John Delorean - A Story of FBI Agents, Drugs, Civil War and a Car

hi welcome to another ColdFusion video an eccentric high-flying businessman a civil war politics a timeless car FBI agents a multimillion-dollar drug bust glamour Fame and a meteoric downfall it's one of the most incredible stories of modern times this is the story of John DeLorean and his dmc-12 car a unique car with a stainless steel exterior gullwing doors and a cost of four hundred million u.s. dollars to produce all to become a strange combination of a laughing stock and a cultural icon John wanted to be the next Enzo Ferrari or Ferdinand Porsche and he would move heaven and earth to make it happen even if it cost him everything you are watching ColdFusion TV [Music] [Applause] [Music] John DeLorean was the Elon Musk of the early 1980s his high-profile management of General Motors Pontiac and Chevrolet divisions saw him quickly rise up the corporate ladder in a time when executives were dull and conservative John DeLorean was one of the first hyper successful people in the corporate world to exhibit an eccentric life while at General Motors in the 1960s he demonstrated his engineering talent and quickly rose to manage the Pontiac division at just age 40 he was the youngest to do so john turned Pontiac from a grandmother's brand for older buyers to a muscle car by leading the legendary Pontiac GTO project it was a risky move to put such a large engine in such a small car and upper management were mortified at the gamble paid off the Pontiac GTO went on to influence the American muscle car movement his next project the Pontiac Firebird was also an all-time classic less than a decade later he became the youngest ever vice president of General Motors the largest corporation in the world at the time his jet black hair paired with unbuttoned shirts often violated almost all of the company's dress codes but made him a charismatic figure in a sea of bland corporatism he was a multi-millionaire charming capable of influencing people and even played the jazz saxophone during his meteoric rise he was dating what would be his third wife world top fashion model Christina Ferrer John first saw her on the cover of Vogue magazine later he would make his own high profile appearances and magazines General Motors hated the press attention as it didn't suit their image but they couldn't complain because John's sales numbers were making them a ton of money John was in Lyon to become the president of the biggest corporation in the world but instead he chose to give a press speech highlighting the company's flaws and publicly outing executives General Motors wasn't happy and he was forced out of the company but this didn't face John was it true that no one liked you there John oh I think no I think I got along with most of the people pretty well although there are a few you know everybody in every organization has some people on your side and some against he would leave to build his own car company a feat that was thought to be impossible at the time it hadn't been done in America since Chrysler in the 1920s he was a risk taker a valuable asset that would eventually lead to his downfall it would end with him sitting in an LA hotel with 27 kilograms of cocaine and FBI agents in the room next door but that comes later on in the story john delorean starting his own company would begin one of the wildest rides in automotive history by 1973 DeLorean would break the restraint of corporate life at GM with little more than some drawings on the back of an envelope his plan was to start his own company called the DeLorean Motor Company or DMC his dream of an eco-friendly rust-proof sports car available to the masses manifested itself in the now famous DeLorean dmc-12 car the stainless steel body and hard lines were designed by legendary geo ghetto guy Gary oh the Italian designer had worked on everything from Ferraris to the Ford Mustang it's going doors added to its unrivaled vision of the future it looks as striking today as it did when it was being designed back in the late 1970s in the movie Back to the Future Marty McFly used the decked out version of the DeLorean to transport back in time the films helped to immortalize that DeLorean in order to realize his vision John needed financial backing he raised over seventeen million through his old automotive contacts but he still needed much more then John had a brilliant idea he bypassed the traditional methods of raising money and went straight to governments of regions with high unemployment a very smart move Northern Ireland at the time was the perfect opportunity we went to Belfast because no one else would have us in the world everybody said it's inconceivable that in today's day that any new automobile company could survive it's not possible we did give you the money so we went to Belfast because nobody else would go to Bell during the late 1970s Belfast the capital of Northern Ireland was going through conflicts over breaking off from the UK and religious tensions were also high street violence bombings and assassinations were the norm unemployment was high at 33 percent an investment was almost non-existent while most people saw this as a deterrent John DeLorean saw an opportunity in 1978 he would set up a factory against a backdrop of bombs and violence with the UK government bankrolling him the whole way they were just happy to see jobs being created as were the people of Belfast can you hope to justify the huge amount of government money that's gone into DeLorean Lorien has repeatedly said that he helps very soon we're able to buy the government out instead we saw that money will return to the government and of course the arrangements provide that the government gets a royalty on every car so if the production it comes up to schedule if the sales are as mr. Lorient and his people think that they will be then the thing will be a success and the government will be as pleased as anybody the DeLorean Factory was state-of-the-art with new production processes that had never been tried before at the time while there was no shortage of applications there was a shortage of skills people who had never built a car before were thrown onto the assembly line but surprisingly for the most part the two sides who had fought each other on the streets worked side by side on the factory floor DeLoreans brazen move to the troubled Northern Ireland was a masterstroke at the time orders of John DeLoreans cars came rolling in over 30,000 before production had even began his experience in the automotive industry was a huge brand advantage mr. DeLorean they tell me that you're the best salesman in the world if I came to you how would you sell me one of your cars very proud of our car which essentially I think is is a major engineering contribution to the state of the art of automobiles I'd sell it to you on the basis that it's a very comfortable outstanding performance outstanding handling in the end we hope that your cost of owning this car for a long time will be very very small the DeLorean slogan was lived the dream and people bought into that dream consumer demand was so high that dealerships were turning people away as others slept down 5,000 and cash as a deposit just to get in Lyon the number of people's we could attract who said can I leave a deposit for the car and we said no we're not taking any more deposits it got to such a point Isis the only way we'll take you to Pilate is five thousand cash and don't bug me the marketing campaign was spearheaded by the charismatic John DeLorean he raised a lot of hype much like Elon Musk is doing now the car was so famous that even whiskey brands featured the DeLorean car to sell their whiskey despite the glamour the factory was in the middle of a literal warzone there were fire bombings bullet holes through windows and a manager's office was burnt down as significant as these events were this was the first problem of many for John DeLorean as the dmc-12 began mass production many engineering issues still remained with the car the panels didn't always line up the going doors proved difficult to consistently replicate and the inexperienced to work for us had difficulty producing the number of cars and needed to stay afloat normally at the time a new car model would take about five years to design they were going to do it all in 18 months and this was to earn enough money to stay in business production problems and time restraints saw many problems by the final design parts from existing cars had to be used in critically the rear mounted engine wasn't powerful enough for the increased weight so the car ended up being slow with a 0 to 60 time of 10 seconds the car was originally supposed to cost 30,000 US dollars but it was now twice that despite the problems in January of 1981 the first car rolled off the line the factory workers were elated they had overcome the problems of political fighting and the killing outside to come together and build something special the company was hemorrhaging money but by the end of 1981 they managed to increase production to 80 cars a day and actually became profitable over 7,000 cars were produced by that point the dealers just can't wait to get our products I think the only thing we have to do now is be sure that we do a very professional job of building the car the way it's supposed to and delivering it looked like the DeLorean Motor Company was going to make it despite all the critics then disaster struck in the United States a terrible blizzard hit several states in the north it hit so hard that it buried entire cities as a result cities came to a standstill and people couldn't get to work the economic impact of this along with a general recession meant that people weren't keen or could afford to go out and buy a new car especially a car like the DeLorean dmc-12 demand dropped overnight and the company having only just become profitable was not in a place to weather the storm as the workers at the Belfast factory returned from their Christmas break there was talk that there wasn't enough money to pay the wages only 3,000 cars were ever sold soon reality would hit and John DeLorean would begin as he always did to try and charm his way out of yet another problem he said that he would fight for the company until his last breath and what he did next proved that he meant what he said we worked too long and too hard to let fuel elaborations father isn't it's important that we really share public credibility and reestablish our relationship with the government on a positive basis and never get any money from the government now I think you'll be very pleased with the news that you'll hear tonight I can't tell you any more about it right now John DeLorean was on the hunt for a bailout to the tune of 40 million dollars the UK government by now had changed leadership to Margaret Thatcher Thatcher was not a fan of government subsidies so seeing that the government had already forked out millions to start the factory she was unwilling to help John was given a few months by the government to find an investor or declare bankruptcy he took the dmc-12 to the new york car show a promotional tour to conjure up investor interest rumors circulated about John DeLorean traveling to billionaires in the US and oil sheiks in the Middle East to try and find anyone willing to invest but John DeLoreans luck and charm had finally run out the factory was closed in mid-1982 with only a skeleton crew remaining 1,300 workers had been laid off and only 9,000 cars were ever made but the workers weren't taking it with little to lose they stormed the gates of the factory and occupied in protest but no investors meant that no one cared we're walking out of the plant the last time today how do you feel about it good nerdy pretty upset what are your chances of getting another job what's the mood of the rest of the men who haven't been paid off today how do they feel about that as well they're feeling very uneasy uncertain their 13 week-long protests were completely in vain one man however did care and he was going to take any means necessary to revive his company now it's a lot of information as surfaced really in recent weeks that would indicate and prove the fact that the British government put us out of business we didn't go out of business for example a few months back when it looked like my company was going to start again the British government took the body dies which is a single most expensive and complex component of our car and they took him out in the middle of Galway Bay and threw him in the ocean and the man who was trying to buy him from Columbus Ohio Marvin Katz said a scuba diver down with a strobe light and sure as shootin there they are laying on the ocean floor DeLorean Motor Cars Belfast Northern Ireland 18 million dollars worth of the most beautiful dyes you've ever seen and of course do you want any proof of conspiracy I think that does it having been rejected by seemingly every investor in the world John DeLorean was desperate he stepped into an elevator at a hotel near Los Angeles International Airport he surely must have been thinking that this was his saving grace having just arrived from New York he was going to meet with Associates of his neighbor he was going to discuss the deal that would save his company John sat down in the hotel room with his new associate he thanked them for the opportunity which to him was a godsend as John gleamed with hope in his chair 27 kilograms of cocaine sat on the table in front of him he had just agreed to finance a cocaine deal for another hundred kilos this would be worth a whopping 67 million u.s. dollars he would then use this money to revive his company the thing was John thought that he had outsmarted the dealers by giving them worthless stock in his company that was bankrupt and had no assets he was going to get millions and no cost to himself several minutes later the tides turned as all of the men in the hotel room were toasting to their successful endeavors two FBI agents let themselves in it was a sting operation they put John in handcuffs under arrest for conspiracy to obtain and distribute 67 million dollars worth of cocaine the footage was damning and with John in handcuffs the DeLorean dream was over in a matter of just 12 months John DeLorean had gone from the top of the world to facing serious jail time good evening this is the CBS Evening News dan Rather recording it's a story of big business big pressure big money and the crime of cocaine it's the story of how and why the FBI caught automaker John Z DeLorean when the DeLorean car first rolled out of the factory in Ireland last year much of America was rooting for its success its creator former General Motors executive John DeLorean had thumbed his nose at the big automakers saying he'd show the industry how to build cars Lorien subsequent meetings with the dealers were then videotapes by federal authorities who finally arrested him earlier this week the question of entrapment whether John DeLorean was unlawfully lured by federal agents into committing a crime is one strategy DeLoreans new attorney will have to tackle although experts say it is not likely to work a loan broker in Cleveland was on the verge of approving a 200 million dollar loan that could have saved a lorian's company Bible classifies pride is the deadliest sin and it is I freely accept the responsibility my my arrogance and my gigantic ego got me in a lot of trouble when the British government refused to support my business if I were a normal rational guy would have said if they don't want it I don't want it and I should have taken a walk and gotten another job instead because that car had my name on it I was gonna fight it out to the end and as a consequence I had to be broken and Here I am DeLorean had his fair share of bad luck over the past year but he found himself on the right side of the coin this time in 1984 miraculously after a 22 week trial the jury found him not guilty on all accounts ruling that the FBI had entrapped DeLorean the jury saw it as a desperate attempt of a man who was willing to do anything to save his company and a government that took advantage of that fact this was seen as the case because of President Reagan's recent war on drugs the prosecution of DeLorean would have been a great government PR stunt DeLorean walked out of the court a free man but his company was bankrupt and his reputation tarnished a reporter asked if you would go back into the order industry John DeLorean replied I don't know would you buy a used car from me life is a hard-working industrialist has been tattered and torn I don't know would you buy a used car from me the rest of John DeLoreans life was a shadow of his former ambitions a few days after the trial John's wife left him and undoubtedly he had ruined his children's lives he would pass away in 2005 in a small one-bedroom apartment it was said that he was planning sketches for his next project when he had a heart attack ultimately DeLorean Motor Company never saw the light of day again John was it always a dream to build your own car I think it sort of came to me one time and I was making the new car announcement and we're telling the dealers and the like what a dramatic and miraculous new car this was it really wasn't it was the same old car with the fenders been a little bit differently and so I thought I just can't keep doing this and so I decided to go off and try to do something more ethical from the standpoint of something that would last and that's where the stainless steel car concept came from but I've had the I had the idea for a long time John's life events had the hallmarks of a blockbuster movie from vice-president of the biggest corporation at the time to civil war crime drugs and FBI agents this was the story of a man who had a dream the story of how far someone is willing to go to make that lifelong dream happen no matter what John DeLorean bent the rules to try something new he pushed beyond what was thought to be possible but his desperation and some bad luck entered the DeLorean dream but while it may all seem like a disaster the cultural relevance of his car still lives on today are you telling me you built a time machine DeLorean the way I see it if you're gonna build a time machine into a car why not do it from style it's mind-boggling to think what would have happened if another deal came through and he made it maybe DeLorean would have had enough money to fix the teething problems of the first car perhaps the DeLorean Motor Company would be a revolutionary car brand today I'm interested to know your thoughts on this story leave your comments below so anyway thanks for watching my name is to gogo and you've been watching cold fusion and if you did enjoy this video feel free to subscribe I think the next episode will be on me so if you do want to get to know me a bit better stick around for that all right so I'll see you again soon for the next video cheers guys have a good one Oh Tyrion are you thinking [Music]

Channel: ColdFusion

Views: 492,238

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Id: mln2SymT73s

Length: 20min 57sec (1257 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 01 2020