15. The car brand brought down by a drug sting
John DeLorean was an experienced automotive engineer well-backed with capital when he started the DeLorean Motor Company in 1975. He envisioned a high-performance, stainless-steel-bodied automobile, but first he needed a place to produce it. With significant financial support from the British government, as well as numerous celebrities and American investors, DeLorean built a factory to produce his cars near Belfast, Northern Ireland. Production began in 1981, two years behind schedule and significantly over budget. The car did not sell well. Concerns over quality of finish, a lack of performance, higher than expected costs, and lack of dealer support kept sales well below the break-even point. Then consumers learned the company’s founder, John DeLorean, was the target of a sting operation. The FBI, the DEA, and the British government all presented evidence DeLorean planned to smuggle $24 million in cocaine into the United States.
Despite videotaped evidence clearly depicting DeLorean discussing the deal with undercover agents, he was acquitted. His attorneys demonstrated entrapment. DeLorean later blamed the entrapment for the collapse of his company, though in fact, the company was already hopelessly in debt, and there was no demand for his products. If not for the exposure in the Back to the Future film trilogy, the DeLorean would be all but forgotten today. Various automotive enthusiasts have tried to elevate interest in the brand with little success. Of the estimated 9,000 cars built in the early 1980s, about 6,500 are believed to still be drivable, and several support groups have evolved around it in the United States. Michael J, Fox’s films restored the vehicle’s panache, but to date, nothing has restored what DeLorean once claimed as demand for his car. John DeLorean died in 2005, still believing in the potential success of DeLorean Motors.