[DML] On The DeLorean World Article... Part One

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

For those of you who haven't seen the article in DeLorean World, it's
one of those things that you just have to read to believe. I for one, am
rather surprised at the arrogance expressed in the article.

The DOA implies three fundamental, inalienable, but completely wrong
principles:

1) There is only one way to fix a problem with a DeLorean, and only the
DOA can tell you how.

Other opinions are "misguided and dangerous". Apparently a DeLorean is
the only car that faces such imment peril if handled improperly.
Apparently, the DMC will not be a roadworthy unless one purchases
his/her parts and services only directly from a DeLorean World
advertiser. I have never seen any other marque or model of automobile
described as being so dangerous if mishandled. If they are correct,
then the DOA is in fact stating that the DMC simply isn't a good car. I
take that as an insult to the marque. It's my opinion that the DOA is
preying on it's less mechanically-savvy members, leading them to believe
their car would be unsafe to drive unless taken to a DOA-authorized
service center. As we all know, this simply is not the case.

2) The DMC News mailing list is a continual boxing match where
"personal attacks" and "flaming" are the norm.

I have not seen very much of this, to be honest. Any time you put 1100
people together semi-anonymously, you will get friction. That is simply
a fact of life. I personally run a mailing list for 1955-61 MoPars,
with over 350 people subscribed. You get conflict. The article goes as
far as personally attacking the moderators as incompetent. Maybe we
should disband this list where healthy disagreements and differences of
opinion over various subjects flourish. Heck, if we keep it up, we all
just might actually expand our minds, and that would just be wrong. I
guess joining the DOA would be much better -- a utopian society where we
wouldn't have to have our own opinions! Imagine -- every thought about
our cars can be easily dictated to us by someone who will personally
profit by telling us his opinion. And as we all know, the DOA has -no-
conflict amongst its members, thanks to to the filtering process of DW
magazine straining any differences of opinion. Sign me up! (Oh, and
nevermind the fact that I know at least 10 people who have quit the DOA
over the infighting in their organization, and the fact that all of the
regional DOA chapters split away... they were all just troublemakers
anyway, right?)

3) And I quote: "As the economy improved, quality DeLoreans were selling
in the 20's. Then came the mailing list and values plummeted".

Uhhh.... what? Face it. These cars are collectibles, but they're just
not $50,000 collectibles, and likely never will be. It's a basic truth,
and we all need to admit it. I have in front of me, several issues of
Hemmings Motor News from the early 1990's, and several from the
present. The DMC was selling for the same price then as it is now. The
whole argument is just plain false. To blame the mailing list isn't
even partially correct. In fact, it's sad that the DOA has gone as far
as seeking out a scapegoat because their fantasies of riches in DeLorean
sales has not come true. Their argument is such: The DMC plant closed,
and prices went down. Then the JZD trial, and prices went down again.
Then the recession (which ended before the trial, by the way), and
prices went down further. "Then came the mailing list and values
plummeted." (?) Values have been around the same since about 1985, and
that's a full 10 years before the mailing list came on the scene. There
simply is no correlation. None whatsoever.

(continued)