The DeLorean paradox: how it failed and became a legend

I have a Delorean. I bought it 20 years from now and I keep it in my grandpa's garage in 1948.

When I was a kid in the 80s I saw a DeLorean at a grocery store in, of all places, Provo, Utah. I was probably just 12 but I forced my mom to pull over and did a thing that was totally against my nature, I went up to the woman driving it and asked if I could look inside. She was very friendly and let me sit in the passenger seat. It was spellbinding. The amazing doors, the stainless steel body, the way it felt as you were sitting just inches above the pavement. I later discovered that she was married to one of the wealthiest guys in town. Over the years I spotted a few of the other vehicles from his collection in various exotic car magazines (I was obsessed with sports cars as a kid). On rare occasions I'd see him around town in one of his Lamborghinis (an Orange Mira or a Yellow Countach). It's hard to explain what a rare thrill it was back then to see those mythical cars in podunk Utah. But, man, that DeLorean encounter was was a real treat. To a 12-year-old kid from a lower-middle-class family it literally felt like seeing a real unicorn in a grocery store parking lot. Thanks for giving us a history lesson on such a cool car!

"You gotta be real careful, where you spend your time, you might waste it." Thats kinda quote worthy.

I bought one last September and it's my daily driver now. I kept my other car-- a Fiesta ST, which I now refer to as "the SUV." Work is about 22 miles from home, and when I see the DeLorean in the garage in the morning... I mean, you just get used to driving something that causes joy for those within it and everyone who sees it. And you don't want to drive something else.  And you should see it in person. It looks so much better in person. It's so wide and so low FUN FACTS--  The roof is the height of my belly button. The car is low!  (I'm 6'-1" and I fit fine) It's super aerodynamic. Take your foot off the gas and it just keeps going like an air hockey puck. You never get tired of the doors. Neither does anyone else. Especially the kids at the McDonald's drive-thru. Many owners don't use water to wash the car. They usually use some kind of spray or wipe you use on appliances. Some even use Windex. The manual transmission makes it fast off the line. Really. More than 28 MPG cruising on the highway, on Regular fuel. Aerodynamic, like I said. I've floored it at 90 MPH and it still pulls away strong. Friends tell me that it goes over 130 MPH. That's nice for them. I won't do that. Everybody has to touch the stainless. Even after telling them it's like their fridge or their sink, they just gotta touch it. I've never let anyone drive it. I've yet to be confronted with a valet who insists. It'll depend on my mood that day, I think. You can drive with the doors open. It's not a great idea, but you can. I know someone who went 100 MPH with the doors open. I won't do that, either.

When you fail so hard that you become a legend Epic

Amazing what a movie can do for a product

As a kid in 8th grade (1960) I dreamed of becoming a car designer, and participated in GM's future car design contests where you had to design and build experimental scale wood models. They always looked so futuristic, yet do distant compared to current cars being sold. When the DeLorean came out it was like the future had finally arrived.

It's all a lie. DeLorean was supposed to fly in 2015. It's 2019 and we have TikTok memes

Absolute shoutouts to the artists who composed the tracks featured in the video, especially around 5:18

"Great Scott. This video about the DeLorean is awesome."

When I first saw a Delorean in real life I thought I walked onto a movie set... I was kinda hoping to see McFLy.😅

Those DeLorean club people are why I love cars. Yeah they pollute, they're endless money pits for repairs/upgrades, yeah they take up hours of time tinkering or researching parts, yeah they aren't always as reliable or great performance stats anymore. But they bring people together for the sheer love and appreciation of the machine.

A 17 min video? Ty Vox

The Delorean is my bucket list car. One day I will own one. I'm determined!

Awesome video Phil. I finally got my own Delorean after wanting one since childhood. It definitely drives like it's from the 80's but it still looks like it's from the future.

Glad you got to meet up with our group. I wasn't around at that time but I will say that a DeLorean is a far better car than what people give it credit for and for me personally I use it as a daily driver and I have no complaints on anything with it!

Possibly the coolest vehicle in cinematic history! Prove me wrong... 🙌

"In September of 1979, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) passed a bill which stated that all car, pickup truck and motorcycle speedometers were to display a maximum speed of 85 miles-per-hour." The DeLorean can actually go 110 mph+, but the spedo will be pinned at 85 because that was the law at the time.

Timeless work, Phil. A joy working with you. Talk to you in the future!

I actually road tripped with Kevin Krinn and his car down to Chicago's DCS show (DeLorean Car Show) last year. We had no working AC, but i still loved the ride the whole way! You have to remember these cars are 30+ years old and you have to drive them with care. But a DeLorean is what ever you make of it. We have Kolin Brown who rally's his car and another owner with over 100,000 miles as his daily driver. I'm the youngest owner at 22 in our club thats for sure. These cars are amazing first collector cars as they can be cheap, and you can easily find parts for them as mentioned in the video. Living the Dream is still possible..