Quick Kick

Retro Obsession: DMC DeLorean

"We will do anything to keep this company alive."
-John DeLorean

It's inevitable I guess. 25 years gone and we're celebrating a movie that exploded the membrane of American pop culture. Back to the Future was certainly not the first motion picture to drive automotive sales, nor will it be the last, but what is notable is how much acclaim the DMC DeLorean has received despite the epic career flameout that befell its namesake.

This is a beloved piece of machinery. The stainless steel and winged throttle rocket became a cultural icon even before the movie hit Betamax.

Flux capacitor, nose candy, and Huey Lewis aside.

(Pictured below is Pontiac's former golden-boy John DeLorean in marketing stills for the DMC-12. His master stroke at Pontiac was the legendary GTO.)

"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:

In The Moment

I dig this band the Smith Westerns. You should too.

Girl In Love:



Boys Are Fine:

The Art of Rock Photography: Lynn Goldsmith

The Police in Studio.

Just a short little post about three dudes who were once in a highly successful punk rock outfit that went bonkers with fame.

I cannot confirm with complete historical accuracy, but I strongly believe that a certain someone broke his Syncronicity tape through repeated use. He also may still be able to recite lyrically every single song on the album.

Oh, and the photo magic is 100% from the lense of renowned photographer, Lynn Goldsmith.

The Police in Montserrat.

The Police in Times Square. NYC.


The Police. NYC.


Stewart Copeland. NYC.


The Police. NYC.


Sting. London. 1982.

Cape Cod

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.

Just Because

And, Just Because:

Tarp Surfing

Sick:

The Battle of Midway (1942): Color Documentary

A color documentary short that portrays the decisive battle of Midway. The naval/air confrontation between the carrier forces of Japan and the U.S. is considered to be the turning point of World War II in the Pacific. Directed by John Ford.

Despite the freakish Betty White-sounding narration, this is probably the coolest documentary I have seen in ages. And it is 68 years old. Do yourself a favor. Watch. Listen. Learn.

Kimura-san

"...but it's incomplete until a person rides it."
-Shinya Kimura

Blazing a trail from Japan to California, Kimura-san is a true pioneer.

Stop Making Sense

Stop Making Sense. No, seriously.

The title of the 1984 Talking Heads concert video which has been hailed as "one of the greatest rock movies ever made". I concur. Directed by Jonathan Demme, it was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983.

I own it. Have seen it at least a dozen times. And it gets better and better the more I watch. After repeat viewings you begin to notice the subtle nuances that make it so great. The slow introductory roll into Pyscho Killer. David Byrne's quirky-jerky style as he shuffles around on stage in his oversize suit. His mannerisms are so well executed that they seem almost scripted (maybe they were). The wild excitement of the backing singers and the raw emotion of the band. It is pure performance art and everyone is having a blast.

I await a Talking Heads reunion with baited breath as individual egos continue to stifle communication. I suppose that (ultimately) a reunion would be too perfect.

Afterall, it wouldn't make sense.












Psycho Killer:



Life During Wartime:




Making Flippy Floppy:




Burning Down the House:




Girlfriend is Better. The title of the concert video comes from lyrics in this song:




Tom Tom Club's party hit, Genius of Love. A side project by the husband and wife team of Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz:




And my all-time personal favorite, This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody):




Here's an encore in-studio version, because I love the song so much:

Home

LCD Soundsystem "Home"

Just Because

Ural Factory Motorcycles

OK, so I mocked the Ural a bit in my last post. But, the manufacturer has a pretty neat little history. Check it out.

Gymkhana

Speed + Precision Drifting = Ken Block is a sick, sick driver.

Deus Bali

With a passion for surf, motorcycles, and life, the guys over at Deus Bali are the real deal.

Ready For The Weird?

A few years ago I read a small article in Rolling Stone magazine about an avante-garde/synth-rock band up in Pittsburgh called Black Moth Super Rainbow that had been making some waves in the local music scene. I purchased their third album, Dandelion Gum, fell in love with the sound, and worked my way through their back catalog. I had the chance to catch a live show last year here in Washington, DC and was blown away. BMSR is currently on hiatus as band members explore side projects.

On May 25th, Tobacco (songwriter and vocoder-man of BMSR) released his second solo album Maniac Meat, featuring vocals by Beck on two tracks, "Fresh Hex," and "Grape Aerosmith."

I haven't had the chance to listen to the entire album yet, but the two artsy videos below may throw your brain into sensory overload. The second should be viewed at your own risk. Don't say I didn't warn you:

TOBACCO - Grape Aerosmith (feat. Beck) Official Video.

Watch this next one at your own risk. No, seriously. It's NSFW:

TOBACCO - Super Gum.

Vinyl Trip

I picked up two relatively new albums this past weekend at my favorite local vinyl one-stop-shop. Don't hate. I may be a tweenie bopper but at least I stay Current.

The thing I love about the revitalized record biz is that most companies now offer either a free mp3 album download or a free CD included in the packaging. If you can't beat the heat you can at least save a little coin.

Anyway, both albums are pretty dope and I'll be rocking them until the end of summer.

Carry on...

Retro Obsession: The Houston Oilers

The Astrodome, Houston, Texas.
(AKA "The House of Pain") (AKA "The Eighth Wonder of the World")

It is a tough thing being a football fan. Even more so when your team no longer exists. For me that team was the Houston Oilers. The most frustratingly great football franchise in NFL history, and a lifelong addiction that I still can't seem to kick.

You see, football addicts generally have the opportunity to confront their sins, their past misgivings, and/or their failures. As an Oilers fan I will never have that opportunity. I was rocking my baby blue and white #1 jersey while other kids my age were sporting black and silver Raiders Starter jackets. But, it has been well over fifteen years now and I still haven't recuperated from that ridiculous loss to Denver in the playoffs, and, ummm...that 1992 Wild Card "game" against the Bills.

Despite all of the setbacks, the Oilers were able to draft and sign some tremendous talent, bring in larger than life personalities, and field some remarkably good football teams. Everything was big about that franchise. The cowboy hats, the hype, that "good-old-boy" Texas-sized ego, the marketing schtick, the on-field and off-the-field player antics, and the rivalries; those fabled matchups between the Steelers, Browns, and Bengals.

The teams over the years had serious swagger even if they couldn't always back up the trash talk, and provided entertainment at a time when the league's future was very much in jeopardy. I used to work with a guy that played for the Oilers back in the late 60s and he had some great stories from that era.

I will never know what true redemption feels like regardless of how many times the Tennessee Titans make it to the Super Bowl. And no, I am not a Tennessee fan now. I am a Redskin. A real glutton for punishment.

R.I.P. Oilers (1960-1996)

Still Luv Ya Blue!

Outspoken Oilers team owner "Bud" Adams (left) and singer/songwriter Mack Hayes. Hayes wrote and sang the tune that would eventually become the Oilers fight song.

Coach Bum Phillips. As coach of the Oilers, he became the winningest coach in franchise history (59-38 record). He was known for his folksy mannerisms, and for wearing his trademark cowboy hat on the sidelines, except when the Oilers played in the Astrodome or other domed stadiums. (He stated that his mother taught him not to wear a hat indoors.) Via

The unstoppable Earl Campbell. Every kid growing up in Texas had at least one #34 jersey in the closet.

Hall of Fame defensive end, Elvin Bethea. Bustin' heads no doubt.

Campbell doing what he does best. Attacking that line of scrimmage.

Billy "White Shoes" Johnson doing his famed "funky chicken" in the endzone after a score. Yeah #37, you just got burned.

Jerry Glanville. Is there a more hated head coach in NFL history?

Hall of Famer Warren Moon. My favorite quarterback. Ever. 49,325 career yards and 291 touchdown passes.

Target 1: Drew Hill. Five 1,000+ yard seasons with the Oilers. 9,831 career receiving yards and 60 touchdowns.

Target 2: Haywood Jeffires. Two 1,000+ yard seasons with the Oilers. 6,334 career receiving yards and 50 touchdowns.

Target 3: Ernest Givins. One 1,000 yard season with the Oilers. 8,215 career receiving yards and 49 touchdowns.

Target 4: Curtis Duncan. 3,935 career receiving yards and 20 touchdowns. All as an Oiler.

Blue collar defensive lineman, Ray Childress. Nasty.

Hall of Fame guard Mike Munchak protecting Moon in the pocket.

The Houston Oilers Cheerleaders - The Derrek Dolls

Running back Lorenzo White looking for a seam to run through.

Chris Dishman. The brash, flashy and outspoken cornerback. The Oilers' answer to Neon Deion. In 1991 he had a seven game stretch where he forced at least one turnover in each game.

One of the greatest offensive tackles ever to play the game. Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews.

Running back Alonzo Highsmith. One in a long line of great rb's from The U.

The great Eddie George beginning his career in Houston.

The late-great Steve McNair.

Houston Oilers Roughneck, Art Horridge, banging his drum for the last time. Sunday, December 17, 1995 at the Dome.

I need this in my life.