4 ms·

The Rise and Fall of John DeLorean

49 points by pmcpinto 12y ago

Cuuugi 12y ago
tl;dr = Cocaine's a hell of a drug.
- leeview 12y ago
  and police entrapment is a hell of a practice in some countries..
- thesteamboat 12y ago
  More on the case against De Lorean, 'cause it's interesting history and a textbook case of entrapment: 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. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_DeLorean#Arrest_and_trial http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_DeLorean#Arrest_and_trial 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. http://blog.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/legal-research/today-in-1984-carmaker-john-delorean-acquitted-of-cocaine-smuggling-charges-by-reason-of-entrapment/ http://blog.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/legal-research...
leoc 12y ago
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.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4367473.... )
adam12 12y ago
"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.
bkeroack 12y ago
There are a number of questionable claims in this article--that the DeLorean invented turn signals and the overhead camshaft, for example.
- mikestew 12y ago
  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.
stuartmemo 12y ago
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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LadgANhOhiI

49 points by pmcpinto 12y ago

Cuuugi 12y ago

tl;dr = Cocaine's a hell of a drug.

leeview 12y ago
and police entrapment is a hell of a practice in some countries..
thesteamboat 12y ago
More on the case against De Lorean, 'cause it's interesting history and a textbook case of entrapment: 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. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_DeLorean#Arrest_and_trial http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_DeLorean#Arrest_and_trial 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. http://blog.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/legal-research/today-in-1984-carmaker-john-delorean-acquitted-of-cocaine-smuggling-charges-by-reason-of-entrapment/ http://blog.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/legal-research...

leoc 12y ago

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.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4367473.... )

adam12 12y ago

"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.

bkeroack 12y ago

There are a number of questionable claims in this article--that the DeLorean invented turn signals and the overhead camshaft, for example.

mikestew 12y ago
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.

stuartmemo 12y ago

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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LadgANhOhiI