Dead John DeLorean

The death of John DeLorean over the weekend got us thinking about the man and his motors. Since Seattlest was relatively wee during the man's glory years, we dug a little bit to get beyond Back to the Future.

We have to admit that our initial response upon hearing of his death was the classic "Oh, was he still alive?" The New York Times obituary contains some fun facts, such as that all 9,000 cars were made in Northern Ireland and the company had the backing of Johnny Carson and Sammy Davis Jr. Good stuff, no? Read on--this about DeLorean's tenure at GM:

He was an anomaly in an industry then dominated by buttoned-down executives. He dyed his hair jet black, wore shirts open to the navel, married a teenage starlet and subsequently a supermodel, and became a wonder at self-promotion. He wore long sideburns that violated the company's unwritten dress code, and even had the president of Ford act as best man at his second wedding. He also owned, for a time, an interest in the San Diego Chargers and played the jazz saxophone.

Leave it to Seattle, land of unsalted roadways, to have a thriving DeLorean club. Click here to see some remarkable photos of the Pacific Northwest DeLorean Club's rallies...our personal favorites are the shots of the cars loading on the Whidbey ferry. The club even throws an annual St. Patrick's Day party and we can't believe we missed it.

Additional DeLorean trivia: apparently the Irish auto workers took a shine to autographing their work, in a style referred to by owners as "cave paintings."

You can join the local club that celebrates the "rustproof gull-winged beauty" for $20--no car required.