The world's hands-on debut of the De Lorean after years of anticipation
did resolve a couple of longstanding concerns. First of all, this is
unquestionably the most ambitious attempt at running-before-walking ever
seen in the variegated history of the auto industry. The backbone frame
is easy but expensive, the molded-plastic body complicated and
expensive. The gull-wing doors are currently smack-dab in the middle of
a no-man's land in terms of manufacturing experience: Mercedes-Benz
broke the molds after 1400 300SLs, and Malcolm Bricklin went bust
squeezing the next couple thousand winged cars out of his Canadian
plant. What's more, the De Lorean is first packed with the power
accessories and miles of wiring that go with a luxury ride these days,
and only then sealed up in its silver wrapper. To find a
more-complex-to-build car, you might try Rolls-Royce, but it crafts only
a few thousand units a year and their prices run into six figures.