[DML] Re: Engine Conversions?

[Mike Substelny <msubstel@xxxx>]

Wayne said:

> Funny how there's such an interest in putting big honkin' engines in
Ds.
> When JZD was mulling the concept of the ethical sports car, OPEC
threatened
> to cut off the world's gas supply, gas prices were going up so fast
there
> seemed no upper limit, and the gov't was threatening ever higher
mileage
> requirements.

This is a critical aspect of the DeLorean story. During the 70s, while
DMC was developing its car, Detroit was struggling to respond to Asian
imports which were better designed and more fuel efficient than American
cars. Ford came out with the Mustang II (based on the Pinto), and even
the Corvette and Trans Am seemed to get smaller engines and worse
performance every year.

To me it is obvious that DMC was trying to do what the Japanese had
done: anticipate the market and come out with the product America wanted
years ahead of their competitors. A high tech, fuel efficient sports
car seems like a pretty logical anticipation to me.

On early Corvettes, heaters were optional. Eventually so many customers
wanted them that heaters became standard equipment around 62. In 63 air
conditioners were optional, installed on only about 1% of Corvetes.
Then demand for A/C increased constantly, through the 60s and 70s, just
as it had for heaters. If a sports car maker in the 80s wanted to get a
jump on General Motors, a logical step would be to make lots of toys
standard equipment. This is exactly what DeLorean did.

I would love to take data from the sports cars of that time (engine
displacement, fuel economy, 0-60 time, horsepower, etc.) and
extrapolate. For example, I know the Corvette of the 70's was
converging on the DeLorean's performance and standard equipment. I
suspect I would find that if things had remained the same, the
Corvette's numbers would have met the DeLorean's somewhere around
1988-89.

Does anyone know where I can find information like this? The data needs
to include performance factors like horsepower and 0-60 time, but I also
need production volumes of the different performance packages, to see
the trend in consumer taste.

- Mike Substelny