The reason people want to touch our cars is because they want to see if it is really raw metal. The concept is foreign to them, they assume that it would rust. Some don't believe it is a real DeLorean and think that it is a fiberglass replica painted in silver. This is why they want to feel the metal, and sometime knock on it. I had one asshole tapping on the fender with his key to hear it "ring"..... I thought I would behead him like a Jihad video! I show my car a lot, several times a month so I have gained some experience doing this. I have since learned that it is more fun to dress incognito (no BTTF or DeLorean shirt) and stand back a few feet and pretend to be another spectator (I will even take pictures and make comments) ....then you can see and hear what people REALLY think and say about the car when they think the owner is not around. So far the consensus is that the car is a novelty to see and "cool", but in a nerdy way. The car holds zero respect with Hot-Rodders other than an appreciation for it's unique looks and rare appearance....but the words "It's a shame" and "what a waste" and such are used when ever they look at the engine. The car is stuck with the stigma of being unreliable and slow. So far there is not much that can be done to disprove this..because unfortunately it's true. It's the slowest car on the road and your chances of breaking down or going up in flames is highest in a DeLorean than most any other car I can think of. All that said, everyone still loves to look at it, take pictures of it and pose next to it. However, none of the other car clubs respect it. The British clubs hate it, the Italian clubs will not allow it in the shows either. It's a weird bastard car, the red headed step child. Lucky for me I am too.... so we are a match. Regardless of what others think about it, I like the car and I am willing to deal with it's problems and the baggage that comes with it. It's all part of the package. I think it is all this baggage that keeps so many of these cars stuck in the garage under a cover. I was surprised to learn that there are about the same amount of Pantera's as there are DeLoreans except I see lots of Pantera's at shows and out and about. What does this mean? The DeTomesa Pantera is one bad ass hot rod car, and even though it is just as rare as the DeLorean people want to get them out and drive them. I think that if the DeLorean is going to have longevity as a classic car on the road that more and more people should just strip them of all the OEM electrical system and drivetrain and convert them to other engines, transmissions, etc. I know this is blasphemy to the purists, but there are plenty of museum quality DeLoreans out there for display. The best thing for the image of this car is to see more of them driving reliably down the road....screaming with V8's, Northstar's, whatever. The PRV just sucks, we all know it....so let's stop tap dancing around it. It might be fairly reliable, but so is my lawnmower. I want the power to at least beat a Hyundia! If they had put a decent engine in the car we would have a different history. If I had my way I would stuff that 5.7 HEMI that I have in my Magnum in that sucker. Can you imagine that? With a 5 speed auto-stick? Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick - that would rock! I know I will get flamed for this...but it's just one dudes opinion. What do I know anyway? -VB >From: "coreysmoo" <coreysmoo@xxxxxxxxxxx> >Reply-To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >Subject: [DML] Re: Question and strange car show behavior >Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 02:43:30 -0000 > >At shows, I usually just buckle the seatbelts over the seats. I'm >only guessing that this is a solution because I have never really >had any problems with people trying to sneak a sit in my car. The >only times people sit in it is if they ask me if they can for a >picture or whatever. If they ask, I usually do not mind. But, the >seatbelt thing seems to work fine for me without having to buy >anything extra or fancy. The only problems I have is people >touching my car. No one usually touches cars at car shows... But >there is something about the DeLorean that makes people need to >touch it. What's up with that? >Corey >2423 [incredibly long quote trimmed by moderator] To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/