The DeLorean could make a comeback as an electric car

[captaincranky]

Except there isn't a warehouse full of leftover '63 Corvette bodies and parts like there is for the DeLorean. That's what they're probably looking to do for the DMC bodies.

Well, it gives me pause to wonder if the Corvette's molds were destroyed.

I've seen Deloreans, and yeah, you get that 'wow look at the stainless steel car" rush of amazement off of them.. Unfortunately, one dent gets you a trip to the dealership for a new body panel. Granted, fiberglass has its own issues.

With that said, the Corvette could be molded in carbon fiber composite, perhaps reducing its radar profile, making it practically invisible to state trooper's's radar guns...

 

[captaincranky]

You can't do that with electric, because everything is software base. Because of this mechanics wont be needed.

Today's automobile software is incredibly invasive. It intrigues me that people will whimper day in, day out, about how Google tracks you around the web. Yet, Tesla's software has telemetry to rival Window 10.

I often thought that those, "God is my copilot" bumper stickers, have no place on today's cars and trucks.

They should read, "Elon Musk is my copilot".

 

[candle_86]

I've seen plenty of 30yo+ 100-250hp 3p motors in grain elevators still going strong. With near daily use. You won't find combustion engines with that kind of life. Electric motors will run circles around a combustion engine in terms of long life.

Tesla isn't building cars purely for performance.

I'm sorry but Electric motors power our daily lives. You are clearly delusional if you think Electric motors have worse reliability. An electric electric motor will easily do a million miles. Including the ones in Tesla's. The motors in most tesla's will outlive most of vehicles they are in. I'd worry more about the battery TBH.

ecstatic motor operating in one place and similar conditions as entire life is very different from a motor that will be transitioning through different weather temperatures extremes possibly all in the same day. you can find stationary internal combustion engines that have been running for the equivalent of a million or 2 million miles as well powering all sorts of things when temperature variation in environment remain a constant and are due to radical change or bumps and shifts then you can have something much more reliable I'm curious how well electric motors are going to hold up when you take environmental factors into an account that's what really matters here what is their reliability over time as in the environment around them changes etc. You can't compare a static motor to one that's in a car it's just not possible.

 

[DZillaXx]

ecstatic motor operating in one place and similar conditions as entire life is very different from a motor that will be transitioning through different weather temperatures extremes possibly all in the same day. you can find stationary internal combustion engines that have been running for the equivalent of a million or 2 million miles as well powering all sorts of things when temperature variation in environment remain a constant and are due to radical change or bumps and shifts then you can have something much more reliable I'm curious how well electric motors are going to hold up when you take environmental factors into an account that's what really matters here what is their reliability over time as in the environment around them changes etc. You can't compare a static motor to one that's in a car it's just not possible.

These motors are kept clean in a Car.... Tesla don't put motors in contact with the weather. While on a Grain Elevator its not uncommon for them to be covered in grain dust. On top of that they have to endure freezing winters and hot summers... Electric motors are proven, that's why we power our entire world using them. Even giant ships use electric motors power by generators. Same goes for trains. Really the only hold out is vehicles on the road ways.

I'm sorry but the avg electric motor out of a Tesla will last longer than the best gas engines. 3Phase AC motor especially have really long life spans. Combustion motors can't handle the abuse an electric motor sees.

I'm sorry but electric motors are proven. And have been for decades. It is the battery tech that has largely held the use of it in vehicles back.

A tesla will rot away and the battery pack will be shot well before the motor goes. Same with the motor controller, VFD's tend to be pretty well built and if kept cool should easily see million miles plus.

 

[Markoni35]

When jumping Back to the Future, the electric version will be able to jump just 10 minutes into the future (or past), due to the battery range limitation.

 

[Markoni35]

Had a DMC back when I was a young Army Officer ........ that brushed stainless steel body really set it off and I had endless supply of girlfriends just dying to ride in it and get their picture with it...

And just that one sentence justifies the car. Because what are sports cars for than showing off? You can't show off in a Tesla.

 

[Mugsy]

I've always loved the DeLorean even before BTTF made it famous despite all its clunkyness.

I'd love to see it make a return, but it needs modernization. If the company hadn't died all those years ago, I highly doubt the car would still be built exactly the same 35 years later.

First, the absurdly heavy (and virtually unpaintable) stainless steel body would have been replaced. Probably with some light polycarbonite. The "clamshell" doors bending in the middle meant there was no way to rolldown the windows (thus the tiny trapazoidal fold-down window flaps.Just TRY to pickup a drive-thru order through those tiny flaps! Not sure how to resolve that while keeping the same gullwing design.

And as mentioned above, the original Ford engine was under-powered, making it a slow lumbering hulk. Going EV would definitely help.

Again, I'd love to see the DeLorian make a comeback, but if they don't change *anything*, neither will the outcome.

 

[captaincranky]

And just that one sentence justifies the car. Because what are sports cars for than showing off? You can't show off in a Tesla.

Not even a model "X"?

Although, you can show off with the roadster. You just bolt it on top of a Falcon rocket, put a dummy in it, and start the countdown....

 

[captaincranky]

I'd love to see it make a return, but it needs modernization. If the company hadn't died all those years ago, I highly doubt the car would still be built exactly the same 35 years later.

The company never died. It just took up residence in John Delorean's nose.

 

[Rayneofpayne]

Seriously? I don't know what this is, but from its retro design, this thing clearly has the most horrible rear visibility, for one thing. And for another, folding headlights are unanimously a bad-design idea, which caused 100 times more problems than it solved, with myriad of technical problems.

It's a split window Vette.

 

[bviktor]

At his point, it seems Tesla is sort of like a gag reflex to some when people bring up EVs. It's getting old.

 

[Gomos]

The real question is: how will the Cybertruck's stainless steel body fair - as that's what set the DeLorean apart most.

It will be terrible, it goes against all knowledge of Body-in-White design.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Have any of you actually seen a Delorean in real life?

Have you driven one?

I have a friend here who has one and I've driven it. He brings it to our car shows. It's a terrible experience beyond the "I'm driving a DeLorean.

The car failed because it was a terrible design.

It's way too small for your average American who is tall and probably obese.

Gull wing doors are TERRIBLE for modern traffic and parking (Tesla's failed too which is why they stopped them after the Model X).

On the current EV platform you can pretty much pin any vehicle design, but ultimately, to justify the production and R&D you have to sell in high enough numbers to warrant it.

Who is buying an EV Delorean over a Tesla Model 3 or Y?

Tesla's Roadster actually makes way more sense.

The real question is: how will the Cybertruck's stainless steel body fair - as that's what set the DeLorean apart most.

What I do enjoy is knowing that the instant torque, energy efficiency and reduced maintenance of an EV is ultimately going to kill 4 cylinders and 6 cylinders. The only real safe haven for people who want to hold onto a muscle car will be the v8, supercharged/ forced induction muscle cars...but even those get slaughtered by a Tesla Ludicrous or Plaid mode.

Until you actually drive a Ludicrous EV after having driven the fastest affordable V6 and v8 do you understand what I'm saying. A DeLorean design based on the Tesla Roadster would eat my Hellcat Charger alive.

Honestly, DMC's best bet is to license the 'profile' of the DeLorean to a company like Tesla, Hyundai, or Toyota. Let them drop a DeLorean body onto an EV platform (relatively do-able since its all drive-by-wire ontop of a 'EV skateboard'), and then just collect a licensing fee.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Honestly, DMC's best bet is to license the 'profile' of the DeLorean to a company like Tesla, Hyundai, or Toyota. Let them drop a DeLorean body onto an EV platform (relatively do-able since its all drive-by-wire ontop of a 'EV skateboard'), and then just collect a licensing fee.

The 80's needs to just stay in the 80's.

The beauty of the Tesla platform is you can drop any body type on top and it performs mostly like a Tesla, minus the aerodynamics.

But there are many designs which just don't make any practical sense.

The Delorean is physically too small. Smaller than a Mercury Capri or Merkur XR4Ti from the same time period. The doors make no sense for modern parking lots, which is why Tesla designed multi hinged doors for the Model X.

People don't want a DeLorean. They want a "Time Machine" modified Delorean.

 

[wiyosaya]

Only if it has a Mr. Fusion reactor.

 

[wiyosaya]

But will it be enjoyable, most consider electric cars as soulless, no fun, oversized go karts. This is because of the feeling of hearing a genuine exhaust sound.

Good God man, if you need an exhaust sound, sample it, then put in a 1,500W sound system.

EDIT: Most cars these days that want to show off that exhaust sound have a "tuned resonator" which is basically a fake exhaust sound anyway.

 

[captaincranky]

Good God man, if you need an exhaust sound, sample it, then put in a 1,500W sound system.

Good god man, just think of what that might do to the range...

 

[wiyosaya]

Good god man, just think of what that might do to the range...

At least it does give that primate he-man noise maker feel. I am sure that is worth the trade-off to those who have to have the noise maker sound.

Then again, I personally prefer the quiet of an electric motor.

 

[captaincranky]

At least it does give that primate he-man noise maker feel. I am sure that is worth the trade-off to those who have to have the noise maker sound.

In all seriousness, "noise", is a rather subjective term. If a car, truck, or motorcycle, has an exhaust which meets federal guidelines, I don't consider it noisy.

High output IC engines require a freer exhaust path, to allow them to "breath", and meet advertised HP standards. That said, of course a high output engine will be "throatier", than the family sedan.

(This is speculation but), I think the resonators are tuned to take out the sharp edged ,"bark", but leave in the low growl.

Even the much maligned Harley-Davidson motorcycle, when left with a stock exhaust system, have a sweet sound. Now when you get people slapping off into those same pipes, they're brutally noisy and annoying..

And yes, there are "hominid" rationalizations for the loud pipes such as, "it needs to be loud so the people in the cars can hear me". But, IMO,. "defensive driving" is a far better approach, while leaving the stock pipes intact

So, IMO, (yet again) narcissism is the antagonist of peace, quiet, and serenity.

Incidentally, I found the best ever website with respect to personality disorders. It references and interprets the DSM-5 in layman's terms:

Psychology - Theories, History, and More

Explore the various types of psychology, their history, and the major theorists behind them and apply the knowledge to your mental and emotional well-being.

www.verywellmind.com

 

[loki1944]

Actually I have recharged our Model S Ludicrous in 1 hour 15 minutes.

I recharged my Chevy in 5 minutes.

 

[Karlos95]

Your hellcat sure, but tesla isn't running the salt flats, a tesla can't compete with a built engine, your hellcat while nice can gain another 3-400 hp for 5k in parts and still be street legal hell you can get parts that give it hp and torque numbers tesla can only dream of, same goes for a v6. You also get the advantage of being able to drive it cross country without having to wait 4 hours every fill-up. In an endurance race EVs can't compete, and their longevity and reliability is still unproven, when you can run the same engine 30 years later then it might be able to say it's long term viable. I've seen a 62 Ford F100 parked for 30 years start up after a simple carb rebuild and fresh oil. EVs aren't their yet.

Your hellcat is trash.

Now tell me why we keep going back to "I want to be able to recharge in x time"
How many of you actually refill every day?
Guess what a tesla can do... recharge while you sleep then you wake up to a full charge and drive to work. Also cheaper to run and no servicing (besides wheels)

A tesla will drag most of your cars and win right now, go back 10 years and see where they were, wait another 10 and you will only dream to own one.

Pathetic bunch that can't see the future is here.

 

[candle_86]

Your hellcat is trash.

Now tell me why we keep going back to "I want to be able to recharge in x time"
How many of you actually refill every day?
Guess what a tesla can do... recharge while you sleep then you wake up to a full charge and drive to work. Also cheaper to run and no servicing (besides wheels)

A tesla will drag most of your cars and win right now, go back 10 years and see where they were, wait another 10 and you will only dream to own one.

Pathetic bunch that can't see the future is here.

As I've already said I don't see Tesla running Bonneville, you know why? Because they can't compete, no tesla would touch a 1200hp street car. Also I like taking road trips, Tesla and all electric cars are hot garbage for road trips. Also that's a big lie, you have plenty of maintenance items on a tesla besides wheels and tires. You've got wheel bearings, tie rods, bushings, and other steering and suspension related components. Ontop of that you be also got interior and exterior paint and moldings that need maininaintice. A tesla isn't maintenance free just because it has an inferior engine.

There's a simple reason why Tesla can't compete with other high-performance car brands

Electric cars, while impressive in a straight line, aren't very good for motorsports that required turning more than a few laps or going around corners. People have tracked Teslas, to varying degrees of success and failure. Tesla itself doesn't formally participate in any type of organized racing.

www.businessinsider.com

There you go, it explains in layman's terms why tesla's may be fast in a quarter mile but could never actually compete with actual sport or muscle cars