John DeLorean Dies at 80

[Dick Whittington (8804)]

Re: John DeLorean Dies at 80

I just read an article about John Z. in "Automotive News". Here is a couple of lines written about him.

"In 1969, when John DeLorean was general manager of Chevrolet Division, he took a group of reporters through the Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant that had been re-fitted to produce the Chevy Vega. It was the largest, most automated factory in the United States. After the usual management discussion about this and that, one reporter asked just how big the factory was. "It's so big you can see the curvature of the earth in here," DeLorean shot back, without batting an eye.

John DeLorean, who died over the weekend at age 80 following a stroke, was never afraid of a little hyperbole. He was larger than life, and he knew it"

Anyone interested in him or in corporate culture should read his book

[Donald Milone (8060)]

Re: John DeLorean Dies at 80

I was shaken today at the news of DeLorean's death. No matter what kind of personal life he may have lead, he was and will always remain, an Ameican Icon and a Giant of the Industry. We could use a few dozen more "John Z's" in our business, maybe then we could produce unique and exciting cars in this country. He was a contemporary of such greats as Zora Duntov, Larry Shinoda and Ed Cole. He certianly should be remembered for a lot more than the insipid "Back to the Future" car. You had a great run, John!

[John Hinckley (29964)]

Re: John DeLorean Dies at 80

Dick -

That's correct - I spent six years at Lordstown, and at the time ('69-'75) it was the longest assembly plant in the GM system; then we built the Orion Plant, even longer, and leveling during site prep had to take into account a minor degree of curvature.

DeLorean made several visits to Lordstown in '69 and '70, and he always made quite the impression for the media at 6'-3" with long hair, very long pointed shirt collars, and bell-bottom pants. Before we gutted the plant and converted it to the Vega, we built Impala/Caprice and Firebirds, and built several pink Firebird convertibles (with pink tops and interiors) for Nancy Sinatra when he was dating her in '68 and '69. About 18 months later he married Kelly Harmon (daughter of Tom Harmon) when she was 19 years old and he was a recently-promoted Group Vice President of North American Operations, and that didn't go over real well with the other top executives' 45-60 Y/O wives at the Bloomfield Hills Country Club; he had great taste in cars and women

[Rick Smith (39266)]

Re: John DeLorean Dies at 80

BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rick Smith (39266)]

Re: John DeLorean Dies at 80

John,
Do you remenmber that ad with Kelly for WRIF?

[Duke Williams (22045)]

Re: John DeLorean Dies at 80

Whether one despises, reveres, or has no personal opinion about John DeLorean, I think he is one of the most interesting personalities of the second half of the twentieth century.

He was a true "20th-century cowboy".

I was lucky enough to cross paths with him a few times when I was a young Pontiac engineer in 1968. His was a truly commanding presence!

duke

[John Hinckley (29964)]

Re: John DeLorean Dies at 80

Absolutely!! She's a stunning woman - can't forget those eyes...

[Rick Smith (39266)]

Re: John DeLorean Dies at 80

I remember looking/focusing on something other than her eyes tho!!

[Joe Lucia (12484)]

Re: John DeLorean Dies at 80

John-----

Actually, I think John Z's most stunning "catch" was Christina Ferrare. John was, I believe, of French ancestry. However, I think that there must have been some Italian in there somewhere or his ancestral "roots" trace to the French-Italian border region. John had a taste and an "eye" for cars and women that seemed very "Italian-like" to me. He had an "Italian-like" panache about him, too. Now, don't think that means that I have some "positive bias" towards Italians. I mean, why would I (other than the fact that I'm a pure-blooded Italian)?

[John Hinckley (29964)]

Re: John DeLorean Dies at 80

Joe -

You'd have enjoyed being around him at Chevrolet Engineering in those days. When we were doing the mid-engine Corvette development project, he had us buy a DeTomaso Mangusta as an evaluation vehicle (in addition to the Lamborghini Miura Zora had them buy for evaluation, which got him the speeding ticket of the century and put him in the Warren City Jail across the street, but that's another story). Anyway, DeLorean came down the day the Mangusta arrived to drive it home that night, and he didn't fit in it - no room for his long legs; he said "fix that thing so I can drive it". It took two weeks with the car in the metal shop to fabricate a new rear bulkhead and floor pan to move the driver's seat rearward and down several inches, and he then drove it a couple of times. The car made the rounds of evaluation drivers for a couple of weeks, sat in the Fleet lot for a few months, and was wholesaled somewhere; never saw it again.