Re: WAS John Delorean and Reliability...NOW saving the cars (LONG)

["therealdmcvegas" <DMCVegas@xxxx>]

Wow, where to begin. Many thanks to John Dore for his 
comments. I've always written basicly just my thoughts and 
feelings about the certain subjects. I am glad to know that others 
do agree with me. In all honesty, it means alot to me that it all 
ment at leat a little something to someone. I just hope that I've 
helped put certain things into new perspectives for others to see. 
Once again, thank you very much!

Why hasn't JZD been able to attend any conventions before? 
Well, my guess for one is that he's been pretty busy trying to fight 
his legal battles for one thing. Amongst others, I would imagine 
it would have to be that perhaps he has been unsure of the 
climate. Yes, both the internet and the DML have come to spread 
an enormous amount of information about the car. And I would 
imagine that it has also helped to inform JZD about how the 
majority of owners feel about their cars. So I think that in that 
respect, it has worked both ways for JZD and us owners. As far 
appriciation, certain jokes and the like, I'm going to say this. 
These are obviously two very sore areas for myself. And to be 
honest, I am quite hesitant as to comment other than to say I 
absolutely hate any kind of slander or disrespect twards the car, 
company, or man. I don't want to get into what an owner should 
or shouldn't be. I would like to think that ALL owners respect all 3 
equally. It really is my feeling that if you own a DeLorean, you 
owe it to yourself, the car, and others to ask you questions to be 
as knowledgeable about all 3. Reading all available print and 
material about them is an absolute must. If nothing else, the 
benefit to yourself of understanding more about the car is at the 
very least priceless.

On a more somber note, history has a way of repeating itself, 
and I don't want to divide anyone by trying to say that one person 
is a better, or more "loyal" owner than the next. With every 
marque, there are those that may simply own a car to say that 
they do. And even then, some may speak of owning in passing, 
while others may be complely indifferent, and not care as to what 
they say about the car/marque. I don't want to divide owners into 
"North and South", or "Who's Living the Dream vs. Who's simply 
daydreaming the idea". But at the very least, I do belive that 
telling a "coke jokes" @ a DeLorean convention is quite 
tasteless. That would pretty much go beyond simply being a 
"Turd in a puchbowl". That's more like a Porta-Potty in the middle 
of the Vatican...

Now, onto other subjects!

As far as KAPAC is concerned, if they hadn't of been around, 
someone else would have picked up the slack. Granted, parts 
may not have been as centralized, but they still would have been 
available some how, some way. The local mechanic who works 
on my car is DeLorean Certified. And according to him, after JZD 
was arrested, phone calls all across the country were made in 
efforts to keep both parts and service available. As well as all 
info to owners. I can't remember who exactly, but it was a groups 
that was working with the at the time current owners club (NOT 
the DOA). Efforts were made, and paid off. A network of service 
centers became available, and parts were kept plentiful. KAPAC 
was the source of parts because they had the remaining stock, 
but they did not establish the network that lasted quite a few 
years to sustain our cars. No matter what, a way would have 
been found.

Did Back to the Future save the cars? That's a yes and no 
question. It ranks right up there with "Which came first: The 
Chicken, or the Egg." BTTF has done quite it's share of making 
the car known. But the majority of people who own DeLoreans, 
reguardless of where/when/how they first learned of them do so 
because they fall in love with the car. Probably not because they 
want to be Marty McFly, or Doc Brown. A question that will 
probably never have a 100% black and white answer... But to say 
that they simply didn't have interest, I can't fully agree with.

As far as car buffs are concerned, I disregard their "professional" 
opinions. A while back, there was a specal on the Discovery 
Channel I believe. It was about how auto mfg's design cars. And 
there was a very interesting quote from a test driver down in 
Southern California who worked @ the Nissan design studios. 
His job is to drive the cars thru a daily routine, and see how they 
perform, and function. He only gets to drive the vehicles for a 
couple of weeks at a time. He basicly said that when he has a 
car he is uncomfortalbe with, he always looks forward to turning 
it back in. But he hates it even more to drive a car he likes. By the 
time he finally starts to get used to it, or even enjoy it. it gets 
taken away... So, to summerize, what could a "Car Buff", or even 
a "Professional" possibly know about the quality/performance/
enjoyability of my car when they can't even take the time to truly 
get familiar with it? Everytime I've seen a "Professiona;" do an 
article on the DeLorean's performance, they're out on the track", 
and only for a few hours at the most. I've yet to see someone put 
it thru a real world test.

As far as where all the rest of the DeLoreans that are MIA are at, 
try looking in people's backyards and garages. As far as social 
gatherings and the like go with my car, I'm mostly a recluse. If 
you happen to see me on the street, consider yourself lucky. It's 
easier to find Waldo than it is me. And I've met a few owners by 
chance, and they are the same way. The local garage where the 
DeLoreans in town are all serviced doen't share info with others 
about the cars. Not even between owners! All this time, and who 
knew that 4 other DeLoreans were all within a 10 mile radious of 
my house! Those missing cars aren't wrecked. They're just 
hidden! :)

-Robert
vin 6585 "X"

p.s. Congrats John, I hope the car works out!