But if anyone could have and should have made it happen, it was John Zachary DeLorean.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in engineering, he attended the Chrysler Institute, receiving his master’s in automotive engineering. DeLorean eventually accepted a position as director of advanced engineering at General Motors. By the time he turned 40 he was general manager of the Pontiac Division and a vice-president of General Motors. The legend of the lone-wolf DeLorean began during his Pontiac years, thanks to his masterpiece, the GTO, which defied corporate edict of the day. But his flamboyant style and anti-establishment methods of operation brought him into conflict with his superiors.

In 1973, at age 47, he left GM. The following year, he began the process of building his dream. The DMC-12, as it would be known, featured a Renault-built V6 positioned behind the cockpit of its stainless-steel body. After several years, in 1981, the first of DeLorean’s dream cars rolled off the assembly line. At $25,000 each, the DMC 12 was significantly more expensive than originally proposed.

By October of 1981, sales totaled only 720 examples, despite projections of 20,000 a year. With inventory piling up at the factory and financial trouble looming, the DeLorean company was placed into receivership. Production, without DeLorean at the helm, continued until early 1983. The total volume is officially recorded at 8,583. The combination of a sick economy, the resulting lack of demand for the DMC all helped to undo DeLorean.

The popular Back To The Future movie series of the 1980s briefly thrust both DeLorean and his machine once again into the spotlight, but, despite several futile attempts, he would never again enjoy life as a mogul or a manufacturer in the automotive world. DeLorean died in 2005 at age 80.