[DML] My experiences with John DeLorean and thoughts about his passing

[Mike Substelny <msubstel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

David Levey asked me to forward this to the DML. Though it comes from my 
email address the words that follow are not mine, they are David's. - 
Mike Substelny



My experiences with John DeLorean and thoughts about his passing…

I usually don’t contribute too much to the DeLorean internet board, 
however the occasion of John’s passing merits a few comments and 
observations.

Looking back, it seems that there are four stages in the evolution of 
the DeLorean automobile collector’s saga.

The first stage was the hype and planning that went into the creation of 
the company, from the original design and concept, the selection of 
dealers, the excitement around the building of the factory and the first 
few prototypes, which was the topic of heated discussion some weeks ago. 
Perhaps the earliest incarnation of this vision can be traced back to 
his book “On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors,” which surprisingly 
was not mentioned in any of the obituaries I read.

The second stage consisted of the first generation of original DeLorean 
owners. Those that bought them new through the dealer network to the 
period of Consolidated buying and re-selling new DeLoreans in the 
mid-80’s. This is when the first DeLorean clubs started, the BTTF hype 
was still fresh and the DeLorean was still a “new” car.

Many of us on this site are a part of the third stage, which is the 
collector market for the car, after the factory closed and Consolidated 
stopped selling the “new” DeLoreans out of Columbus, Ohio. It is we who 
have produced and bought upgrades and places like PJ Grady, Ed Bernstein 
and then later DMC Houston remanufactured parts. As owners, we took on 
the responsibility to keep up our cars and to maintain the legacy of the 
company in the long decades after the factory closed.

With the death of John, I think we enter a new, fourth era. Unlike most 
products today, the DeLorean is named after a person. Like Henry Ford. 
Walter Chrysler. Clement Studebaker. John Willys. Alexander Winton. Or 
Preston Tucker.

For good or ill, our cars will forever be associated with John 
DeLorean’s name. With his death, the car company that once was can now 
be written into history. We are truly now in a time and at a place that 
our cars and John’s legacy become written into this historical 
nomenclature along with the other great names of car history.

With John’s death, a thoughtful review of John, his accomplishments and 
his cars can truly be done. It really couldn’t happen before now because 
John was always involved and interested in new ventures, including, as 
many of you know, reviving the DeLorean. Some of you who knew him may 
have, like I, received his pitch in person or perhaps have a 
design-concept of the new car given to them. Perhaps some of you bought 
a watch. It was all a bit pie in the sky, even at the time, but it is 
part of the legacy of John DeLorean, of which the DeLorean DMC-12 is the 
crown jewel and perhaps most important accomplishment of his public 
life. For good or ill, there are no more chapters to be written in this 
saga, only reflections, analysis and an accounting of accomplishments of 
the past.

I am very glad to have played a small part in reuniting John with his 
cars and his fans. As many of you know, for many, many years, even 
before I owned a DeLorean, John shunned the collecting circuit. Perhaps 
the timing was simply auspicious, but I began working on his nephew’s 
political campaign here in Cleveland in I think 1999. John agreed to do 
a fundraiser for Mark at the Westwood Country Club, which I helped organize.

I invited a few DeLorean owners from the area to come to the event and 
to meet John. I knew that for them, as it was for me the first time I 
met this icon a real treat. Among those who came were Mike Substelny, 
one of the moderators of this list and Ken Koncelik, who heretofore had 
not met John. Since then, I have had the chance to give John a ride in 
my car, to host him here in Cleveland, to visit with him, to have a few 
smokes and drinks. I can’t say I knew him as a close friend, but they 
are experiences and times that I won’t forget. They are in a way “larger 
than life” because John, for all of his faults was larger than life too.

Of course the meeting between Ken and John DeLorean resulted in a 
meaningful friendship and John’s participation in the Cleveland DeLorean 
event. In my opinion, in the past decade, Ken’s contributions to the 
DeLorean collecting circuit are perhaps only second to DeLorean 
Houston’s evolution as an organization in importance to the preservation 
of our cars. Part of Ken’s legacy has been the continued involvement of 
John, Kathryn and the family in our family of collectors and 
enthusiasts. No one who joins us after this last week will be able to 
say they knew John DeLorean the man. They only can know the legacy from 
now on.

Those of us privileged to know John DeLorean will reflect on his sharp 
mind, his ready smile, his biting wit and his sense and spirit of 
adventure. Some of this may have been dimmed by the lawsuits and by the 
post DMC mess, but it was never diminished and quickly rose to the 
surface with a few drinks, with a deal on the table or with friends (who 
always picked up the bill!).

It is now up to us to write the history and to keep the legend alive.

David Levey








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