Re: [DML] my attitude about DeLorean (long)

["Chris Parnham" <chrisparnham@xxxx>]

Andy / List,

There are lots of books, myths, rumour and legends about the whole DeLorean
story.
I am sure all of them have "truth" in there some where, they are often
contriductory and always give a different "spin" on events. If all the books
were the same then the later one's would not sell!

I sometimes get a bit upset when some "youngster" picks up a book or an
magazine article and then relates this "sudden insight" to every one around.
Such as it was "all a British government conspiracy", etc. My advice is read
ALL the books on the subject, think about what you would have done in these
difficult situations and gradually form a balanced view of historical
events.

My personal view is that JZD was a man with great insight and talent, he
eventually produced a car that was different from all the rest. He should be
proud of that. I am very proud to own a piece of this history. I don't think
he was a saint, I don't think he was blameless. I don't think he was or is,
any worse than most of our "Leaders" in politics or industry. If we could
re-run our lives again, I am sure we would all change a few
things..hind-site is a wonderful thing!
Live the dream...drive and enjoy the car!

If I were lucky enough to meet JZD in the street, It would be one of the
best days on my life!

Chris P. DOC UK ( personal view)


----- Original Message -----
From: <Soma576@xxxx>
To: <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2001 11:22 PM
Subject: [DML] my attitude about DeLorean (long)


> Hello All,
>
> This last week i had the opportunity to check out the book "Hard Driving -
My
> Years With John DeLorean", written by William Haddad, a close executive of
> JZD during the early years of pre-production and the first half of DMC,
> Belfast. Previously, the only insight i had about DMC on a buisness level
> was a few random websites with brief paragraphs and i also read DeLorean's
> autobiography, which basically tells the ENTIRE story, more or less, from
> JZD's perspective. by contrast, "Hard Driving" is the exact same story,
> minus the results of John's drug bust (because the book was written before
> the trials were over, and there's only a short page about his arrest),
only
> told by Haddad's point of view.
>
> let's just say that i wonder if i were better off not reading "Hard
Driving".
> ignorance really is bliss! The entire book tends to paint a positive
view
> of DeLorean the COMPANY, while painting a negative view of DeLorean the
MAN.
> keep in mind that Haddad fully convinced me in the book that he didn't
write
> the book to tear down JZD or anything he did, he just tells the facts as
he
> knew them, and voices his inner suspicions and fears.
>
> Simply, i was appalled by most of the book. Haddad describes JZD early in
> his GM years (he has known JZD since he was chief engineer of Pontiac) as
> brilliant, outspoken, driven, yet as always, controversial. In the
beginning
> years of DMC he describes John as almost manical in his procedures to gain
> financial backing for DMC. In the middle and late years of DMC (81-82) he
> describes John as being nearly insane about his control over the company,
> resorting to wiretaps, moles in his own buisness and in the British
> government, using theft (he once ordered Dick Brown and some other armed
men
> to break into the Bridgewater, NJ QAC center to steal 15 cars which were
> owned by Bank of America. the cars in the QAC were collateral on a loan
they
> gave DMC, and when DMC missed a payment [when times got tough, JZD just
> stopped paying his bills and focused on selling the cars no matter what],
> Bank of America took over ownership of the unsold cars. during the night,
> the men broke into the QAC and took the cars to JZD's Bedminster Estate.
> Haddad was never able to find out what became of the cars). He describes
> JZD's public statements about the 'ethical car company' as being nothing
more
> than a fascade for DMC to sell more cars to a naive public. in reality,
> Haddad claims that DMC became everything that JZD had denounced in GM in
his
> book "On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors". John did not care about
> the quality of his car. he decided not to re-engineer the faulty
suspension
> system during the pre-production because they were already behind
schedule.
> this later resulted in at least two recalls on the car in 1981 - probably
> even more expensive to do that than it would have been to fix it before it
> happened. as far as emissions and EPA regulations - DMC manipulated the
> system and falsified their reports in order to pass it. again, he didn't
> spend the time or the money or get it resolved. There were a hundred
other
> examples i could describe, but it would be best for you all to read the
book
> yourselves. perhaps the worst part of the whole thing was at the end when
> Roy Nesseth was sent to confront Haddad about his severence package.
Haddad
> wanted his lawyer to read the contract first, but Roy wouldn't let him.
he
> wanted an immediate signature. When Haddad refused, Roy threatened that
his
> children would be in danger if he didn't sign the papers. interesting.
> that's exactly what DeLorean was told by a federal 'agent' when JZD didn't
> want to sign the papers for the Columbian cocaine deal....... Haddad never
> did sign the papers.
>
> Now make no mistake - i love my DeLorean car and it has pretty much taken
> over my entire life. it is my main hobby now for the last year since i've
> owned it, and i am proud to drive it. there isn't a single time when i
sit
> in the seat and think, 'man, this is the best car i have ever driven!'.
> that feeling is further reaffirmed by the car shows that i attend, the
stares
> and the cheers as i drive through the city, and every time i work on it
and
> accomplish something. it's history really doesn't affect my love for the
> car. what's really special is that the car actually HAPPENED.
>
> also, two very interesting things were revealed in the book:
> 1. remember last year when someone was talking about the possibility of a
> DeLorean factory in Logan, Utah? how a bunch of locals in the area said
they
> remember seeing a stockpile of cars at a buisness just outside the area?
> well this story is revealed and explained in its entirity. we all know
about
> the mysterious $17M that 'disappeared' from DeLorean accounting ledgers.
> well it turns out that JZD used some of this money to buy land in or
around
> Logan, Utah for corporate expansion. his idea was to build SNOWPLOWS
> (remember the DMC snowplow brochure that was sold on ebay quite a while
ago?)
> at this location, but he kept it secret because on the terms of his grants
> and loans from the UK, he was forbidden to spend any of the money on
anything
> not directly involved with the release of the DMC-12. with all of the car
> diversions and cover-ups, i wonder if DeLorean wasn't storing any unsold
cars
> here, or perhaps there were some prototypes or VIN 00000-00499? very
> interesting!
>
> 2. this will come to be most appreciated by DanRC30 (i hope you are
reading
> this!!). maybe you already know the story behind your car. but i know on
> the DMCNEWS page you said that your car was painted the colors for Smokey
> Yunick? well check this out - on page 142:
>
> "... we were to meet with Bunkie Knudsen and Smokey Yunick, a
> brilliant inventor who was working on a new engine that saved fuel by
> recycling its own heat. Bunkie and John had formed an engine partnership
> with Smokey. We were going to ride in a car fitted with the new
experimental
> engine."
>
> Then on page 144:
>
> "Driving with Bunkie to Smokey Yunick's, i felt like it was old times
again.
> John was open and friendly. When we huddled around Smokey's new engine,
he
> became the brilliant engineer talking about a historic breakthrough that
we
> would use in our car. Smokey had also worked out a simple solution to a
> nagging clutch problem that our engineers and consultants had not been
able
> to solve. For a moment i thought it could still be fun to work for
DeLorean.
> This was the ambience that had attracted me to the company in the first
> place".
>
> somewhere else in the book it mentions that JZD was planning on using the
new
> engine in one of his own cars, possibly a future model year of the DMC-12.
i
> can't find that reference now though.
>
> Anyway, i just wanted to share this book with the newsgroup. now i'm not
> really sure who to believe. was DeLorean a man with a dream who would
stop
> at nothing, no matter what the cost, who he hurt, what money he spent that
he
> didn't have, no matter what contracts he reworded to fit his agenda, NO
> MATTER WHAT THE COST, to see that his dream live? or was he the victim of
> jealous executives, a victim of two governements, a victim or the media,
and
> a victim of a set-up?
>
> "Hard Driving" and "DeLorean" paint the picture with two very different
kinds
> of paint.
>
> which one do you believe?
>
> Andy
>
> Soma576@xxxx
> 1982 DeLorean DMC-12 VIN#11596
> Fargo, ND 58102
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
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