aftermarket parts

[kkoncelik@xxxx]

In light of all of the recent subject matter on the DML. I thought I'd 
expand on a thought that Dan posted involving Lotus owners.

The one comment that all Deloreans are the same, yet each owner can tell his 
apart and the reference to part availability either stock or custom intrigued 
me to write this.

Having a DeLorean is a unique experience. We do have a car that to the 
average person varies very little from car to car. We also are blessed with 
a number of suppliers such as Rob, Stephen and a host of others too long to 
list. Both Rob and Stephen have become good friends of mine. 

The one thing that makes the DeLorean stand out over a number of cars (not to 
make a comparison) is the ability of the owners to get involved at any level 
they wish to participate as I did in deciding to run a national car show. 
There still is room to get in and make a difference.

The DeLorean is going through some growing pains now and that has been 
obvious on this list lately. Maybe we should turn our thoughts to the 
efforts of the many people that make the cars run or run better. 

There have been a number of parts over the years that no longer exist. Some 
people don't consider the car because of hard to find parts. Between 
DeLorean 1, DMC and P.J Grady and some independents almost all of the parts 
that were depleted have been replaced and at a reasonable charge since 
tooling is the major factor in the pricing of these parts.

All three Vendors and many others like Dave Baurle, DMC Joe, Don, and many 
more have kept us running on their inginuity and their willingness to invest. 
I have an interest in this as well. It has allowed the Car Shows: mine (The 
DeLorean Car Show), the DOA, Eurofest, and various others to happen, like 
Houston this year. There are also a ot of activities by the new and existing 
groups. As time goes on and the tooling is paid off prices will drop for 
these products and new ones will take their place. I do know some parts are 
sold at a bit of a loss just to keep them available until the tooling is paid 
off.

We are at an akward time in the life of the DeLorean and many more parts are 
being remanufactured and many more new designs are being introduced to keep 
the cars current for those that want to use it everyday (ie. the 
suspensions). The DeLorean for the most part is a car that people drive. 
The lower participation at the concourse level I think backs that up (and I 
am a concourse person).

I hope all of you encourage our suppliers to keep working on new products for 
us even if not all of them suite our taste. I have Driven DMC's new car and 
plan to post on that in the near future but I have some research to do first. 
They have done a great job. (Great event in Arizona where I drove the car)

Next time you visit either Robs site or DMC Houston and the others check out 
all the new products and offering. This is not unique to the DeLorean but I 
think the DeLorean supporters and Vendors have put us right there on top and 
that is why the resale of the cars are as good as they are. (For you Lotus 
members thanks for noticing) The Movie and JZD got it started but if the car 
were a bust it would have died a long time ago. 

I love my DMC as you all do so lets support the people that have kept it 
there.

One last note:
If there are any GTO, Lotus (you like talking about us too it seems :-) ) or 
Briklin members reading this I am putting on a Show in Memphis in 2002 (<A 
HREF="http://deloreancarshow.com)">deloreancarshow.com</A>). As in the past 
I have invited these cars to participate in Cincinnati and Cleveland and not 
only did the DeLorean owners love to see your cars the owners of these cars 
enjoyed seeing the DeLoreans. If any of you wish to participate in Memphis 
drop me an e-mail we'd love to have you.

Thanks for you patience on this long post but I hope we get into a thread of 
what parts are needed for our car in the near future. That in itself would be 
helpful to our suppliers in addition to you the owners.

Ken
<A HREF="http://deloreancarshow.com";>DeLorean Car Show</A>