"After giving Pontiac its new style, DeLorean gradually transformed himself from a button-down conformist to a vain, middle-aged clotheshorse. He lost 60 lbs., began lifting weights and started draping his 6-ft. 4-in. frame in brightly colored shirts, turtlenecks and nipped-at-the-waist suits. He got a facelift (for a while he denied it) and affected longish hair, which he dyed black. He divorced his wife of 15 years, Elizabeth...He dated starlets, and, by now, every move had flair." Via.
"Detroit did not approve of DeLorean's lifestyle, so in 1973 he "fired GM" and set off on his own. The DeLorean myth grew. He was a maverick, a risk taker, and he had bold dreams...but what he really wanted to do was start his own car company and break the hold that Ford, Chrysler and GM had on the American auto industry. The sporty DMC-12, he thought, would do the trick. The sleek stainless-steel sports car with the distinctive gull-wing doors boasted a 130hp Renault engine and could go from zero to 60mph in eight seconds." Via.
"DeLorean needed $175 million to finance his dream. Over one hundred investors, including Johnny Carson and Sammy Davis, Jr., put over $12 million into a partnership for research and development while the British government produced $156 million in grants and loans in return for DeLorean locating the DMC factory in Northern Ireland. DeLorean risked relatively little of his own money -- $700,000 is the best estimate -- but he seemed to have made his dream come true. The Auto Prince lived like royalty in a $7.2 million, 20-room Fifth Avenue duplex, a $3.5 million estate in New Jersey and a $4 million California ranch. He made sure DMC's $25,000-a-month New York offices were located in a skyscraper that towered as high as the nearby GM building. He paid himself nearly half a million dollars a year and his estimated value in 1982 was $28 million. John Z. DeLorean was a real American success story, the poor boy who made good. Or so it appeared." Via.
"Unfortunately, the DMC-12 racked up mediocre sales figures. Entering the market in 1981, it faced stiff competition from Datsun, Mazda and Porsche sports cars. At $26,000, it cost $8,000 more than the Chevrolet Corvette. And of course a recession during 1981-82 didn't help, either. DeLorean expected to sell 12,000 cars a year; in the first six months only 3,000 DMC-12s were purchased. (A pair of 24-karat solid gold cars bearing $85,000 price tags were made for an American Express Christmas catalog; one resides in a glass showcase in the lobby of a Snyder, Texas bank and the other is in a Reno,Nevada car museum.) By February 1982 the DMC factory was in receivership, and in October of that year the British government ordered it shut down. DeLorean needed $17 million in a hurry to save his business. In desperation he entered into a drug-smuggling scheme, and in so doing walked right into a FBI sting operation designed to nab a smuggler named William Hetrick." Via.
"Hetrick was suspected of flying cocaine in from Colombia and moving it through the offices of a company called Morgan Aviation at Mojave Airport, ninety miles out of Los Angeles. He was looking for a bank that would launder his ill-gotten gains. The FBI confidential informant hooked Hetrick up with one agent posing as a bank officer and another who posed as a drug distributor. DeLorean then approached the CI, and was filmed and recorded at meetings in Washington D.C.'s L'Enfant Plaza Hotel as well as L.A.'s Bel Air Sands and the Sheraton Plaza. Hetrick was arrested after exchanging the cocaine for money; DeLorean was was taken into custody the following day when he flew into L.A. from New York. Ironically, he just missed a call from a banker who wanted to offer a legitimate $200 million loan that would have saved DMC, which shut its doors for good owing creditors $180 million. DeLorean's dream had turned to dust -- and left a lot of investors burned." Via.
"Interviewed by Rolling Stone's Aaron Latham in 1983, DeLorean claimed that he was trying to get a loan using stock in a shell company as collateral, and that he tried to back out of the deal after discovering that drugs were involved. At that point, according to DeLorean, the lives of his kids were threatened. Furthermore, the money paid for the drugs brought in by Hetrick was provided by the government. DeLorean suggested that the government was out to destroy him because the Big Three automakers wanted to see his enterprise fail; at other times he surmised that either the British government or the Irish Republican Army had set him up." Via.
"In 1984, DeLorean was acquitted of all charges after a federal judge ruled that the FBI operation had been a clear case of entrapment. He became a born-again Christian and wrote his autobiography. But in April, 1985 Christina divorced him, and that September a federal grand jury indicted him for income tax evasion and mail and wire fraud on evidence that he had bilked DMC investors, siphoning the funds into his private bank account. Though never convicted, DeLorean was ordered to reimburse creditors to the tune of $9 million. In 1995 a jury ordered him to pay the law firm of Morganroth and Morganroth $10.3 million in unpaid legal fees. In 1998 a New York jury ruled that DeLorean's accounting firm owed DMC investors $46 million, plus $65 million in interest." Via.
"It is believed that a total of 8,563 DMC-12s were built. Approximately 6,000 of them still exist today." Via.
Specs for the DMC-12:
Exterior: made of brushed stainless steel intended to be rust-free for 20 years. The undercarriage is glass-reinforced plastic. The vehicle sported counter-balanced gull wing doors.
Interior: leather/vinyl seats and dash, electric windows and mirrors, a 4-speaker stereo system, locking storage compartment behind driver's seat.
Engine: a rear-mounted, light alloy V6, 2.85 liter, single overhead cam, with maximum torque of 208Nm at 2,750 rpm, and a compression ratio of 8:8:1. The DMC-12 was produced from 1981 to 1983.
A stunningly rare marketing film for sales employees - Part 1:
Part 2:
DMC John DeLorean Documentary:
The Police in Studio.
The Police in Montserrat.
The Police in Times Square. NYC.
The Police. NYC.
Stewart Copeland. NYC.
The Police. NYC.
Sting. London. 1982.
No way in hell will this bike ever hit 100mph. It may be an old design, but not even a flux capacitor will get this thing back to 1955. Speedometer and Ammeter. That's as bare as it gets folks. 
The all new 2010 Royal Enfield C5 on the showroom floor. I've read such great things about these bikes.
Another shot of the C5. Take a good look because you'll be seeing it again soon (with sidecar) in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
A nice vintage Triumph waiting outside for service. I don't know the model or year of the bike.
A 1975 Ducati 860GT for sale. $5000.
A 1985 Ducati Cagiva Alazzurra 650. $3,500. Velocity has a nice selection of motor scooters as well if you're a scooter-head.
Her Majesty, the RVA City Rumbler, waiting to be loaded onto the trailer. Check out that hot new state inspection sticker on the left front fork! Blech. I'm still not a fan of the aftermarket seat either. I want the solo saddle with springs instead. Next season my friends.
The 5 1/2 inch headlight that came stock on this bike is truly awful. In the near future I will be replacing it with the more period correct (and safer) 7 inch unit from Classic Motor Works.
Snug as a bug in a rug. The behemoth utility trailer worked out well in the long run.
Happy Trails. Until next time...
Gant Rugger Fall/Winter 2010.
Unbeknownst to me (before now), Gant Rugger has teamed up with the band U.S. Royalty to promote their fall/winter clothing line.
Check out their promotional movie Cape Cod and tell me that it's not a brilliant piece of marketing. Afterall, you can't go wrong with motorcycles, music, and the great outdoors.
This 1940s-50s Hercules Denim Chore Jacket is pretty sweet. Perfect for just about any outdoor activity. 
I see these 1950s-60s Sears "Mountain Cloth" work pants and think about every working stiff that ever had to pull a pair of these on and trudge to the office. They'd make for a great motorcycle utility pant.
This Stanley & Sons selvedge denim apron is unfortunately sold out on the web. Great for any craftsmen, artist, architect, mechanic, etc.
I'm not a wallet guy anymore but this may change my attitude. Just don't drop it in the woods 'cause it'd be gone forever. 
This pimp leather biz card holder satisfies a need in my life. I will own this.
The embossed "dueling pistols" icon on the front is an old military insignia used by the MP division, and is stamped with a WWII-era lead and steel die. I didn't need any additional reasons, but this description makes it that much better.
These Velskoen boots are the precursor to the modern day desert boot. Here's what's neat about them:
What, you mean to tell me that you wouldn't want this to keep vagrants away from your fort?
I'm a voracious note-taker and a doodler. I will often carry note pads with me from meeting to meeting as a tool to stay on task. These little guys not only look cool, but will also slip into your back pocket. Excellent.
Every scribbler needs a good set of graphite pencils. These are about as worthy as you will find.
