What harm does an perpetual motion Delorean hoax do? Plenty.

["Stragand, Dave" <dave.stragand@xxxx>]

[MODERATOR NOTE: I have already rejected a large number of posts speculating about Tilley's "black box" because they are not relevant to the DML's mission. The subject of this post, however, is relevant. Note that I *will* reject posts that simply agree with Dave Stragand's opinion without adding anything new. - Mike Substelny, DML moderator of the week]

What harm does it do to the DMC?

1) Damage to JZD's rep: I have been following the discussions on slashdot.org, and found many people who believe that -John DeLorean- is also part ofthis scam.

2) Another incorrect claim of DMC unreliability: There are many quotes saying how common it is for rear wheel bearings to go out as well, which I've never heard anyone mention on this list. Has anyone ever had a rear wheel bearing suddenly blow out? They quoted a supposed "other DeLorean owner" who said it's an "extremely common occurance" for the DMC.

3) The fleecing of the public: While Tilley's website claims 10,000+ peoplewere in attendance, eyewitnesses say it was only around 50 to 60 people. Those people, as you see below, are basically middle-class folks who are being swindled by these claims of free energy and perpetual motion cars. Tilley also apparently has a history of pulling these same scams in the past.

4) Yet another "joke" at car shows: If enough people lose enough money, there are going to be serious repercussions to the DMC in the automotive collecting world. Tired enough yet of cocaine and flux capacitor jokes? Just wait until you start getting "free energy" wisecracks.

Not to sound conceited nor condescending here, but if you can't understand the physics behind how ludicrous this guy's claims are, trust those of us that do!!! We have all been happy to explain why you can't get more energy out of a device than you put in -- it's just not possible. However, if youstill believe, you are being seduced, deceived, and misled.

A good article was posted by Tim Holman:

"First, a little background. Tilley's "miracle" electric vehicle has been getting a lot of media coverage here in Nashville over the past week, and it's been a topic of conversation at work. One of my colleagues and I decidedto check it out for ourselves, out of pure curiousity.

"This is not the first time Mr. Tilley has been in the Nashville news. About a year and a half ago he got some publicity by claiming that he and another inventor had created a "free energy" machine, a la Tom Bearden, Dennis Lee, and Joe Newman. When people tried to follow up on his claims, he dropped out of sight. Now he had resurfaced with a claim that he was using this machine to power an electric car. What really made it interesting was that Bobby Allison was apparently promoting Tilley's claims, both on his own web site (http://www.bobbyallison.com), and by driving the car at the Superspeedway.

"Being firm believers in the second law of thermodynamics, my co-workers and I expected one of three things to happen:

"(1) Tilley would attempt to hide an internal combustion engine somewhere in the Delorean, and prevent people from examining it up close (unlikely, aspeople would hear the engine running). He might also hide extra batteries to extend the running time.

"(2) The car would make very frequent pit stops in a screened area (so as to prevent the "secret" from being stolen, of course), during which the batteries would miraculously recharge themselves.

"(3) The car would suffer an unfortunate "breakdown" well before the distance limit imposed by the maximum energy storage of the twelve lead-acid batteries in his vehicle.

"As it turned out, #3 was the winner. In the middle of the 13th lap, the announcer suddenly announced that the vehicle had a bad rear wheel bearing. It looked to me as if the batteries were quickly reaching the end of their charge, as the car was running very slowly on that last lap. In the 12th lap, the car had zipped by fairly quickly, about 60 mph on the track, with no visible problems. Amazing how quickly a wheel bearing will go out on you, and how some people can diagnose it while the car is still moving. :-)

"Once the car had coasted into the pit, I left. I knew the demo was over, although some people in the crowd didn't (and apparently stuck around for hours afterwards!).

"A few comments: my co-worker arrived earlier than me and got to see the car up close before the demo. According to him, two men with guns were standing guard and preventing anyone from looking UNDER the car. He took that as a sign that either extra batteries or an internal combustion engine must bevisible from the underside.

"I was in the stands with a crowd of about 50 to 60 people, maximum. Judging from the conversations around me, many of them were either investors or True Believers. I heard the usual claptrap about conspiracies, death threatsby oil companies, etc., that get tossed around by the proponents of these scams.

"What troubled me, of course, is that many of the investors looked like normal middle class folks, using their own savings and hoping to cash in on a world-shaking invention. They, and people like them, were the true targets of Mr. Tilley's exhibition.

"As for Bobby Allison, he was there at the beginning and drove the first couple of laps, then apparently left. For his own sake, I hope he distances himself from Mr. Tilley as quickly as possible.

"Finally, for those who are interested, I made a Quicktime movie of the carmaking the final lap (out of the pit, around part of the track, and back into the pit). You can see for yourself how slowly the car was going before the "breakdown".

"http://mywebpages.comcast.net/wthwthwth/tilleydemo.html 

-Dave
VIN #5927