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The DeLorean Story second edition: The Car The People The Scandal second edition
Overview
his is the inside account of the DeLorean saga written by a senior manager who worked with the company from beginning to end. The short life of the DeLorean DMC-12 sports car – a vision of the future with its gullwing doors and stainless steel body – began after John DeLorean secured financial backing from the
British government for his car-making venture.
In a blaze of publicity the DeLorean dream arrived in Belfast in the summer of 1978. The challenge was to build a car and a factory in 18 months, with two prototypes and 72 acres of muddy fields in West Belfast as the basic ingredients. Money shortages and civil disturbances – the result of the IRA hunger strike campaign – caused major disruptions.
Four years and almost 9,000 cars later the company went bust and John DeLorean’s dream turned into a nightmare as he was tried for alleged drug offences, eventually to be found ‘not guilty’ due to entrapment by the FBI. His apparent charmed life continued when he was also found ‘not guilty’ of embezzling the missing equity money from the Belfast factory. His big ally, Colin Chapman of Lotus, also drew posthumous scrutiny.
Prior to John DeLorean’s trials, Margaret Thatcher vetoed a plan by a UK consortium to restart the DeLorean site, which would have provided over 1,000 jobs, but she decided this recovery plan was not for her. What were her reasons? This book offers one possible answer.
Who were the real heroes and villains in this saga? The DeLorean Story reveals everything about the car, the people and the scandal, from 1978 to 2004.
his is the inside account of the DeLorean saga written by a senior manager who worked with the company from beginning to end. The short life of the DeLorean DMC-12 sports car – a vision of the future with its gullwing doors and stainless steel body – began after John DeLorean secured financial backing from the
British government for his car-making venture.
In a blaze of publicity the DeLorean dream arrived in Belfast in the summer of 1978. The challenge was to build a car and a factory in 18 months, with two prototypes and 72 acres of muddy fields in West Belfast as the basic ingredients. Money shortages and civil disturbances – the result of the IRA hunger strike campaign – caused major disruptions.
Four years and almost 9,000 cars later the company went bust and John DeLorean’s dream turned into a nightmare as he was tried for alleged drug offences, eventually to be found ‘not guilty’ due to entrapment by the FBI. His apparent charmed life continued when he was also found ‘not guilty’ of embezzling the missing equity money from the Belfast factory. His big ally, Colin Chapman of Lotus, also drew posthumous scrutiny.
Prior to John DeLorean’s trials, Margaret Thatcher vetoed a plan by a UK consortium to restart the DeLorean site, which would have provided over 1,000 jobs, but she decided this recovery plan was not for her. What were her reasons? This book offers one possible answer.
Who were the real heroes and villains in this saga? The DeLorean Story reveals everything about the car, the people and the scandal, from 1978 to 2004.
- GenresNonfictionCarsHistory
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2013
47 people are currently reading
365 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 25, 2020
He really was a driven man. His dream, and the push to achieve it. But pride I believe was one of the downfalls. Very sad
February 10, 2013
This is the "missing" story about the DeLorean Motor Company. Nick's telling of his time as one of the longest employees of DeLorean Motor Cars Limited not only fills in many of the blanks that are left after reading "Hard Driving", "Stainless Steel Illusion". "Grand Delusions" and even John's own book "DeLorean" but this book tells of the incredible accomplishment of producing a car and the factory to build it in all within 22 months time. This book will be referred to by DeLorean owners and enthusiasts for years, and merits a prominent place on the bookshelf of every DeLorean fan.
December 31, 2018
Phenomenally boring. Merry Christmas.
January 31, 2021
Enjoyable read
Cool story about a car I knew very little about and the people that made it happen during the time of Troubles.
Cool story about a car I knew very little about and the people that made it happen during the time of Troubles.
November 22, 2019
Great book
Book is to the point and moves well through events, kept me engaged. An intresting read for anyone who worked or works in manufacturing.
Book is to the point and moves well through events, kept me engaged. An intresting read for anyone who worked or works in manufacturing.
January 9, 2014
This book has been a long time coming. I am very grateful to Nick Sutton for taking the time to write his story. This is as comprehensive an account as we are ever likely to read on the Delorean enterprise. Too often the Delorean project and indeed the car, is belittled as a scam by a suave American playboy on a gullible government department. This popular viewpoint has now been put to bed.
Nick highlights here the superb technical achievements in building, not just the car but also the factory and its cleverly structured production line. The efforts of the internationally sourced, automotive engineers are enhanced by the empathy they shared with the local people and their painful entrapment in political and sectarian violence.
The processes and behaviours created in the Delorean factory were cutting edge for a 1970's UK industry that was troubled with industrial strife including petty demarcation disputes. Nick briefly points this out at the end of the book while detailing his return to mainstream car production in England and the frustration he encounters with archaic industrial practices and attitudes. I would entrust Nick to write an epitaph for the British car industry.
Nick also details some of the efforts by Sir Kenneth Cork in his very earnest attempts to salvage the company. A medal for going beyond the call of duty would have been well earned by Sir Kenneth. Also, for me personally, in keeping with UK manufacturing, Thatcher’s reputation as the evil witch, is also well earned in this story.
This is an important book on the industrial history of Britan and Ireland. It is also a very good read.
Nick highlights here the superb technical achievements in building, not just the car but also the factory and its cleverly structured production line. The efforts of the internationally sourced, automotive engineers are enhanced by the empathy they shared with the local people and their painful entrapment in political and sectarian violence.
The processes and behaviours created in the Delorean factory were cutting edge for a 1970's UK industry that was troubled with industrial strife including petty demarcation disputes. Nick briefly points this out at the end of the book while detailing his return to mainstream car production in England and the frustration he encounters with archaic industrial practices and attitudes. I would entrust Nick to write an epitaph for the British car industry.
Nick also details some of the efforts by Sir Kenneth Cork in his very earnest attempts to salvage the company. A medal for going beyond the call of duty would have been well earned by Sir Kenneth. Also, for me personally, in keeping with UK manufacturing, Thatcher’s reputation as the evil witch, is also well earned in this story.
This is an important book on the industrial history of Britan and Ireland. It is also a very good read.
August 17, 2018
I don't really like reading nonfiction books. That being said, I have read a few nonfiction books that I have enjoyed. I did like learning a few new facts in this book but I really didn't like the way it was organized. It also didn't hold my attention. I had to force myself to keep reading. I put the book down several times and read other books in order to have something interesting to read.
This might just not be the book for me. I own a Delorean and I love learning more about it but I'm still not really fluent in all the 'car talk.' Therefore, many parts of the book were hard for me to understand.
I don't regret reading the book because there were parts that were interesting and facts that I'm glad to know but I would only recommend the book to people highly interested in Deloreans.
This might just not be the book for me. I own a Delorean and I love learning more about it but I'm still not really fluent in all the 'car talk.' Therefore, many parts of the book were hard for me to understand.
I don't regret reading the book because there were parts that were interesting and facts that I'm glad to know but I would only recommend the book to people highly interested in Deloreans.
March 26, 2018
I was expecting to read about how erratic John DeLorean was and how that affected the cult car's production. After all, Nick Sutton worked for the company in a supposedly influential position. For some reason, the book falls a bit flat and could as well have been written by an outsider, by someone researching the history books. Especially towards the end, the story lost steam and most of my interest. Still, worthwhile read.
February 27, 2024
An interesting book written by employee #16 of the Delorean Motor Company. The author enlightens us on the DMC, Northern Ireland, The Troubles and the involvement of the United Kingdom government in the realization of the Delorean Motor Company.
October 14, 2013
A very good version of The DeLorean saga.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews