John Zachary DeLorean

Automobile entrepreneur, auto executive, engineer, and inventor. John DeLorean was one of a handful of American entrepreneurs who had the audacity to form an American automobile company in the last seventy-five years, and like many others failed to compete successfully with mainstream companies in the end. DeLorean, a native of Detroit, Michigan, and a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, was a General Motors (GM) executive who in 1964 was responsible for the creation of the world's first muscle car, the "GTO". By the time DeLorean left GM in 1973, he was an unconventional executive who was quickly rising to the top, and many believed he was GM's next President. However, DeLorean's career at General Motors ended when he decided to start DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), which was formed in Detroit in 1975. Eight years later in 1981, his most famous creation was released the DeLorean DMC-12 which is best known for its subsequent appearances in the "Back To The Future" movie trilogy directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. The car instantly garnered a cult following. The DMC-12's cult following and fame was not enough to save DeLorean's company because by 1983, he was being tried on cocaine charges which he was later acquitted and his company collapsed due to producing only 8,900 cars in three years compared to mainstream car companies producing one million per month. The collapse of his company, his constant legal woes and his 1999 bankruptcy did not sway his passion for creating new cars. Towards the end of his life, he futilely tried to develop a plastic sports car that was to be valued around $20,000. DeLorean died due to complications of a stroke.