Ryan, that was truly incredible. I am going to save this with my manuals. I've always thought that the way D1 treats people that JZD himself would be ashamed of Ed and his ethics. Johnny 5518 AZ-D On 1/4/07, Bob Brandys <BobB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > Hey, I value my car, too! > > Unlike many other DeLorean vendors, DeLorean One refuses to sell LED > door lights, improved spark plugs, or xenon headlight kits. These parts > are not original equipment, and DeLorean One worries these parts may > "reduce the value of the car? to a prospective purchaser." See page 20 > of DeLorean World Magazine, Winter 2007. > > Let's put the value of concours aside for a moment and admit to > ourselves that the stock DeLorean was only 80% perfect off the assembly > line. Granted, our cars will almost never rust. Our PRV engines have > been known to crank out over 250,00 miles. Our sleek stainless > body-lines are bold and powerful. John DeLorean said they built his car > with the quality and precision of a BMW. He called it "the ethical > car." These are all reasons why we love our cars. > > Can we also admit to ourselves that our roof seals leak, our alternator > belts break, our windows are too small, our door locks drain our > batteries, and our cooling fans fail? I strongly believe that DeLorean > Motor Company would have fixed these issues, had they not been shut > down by political pressure. Now the responsibility for reengineering > and improving the car ? falls on us owners. As owners, we have two > choices ? we can stagnate and cling to what the car was, or we can take > our cars of the future forward and explore what the car would have > been. As an owner, I feel I owe it to John to fix the few problems that > snuck through before he had time to fix them. I want to take the dream > that was pulled out from under DeLorean's feet and make that a reality. > > If you are of a similar mindset, no doubt you've explored some of the > upgrades available from the many vendors out there. Vendors make > upgraded cooling systems, door locks, door poppers, trunk poppers, > improved alternators, stainless steel frames, and LED door lights, just > to name a few things. All these upgrades use technology that didn't > exist in 1981, or was prohibitively expensive at that time. As > technology improves, we should embrace those improvements in our cars, > take out what is now obsolete and upgrade it to the industry standard, > keeping our cars timeless into the coming decades. Some vendors may > feel slandered by the DeLorean One advertisement. These vendors deserve > our respect, because they pour hundreds of hours into developing these > modernizing kits. They work hard at keeping the dream alive. > > What made the DeLorean unique was the way it defied convention. JZD > always expressed his interest to move forward to new technologies, > while GM and others continued to stagnate. In his book, On a Clear Day > you can see GM, DeLorean says that corporate stubbornness to embrace > the future is exactly why he left to start his own company. And, when > JZD spoke to DeLorean Car Show attendees in Cleveland, we all saw how > excited John was about carbon-fiber bodies, because they are lighter > and stronger. If DeLorean had been allowed to stay in business, would > he still be using plywood shelves, defective fan relays, energy-wasting > lock solenoids, and other substandard parts? Or would he have pushed > his car forward, closer to the perfection embodied by the phrase, "live > the dream" ? > > In my college ethics class, we learned the difference between intrinsic > and extrinsic value. The intrinsic value of a DeLorean is the fun you > get as you enjoy driving it. The many imperfections in the design hurt > the intrinsic value, because your DeLorean experience is less joyous. > The modifications I made to my car allow it to operate more reliably > and confidently than when it left the factory. If I enjoy my LED door > lights because I can leave my doors up at shows, who's to say a > "potential purchaser" isn't going to find intrinsic value in leaving > his doors up too? As the recent Barrett-Jackson auctions have shown, > old cars with updated electronics and modern improvements generally > sell for substantially more than cars with All-Original-Equipment. > > If you're worried about the resale value of your car, then you don't > value the car intrinsically, you value the car extrinsically, or as > means to an end. > > Ethics teaches us that it is immoral to treat people as means to an > end. A person should have final value, not instrumental value. If you > believe that John DeLorean's dream has final value, then you shouldn't > be greedy about the potential resale value of your car. > > Any DeLorean owner who clings to the failings of the past out of a > sense of nostalgia, or intends to increase their car's dollar value by > reinstalling faulty components is a hypocrite. These DeLorean One > purists misinterpret the essence of what it means to live John > DeLorean's dream. There is nothing about living the dream that involves > backward-thinking or bean-counting. If you care about how much money > you can get in exchange for your car, then you should sell it, and go > buy a Bentley. There's no room for prostitutes in the DeLorean > community I know. > > -Ryan Brandys, VIN #4190 > www.deloreanmacmini.com > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! 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