John DeLorean
| John DeLorean | |
|---|---|
DeLorean and the prototype of the DMC-12, 1980
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| Born |
John Zachary DeLorean January 6, 1925 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | March 19, 2005 (aged 80) Summit, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Alma mater |
Lawrence Institute of Technology, B.S. 1948 Detroit College of Law Ross School of Business, MBA 1957 |
| Occupation | U.S. automobile engineer and executive |
| Spouse(s) | Sally Baldwin (?–2005) (his death) Cristina Ferrare (1973–1985) (divorced) (2 children) Kelly Harmon (1969–1972) (divorced) (1 child) Elizabeth Higgins (1954–1969) (divorced) |
John Zachary DeLorean (January 6, 1925 – March 19, 2005) was an American engineer and executive in the U.S. automobile industry, widely known for his work at General Motors and as founder of the DeLorean Motor Company.
DeLorean designed a number of vehicles throughout his career, including the Pontiac GTO muscle car, the Pontiac Firebird, Pontiac Grand Prix, Chevrolet Vega, and the DeLorean DMC-12 sports car, which was later featured in the 1985 film Back to the Future. While still the youngest division head in General Motors history, DeLorean broke away to start his own company, DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), in 1973. However, production delays meant DMC's first car and DeLorean's independent creative opus—the DMC-12—did not reach the consumer market until 1981 (8 years later), where a depressed buying market was compounded by unexpectedly lukewarm reviews from critics and the public. After a year, the DMC-12 had failed to recoup its $175 million in investment costs, unsold cars were accumulating and the company faced dire financial straits.
John Zachary DeLorean was born on January 6, 1925 in Detroit, Michigan, the eldest of four sons of Zachary and Kathryn (née Pribak) DeLorean.
DeLorean's father, Zachary (Zaharia) Delorean, was Romanian, born in Sugag village, Alba County, Transylvania, currently Romania , who worked in a mill factory; Zachary emigrated to the United States when he was twenty. He spent time in Montana and Gary, Indiana before moving to Michigan. By the time John was born, Zachary had found employment as a union organizer at the Ford Motor Company factory in nearby Highland Park. His poor English skills and lack of education prevented him from higher-paid work. When not required at Ford, he occasionally worked as a carpenter.
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