John DeLorean, American engineer and businessman, founded the DeLorean Motor Company (d. 2005)
John Zachary DeLorean (January 6, 1925 – March 19, 2005) was an American engineer, inventor, 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 managed the development of a number of vehicles throughout his career, including the Pontiac GTO muscle car, the Pontiac Firebird, Pontiac Grand Prix, Chevrolet Cosworth Vega, and the DMC DeLorean sports car, which was featured in the 1985 film Back to the Future. He was the youngest division head in General Motors history, then left to start the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) in 1973. Production delays meant that DMC's first car did not reach the consumer market until 1981, when a depressed buying market was compounded by lukewarm reviews from critics and the public. After a year, the DeLorean had failed to recoup its $175 million investment costs, unsold cars accumulated, and the company was in financial trouble.In October 1982, DeLorean was charged with cocaine trafficking after FBI informant James Hoffman solicited him as financier in a scheme to sell 220 lb (100 kg) of cocaine worth approximately $24 million. DMC was insolvent at the time and in debt for $17 million. Hoffman had approached DeLorean, a man whom he barely knew with no prior criminal record, and DeLorean was able to successfully defend himself at trial under the procedural defense of police entrapment. The trial ended in a not guilty verdict in August 1984, by which time DMC had declared bankruptcy and ended operations.
1925Jan, 6
John DeLorean
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Events on 1925
- 10Apr
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York City, by Charles Scribner's Sons. - 25May
John T. Scopes
Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in Tennessee. - 30May
Shanghai Municipal Police
May Thirtieth Movement: Shanghai Municipal Police Force shoot and kill 13 protesting workers. - 21Jul
Scopes Trial
Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100.Malcolm Campbell becomes the first man to exceed 150 mph (241 km/h) on land. At Pendine Sands in Wales, he drives Sunbeam 350HP built by Sunbeam at a two-way average speed of 150.33 mph (242 km/h).[2] - 5Nov
Sidney Reilly
Secret agent Sidney Reilly, the first "super-spy" of the 20th century, is executed by the OGPU, the secret police of the Soviet Union.