DeLorean was a real American success story, the poor boy who made good. DeLorean was the antithesis of the buttoned-down auto executive of his day, sporting designer suits, dating models, and moving in celebrity circles. Some say DeLorean was vain, impulsive and sometimes overbearing. DeLorean's car would live on after it stopped being made, thanks primarily to Back to the Future, the top-grossing film of 1985.

DeLorean Car Model

The DeLorean DMC-12 is a sports car that was manufactured by the De Lorean Motor Company for the American market from 1981 to 1983 in Northern Ireland. Like Duran Duran, the Rubik's Cube and other Reagan-era icons, the car retains a following. Delorean had the parts to build 20,000 cars, but only about 8,000 were produced before the factory was closed. It's a car that never got to its full development because it was gone before it really hit its prime. DeLorean really wanted to start his own car company and break the hold that Ford, Chrysler, and GM had on the American auto industry. Entering the market in 1981, the car faced stiff competition from Datsun, Mazda, and Porsche sports cars. Unfortunately, the DMC-12 racked up mediocre sales figures. Despite the De Lorean firm's failure with their car, with its unpainted stainless steel skin and gull-wing doors, the vehicle gained a cult following.

Despite DMC's flop, the car has persevered, gaining notoriety largely as the time machine Fox drove in the blockbuster 1985 movie, Back to the Future, and its two sequels.

DeLorean After the De Lorean Car

Despite being cleared of all drug trafficking charges, DeLorean still had to battle many legal cases stemming from the company's bankruptcy well into the ?90s. John DeLorean, developer of a futuristic sportscar that captured the country's attention in the 1980s, died in March 2005.