John Z. DeLorean was an American engineer and executive known for founding the DeLorean Motor Company. He worked his way up through the ranks at GM, developing successful cars like the Pontiac GTO. In 1975, he left GM to start his own company and manufacture the DeLorean DMC-12 sports car. The company struggled with quality issues and financial troubles, eventually collapsing in 1982. Though a commercial failure, the stainless steel DeLorean with gull-wing doors became an iconic symbol of 1980s pop culture after featuring as a time machine in the Back to the Future film series.

1. JOHN Z DELOREAN
Aaron Oswald
Economics P.4

2. Early Life & Career
 John Z DeLorean’s parents were immigrants
from Romania and Hungary; his father was a
union organizer for Ford
 He attended public school in Detroit, and went
to college at Lawrence Technological
University to study mechanical engineering,
while working part-time for Chrysler.
 Worked at a post-graduate facility at Chrysler,
earned a degree in automotive engineering.
 Offered and took a job at Packard Motor
Company and became head of research and
development, but was offered a job at GM.

3. General Motors
 Accepted a job working for Pontiac, was heavily
influenced by Semon Knudsen, the youngest person
to head a division at GM.
 Became head engineer, developed the Pontiac GTO,
the world’s first muscle car, which transformed
Pontiac’s image from “old people cars” to one with
more speed and style.
 Worked his way to becoming the
Youngest GM executive, heading
Pontiac, then Chevrolet, after
which he was promoted to VP of
cars and trucks for all of GM.

4. DeLorean Motor Company
 DeLorean left GM to found his own company in 1975, the
DeLorean Motor company, or DMC for short.
 To keep production costs low, cars were manufactured in
Northern Ireland, where jobs were sorely needed, starting
in 1981, but quality issues held the company back.
 The DeLorean DMC-12 had an
unpainted stainless steel chassis,
and gull-wing (hinge on top) doors.
 Warranty issues and declining
demand due to a lack of a real
niche for the car led to the
company’s collapse in 1982.

5. Personal Life
 DeLorean was known for his trendy
dress style and witty conversation,
unlike many auto executives of the
day.
 He invested heavily in the San
Diego Chargers and the Yankees,
and became a popular pop culture
figure.
 To save his company, DeLorean
may have engaged in cocaine
trafficking. However, he
successfully defended himself,
claiming that it was entrapment.

6. Legacy
 The 1985 movie Back to the
Future featured the DeLorean
DMC-12 as the time-traveling
machine.
 Since then, the car has become
a collectors item and a cultural
icon, and demand for the car is
probably higher now than it was
during the actual production.
 DeLorean is remembered as an
executive and entrepreneur who
valued enjoying life more and
other executives, who were all
about profit.

7. Works Cited
Adams, Guy. "Hollywood races for DeLorean story." The Independent [London] 12 June
2009: 20. Print.
Hakim, Danny. "John Z. DeLorean, Father of Glamour Car, Dies at 80." New York Times
21 Mar. 2005. Print.
Kiger, Patrick J. "Moonwalk Down Memory Lane." Los Angeles Times Magazine 3 Mar.
2002: 12-15. Print.
Rothenberg, Al. "John Z." Ward's Auto World (2002). Print.
Image URLs:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6f/DMC_publicity_photo.jpg
http://www.pjgrady.co.uk/General/Images/John_DeLorean.jpg
http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Race/R_Overview/ID77373_Packard.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Pontiac_GTO_1966.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NdGAi6Lhpjk/Sl1DYeSUZOI/AAAAAAAAAIg/r-3pRw5dK1U/s400/delorean3.jpg
http://www.nndb.com/people/994/000022928/jpic4-red.jpg
http://historyofeconomics.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/back_to_the_future1.jpg
http://www.bttfblog.com/images/back_to_the_future_delorean_for_sale/delorean_time_machine_rear2.jpg