Dmc

[areaseven]

If you really want a DeLorean, you can order a pre-owned or refurbished one at DeLorean.com.

[gerwalk25]

I've recently seen an episode of Modern Marvels (History Channel) about 80's technology and mentions the DeLorean. Funny that they still manufacture them but it's not affiliated with the original company they just use the name DMC and use original stock.

Edited May 31, 2006 by gerwalk25

[ComicKaze]

Wouldn't that pretty much make the car an automatic at that point? If it is set up to automatically shift on remote would it not also be automatically shifting on maunal drive? If he goes to all that trouble just to automatically shift via remote control a manual tranny you'd think he just would have got a car with an automatic transmission? No need to reinvent the wheel. Doc Brown's logic is astounding... hey I'll buy a manual car knowing full well I'll have to jerry rig the thing to run in automatic when I use the remote control.

No wonder people thought he was crazy... he was.

403874[/snapback]

Seriously man, I have no idea what you're talking about. Isn't the perfect vehicle one that can be automatic and also manual? Many expensive Beamers and Benz's have that feature. Automatic and manual are not mutually exclusive terms in the auto world. Many luxury and sport cars feature both in the true sense of the word (not sportronic and all that lame stuff).

You prefer manual when you are driving the car yourself because you want more control but the car is perfectly capable of drive by wire and full automatic if neccessary.

Or maybe the remote control time, the DeLorean did it all in one gear. Who knows what Doc Brown has done to that car.

Edited May 31, 2006 by ComicKaze

[Ladic]

I've recently seen an episode of Modern Marvels (History Channel) about 80's technology and mentions the DeLorean. Funny that they still manufacture them but it's not affiliated with the original company they just use the name DMC and use original stock.

403983[/snapback]

lol, i saw the same episode, they said they could build u a brand new delorean from left over parts for $40K

Edited May 31, 2006 by Ladic

[Ladic]

double post

Edited May 31, 2006 by Ladic

[yellowlightman]

Isn't the perfect vehicle one that can be automatic and also manual? Many expensive Beamers and Benz's have that feature. Automatic and manual are not mutually exclusive terms in the auto world. Many luxury and sport cars feature both in the true sense of the word (not sportronic and all that lame stuff).

403987[/snapback]

Show me this magical car with a clutch pedal than can also be used as an automatic.

[Nied]

Just to settle the argument over the transmition in the movies it's manual:

[JsARCLIGHT]

Seriously man, I have no idea what you're talking about. Isn't the perfect vehicle one that can be automatic and also manual? Many expensive Beamers and Benz's have that feature. Automatic and manual are not mutually exclusive terms in the auto world. Many luxury and sport cars feature both in the true sense of the word (not sportronic and all that lame stuff).

To my knowledge no such beast you describe exsists.

A manual and an automatic are two completely different animals. The things you are thinking of are automatic transmissions that simply allow the driver to override the computer and shift whenever they want to that are based off of the Porche Triptronic system. Those kind of transmissions have no manual clutch, you simply move the little selector lever around and the computer shifts the transmission... they are basically a glorified automatic tranny. Mercades experimented with true "automatic manual" designs with it's Hydrak back in the '60s but all theirs turned out lousy and most of all unpopular. Chrystler came up with a new design for one in '02 that was much better and actually had a clutch but they have never fielded it in a vehicle.

This whole thing with the "automatic manual" Delorean is just another goof in the movie that is overlooked under the whole "suspension of disbelief" cloud. Is there such a thing as a manual that can shift itself by remote? No. Just as there is no such thing as a time travelling '80s automotive albatross... But as I said before I can only suspend my disbelief so far when watching movies that contain things that I know something about. I don't know jack about time travel but I do know you can't make a manual an automatic without some sort of complex machine designed to physically move the clutch and shifter, which would preclude a person from using them, thus making the car an automatic... of which we see none in the movie. Ergo it's just another thing we are supposed to sit back and not pay attention to. Oz behind the curtain.

[mechaninac]

The Delorean does have its charms, but it suffered greatly from the poor engine choice. Ultimately, it is such an icon that it just screams '80s cheese. I still like the way it looks though... so I like cheese!

[areaseven]

DeLoreans don't technically suck. They are basically a Lotus Esprit under stainless steel...but the Volvo B28F engine really sucks. 130HP!

403654[/snapback]

Actually, the PRV (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) engine was very reliable by itself. It was one of the first few European engines to run 100,000 miles before its first tune-up. The whole problem was that DeLorean tinkered with it when he dropped it in his car. Hence the DMC's reliability issues.

[emajnthis]

the body itself was not actually stainless steel, it was glass enforced plastic brushed with stainless steel so the car wouldn't rust. The overall stance of the car was nice, but the head/tail lights really made it look campy 80's.

[JsARCLIGHT]

Personally I would have rather seen them make the time machine out of a Bricklin, I always thought those looked ten times better than the Delorean... but the Delorean had that massive marketing push behind it in the early '80s so it was far more visible and "80s pop culture-ish" than the Bricklin.

I mean for the love of mike I used to see John Z and the Delorian pimping Cutty Sark in print ads back in the early '80s. Heck I even have a few old magazines that have original Delorean print ads in them. They marketed the hell out of that car.

[ComicKaze]

I realize that most cars that combine automatic and manual modes are not true manuals in that they are clutchless and usually use tiptronic or some other form in conjunction with F1 paddles.

But I don't see any reason why Doc Brown couldn't have whipped up something that mimicked that alongside something that appeared and functioned like a classic clutch and shift setup. The car can go back in time and has a nuclear reactor on it's back. I think you need to figure out how you can shrink a nuclear reactor to that size before you start making a big fuss over whether a car is a manual or an automatic.

As for the Bricklin - most people don't understand what a truely crappy and ill-put together car that was. I do because it was a Canadian car and the American "entrepeneur" who came up with it was nothing more than a con-man, who came here and convinced a province that they could have the priviledge of building a "Canadian Supercar" and employ workers that were out during a recession.

The whole project was a flop and a mismanaged company behind the veneer of respectable business. They were put together in an old converted machine shop with the worst tools and quality control. Basically imagine that Bricklin is like an automotive equivalent of something like the Phantom Game Console.

And the Bricklin is a car that belongs to the 70s. It has 70s styling, ugly 70s colors (beige, orange, brown). 70s carpet/rug interior, 70s fibreglass, etc. The DeLorean was a car supposedly built for the future and if you watch BTTF, it really hasn't aged at all when you look at it in the context of a science fiction vehicle. The sharp angles and stainless steel body still keep it somewhat in the realm of future fantasy and it still looks great as the BTTF DeLorean even if the stock DeLorean looks far too dated these days. Plus stainless steel was a nice touch that Doc explained helped the car time travel or something.

[JsARCLIGHT]

But I don't see any reason why Doc Brown couldn't have whipped up something that mimicked that alongside something that appeared and functioned like a classic clutch and shift setup. The car can go back in time and has a nuclear reactor on it's back. I think you need to figure out how you can shrink a nuclear reactor to that size before you start making a big fuss over whether a car is a manual or an automatic.

I'm "making a fuss about it" because it is something I know something about and when I see an obvious (to me only it seems) technical goof in a movie it bugs me to death.

As for the Bricklin - -snip-

404231[/snapback]

I know the Bricklin was a mechanical nightmare, you don't have to go on and on about it. My neighbor owns one and his is about as reliable as anything from that era. My point was that in my opinion the Bricklin was aesthetically more interesting looking than the bland Delorean.

Edited May 31, 2006 by JsARCLIGHT

[Southcross]

DeLoreans don't technically suck. They are basically a Lotus Esprit under stainless steel...but the Volvo B28F engine really sucks. 130HP!

403654[/snapback]

Actually, the PRV (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) engine was very reliable by itself. It was one of the first few European engines to run 100,000 miles before its first tune-up. The whole problem was that DeLorean tinkered with it when he dropped it in his car. Hence the DMC's reliability issues.

404179[/snapback]

I'll second the "prior to DeLorean messing with the thing" sentiment

[ComicKaze]

Just to settle the argument over the transmition in the movies it's manual:

404041[/snapback]

What are TFC DRIVE CIRCUITS? I have always wondered what that lever thing was on the center console.

[JsARCLIGHT]

Just to settle the argument over the transmition in the movies it's manual:

404041[/snapback]

What are TFC DRIVE CIRCUITS? I have always wondered what that lever thing was on the center console.

404333[/snapback]

A guy in my office is a BTTF nut. He says it stands for "Temporal Field Capacitor" and is part of the Flux Capacitor system... in effect it is the Flux Capacitor's primary "on/off" button and failsafe.