The Rise and Fall of John DeLorean(blog.longreads.com)
blog.longreads.com
The Rise and Fall of John DeLorean
http://blog.longreads.com/2014/11/11/the-rise-and-fall-of-john-delorean/
8 comments
DeLorean's name is still mud in and around Northern Ireland, where he's generally regarded as a fraudster. (Here's a BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4367473.... )
Regardless of whether you're interested in John DeLorean or not, you should checkout out Neon Neon's concept album about his life - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LadgANhOhiI
"Yes, that’s right: before DeLorean, drivers stuck their arms out the window to indicate a turn. "
What? DeLorean didn't event THE turn signal - just the lane-change turn signal.
What? DeLorean didn't event THE turn signal - just the lane-change turn signal.
There are a number of questionable claims in this article--that the DeLorean invented turn signals and the overhead camshaft, for example.
They're not even questionable, they're just outright wrong. By the time I got to the post it says "lane-change turn signal", but still states that drivers put their arm out the window before that, which is demonstrably untrue.
As for overhead cams, Delorean put them in GM cars, which was a first. More generally, there were cars utilizing overhead cams before Delorean was even born.
They got the recessed windshield wipers right, though.
As for overhead cams, Delorean put them in GM cars, which was a first. More generally, there were cars utilizing overhead cams before Delorean was even born.
They got the recessed windshield wipers right, though.
tl;dr = Cocaine's a hell of a drug.
More on the case against De Lorean, 'cause it's interesting history and a textbook case of entrapment:
and further:
On October 19, 1982, DeLorean was charged with
trafficking in cocaine by the U.S. government, following
a videotaped sting operation in which he was recorded by
undercover Federal agents agreeing to bankroll a $1.8
million, 100 kg cocaine smuggling operation in exchange
for a $24 million cut of the eventual profits. The
government was tipped off to DeLorean by confidential
informant James Timothy Hoffman, a former neighbor, who
reported to his FBI superiors that DeLorean had
approached him to ask about setting up a cocaine deal; in
reality, Hoffman had called DeLorean and suggested the
deal (which DeLorean then accepted) as part of his
efforts to receive a reduced sentence on a 1981 Federal
cocaine trafficking charge that he was awaiting trial on.
and further:
At this point, DeLorean became suspicious that he had
become involved in a dangerous and illegal operation,
possibly involving illegal narcotics or organized crime
(or both); he felt that he needed to remove himself from
the situation as soon as possible.
[...]
However, in the face of a thinly-veiled threat by Hoffman
that DeLorean’s daughter would be murdered if he backed
out of the deal, DeLorean continued to communicate with Hoffman.
and police entrapment is a hell of a practice in some countries..