Re: [DML] Re:1982 DMC is concours?

[James Espey <james@xxxx>]

> I think this is where the bulk of disagreement lies with the 
> opinions on how the
> car should be judged.

Actually, the bulk of disagreement lies because people do not 
understand the definition of "concours". Rather than repeat myself, 
see my posting here:

http://www.egroups.com/message/dmcnews/10997

People wanting to see more of the previous "go around" that Marc and 
I have had on this should read the archives for October of 1999 - 
http://www.dmcnews.com/backissues/oct99.html

> It is widely accepted that there were design flaws in the DeLorean. 
> If you have
> a DeLorean that came from the factory with the Ducey, and have made the WISE
> decision to replace it with a more reliable part, this should be considered a
> good thing. If anything, a car with the under rated Ducey should 
> loose points,
> because that is the car that will be stuck on the side of the road 
> at some point
> so hundreds of people driving by can see a broken down DeLorean.

Replacing the alternator, clutch lines, header bottle, etc ARE good 
things - if your car is used as a "driver". Neither of the winners of 
the past two "Millennium" concours use their cars as "drivers" and 
both were trailered to and from the show, so the odds of "hundreds of 
people" seeing them broken down on the side of road is unlikely.

> Of course, if the concourse judging was not set up this way, there 
> would be less
> of these "correct", but unsafe and unreliable parts sold.

I'm not sure where you're going with this, but I *know* that the bulk 
of Ducellier alternators we sell are to people who would prefer to 
save money over buying a Motorola, not because they're concours 
people. I don't think we've EVER sold an original clutch line to 
anyone, and there are no "new" overflow bottles in existence.

> Points should be deducted on cars that do NOT have the well known safety and
> reliability upgrades. The "Perfect" DeLorean (which is what started this
> thread) should be a car that is safe and reliable to drive.

The thread started because someone referred to a "perfect" car as 
being "concours". The terms are quite different, which again, as I 
mentioned above, is where most of the disagreement lies. Therein also 
lies the flaw in your logic when you say "Points should be deducted 
on cars that do NOT have the well known safety and reliability 
upgrades."

> Not that any of this effects me, because I do not compete in the DeLorean
> Concourse events.. It just bugs me that there is a system in place that
> encourages owners to not repair known design flaws that effect safety and
> reliability.

I think it's a stretch to say the concours rules encourage owners to 
neglect safety and reliability in their DeLoreans. The rules and 
point deduction guidelines are quite lenient in these areas, and many 
of them items you mention are relatively easy for the owner of 
average skills to remove and replace as needed. The one item that 
isn't easy, savvy competitors have already found a way around.

Always in search of a good debate,

James Espey
DeLorean Motor Company
Houston, Texas

281/568-9573
800/USA-DMC1
http://www.delorean.com