Favorite ’80s Cars – The DeLorean

Hi Everybody! Paul here. Today is our big ’80s extravaganza! Several ’80s bloggers and podcasters got together, and decided on a common topic that we will share. We are promoting each others work, and introducing you to some ’80s blogs that you may not have know were out there. The topic in this inaugural crossover will be on our favorite cars that were famous in the ’80s. Here is the list of blogs taking part are:

80’s Reboot Overdrive (Blog)
80’s Reboot Overdrive (Podcast)
Killer Kitsch
RealWeegieMidget

Now, here is Robert. let’s start our engines, Hit 88 mph and get this underway. You’re worried about not having enough road? No worries. Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.

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Cool Cars from the ‘80s

by Robert Mishou

The Flux Capacitor. 88 miles per hour. 1.21 gigowatts of power. Need I say more? I am not a big car guy; in fact, I know almost nothing about cars other than where the gas goes. Despite this, there a few cars featured in ‘80s movies or on TV that I did like in my formative years and still stay with me today. While I liked the van that the A-Team drove and KITT from Knight Rider was pretty cool, by far my favorite cat from the ‘80s was the DeLorean DMC-12. This car, from the iconic Back to the Future, was developed into a time machine by Doc Brown. This awesome car was piloted by both Doc Brown and Marty McFly throughout the trilogy – it has traveled many miles on roads – well, roads for a while because eventually, “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”

I am sure that most of you know that the Delorean was an actual car. It was produced by John Z. DeLorean who worked for General Motors and was (at the time) best known for designing the Pontiac GTO. In 1974 he left GM and to form his own car company, the DeLorean Motor Company. The actual design for this car was by Italian Giorgetto Giugiaro and the car was built in a plant in Northern Ireland. All DeLoreans came out in stainless steel and were never painted at the factory. The first Delorean rolled out in 1981, but, unfortunately sales were poor and the company went bankrupt in 1982.

By far, the most notoriety that this car ever received was through its inclusion in the Back to the Future trilogy. According to the website backtotefuture.com, “For the first film, three DeLorean automobiles were purchased for modification into the now-famous time machine. An additional three vehicles were purchased for the two sequels, and a full-sized fiberglass DeLorean replica was built for the flying scenes in Back to the Future Part II. The time machine was designed Ron Cobb, Andrew Probert, and Michael Scheffe. Kevin Pike’s special effects company Filmtrix built the first three DeLorean time machines in just ten weeks.”

Fictionally, this car is the creation of one Doc Brown, wonderfully played by Christopher Lloyd. Doc Brown is the archetypal recluse scientist that most of the people in town believe is off his rocker. One night Brown slips, hits his head and comes up with the idea of the flux capacitor which is the crux of this car’s ability to travel in time. The car is powered by a nuclear fission reactor located on the top of the car. When in a pinch, the car can also be hurtled through time with a bolt of lighting. Be it with plutonium, lightning, or a Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor, this car goes; all told the car travels to various time periods in the history of Hill Valley ranging from 1885 to 2015.

As I said earlier, I was never much into cars, but this time traveling automobile from these film captured my imagination. The car is sleek and cool – I would give anything to drive it. Yes, I want it to have the time travel capabilities! How cool would it be to find a long stretch of road, hit 88 mph, and BOOM, you’re in a different era? I can only wish. I am positive that my love for this car comes from the fact that it was, in many scenes, the vehicle of Michael J. Fox. I loved Family Ties. I would love Teen Wolf. I definitely loved him in Back to the Future! He was the teen I wanted to be and, because he drove the DeLorean, it became my fantasy car. I bought into Back to the Future 100%. For a few hours in the theater or on my TV, I believed that time travel was possible and that I could solve of my problems, not matter how complex, with this car. Oh, to be behind the wheel now!

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What were some of your favorite cars seen in the ’80s? I hope you enjoyed this series. Please let us know what you think, and if you would like to see more of these crossover events. Again, please check out the following blogs. Every one is on Twitter as well, so please give all these hard-working bloggers a follow:

80’s Reboot Overdrive (Blog)
80’s Reboot Overdrive (Podcast)
Twitter: @80sReboot

Killer Kitsch
Twitter: @killer_kitsch

RealWeegieMidget
Twitter: @realweegiemidge

Follow @returntothe80s