OBI WAN
03-19-05, 10:59 AM
DeLorean suffers stroke
Source:
Automotive News / March 18, 2005 / By Edward Lapham
John DeLorean, the 80-year-old former General Motors executive and maverick automaker, suffered a stroke on Thursday, according to sources close to the family.
DeLorean was admitted to Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown, N.J., on Thursday and transferred to a rehabilitation center on Friday, according to a hospital official.
No further information on his condition was available Friday afternoon.
DeLorean rose through the ranks during his career at General Motors, which included running Pontiac Motor Division and Chevrolet Division -- in the days when Chevy accounted for a quarter of U.S. new-car sales.
He left GM in 1973 and later founded his own business, DeLorean Motor Co., which produced stainless steel automobiles with gullwing doors at a factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from February 1981 until the company filed for bankruptcy in September 1982.
DeLorean was later tried and acquitted of charges he had tried to sell cocaine to save his company. He also was acquitted of federal fraud charges related to his car company.
The car is probably best known for its starring role as a time machine in the "Back to the Future" movie trilogy.
James Espey, vice president of DeLorean Motor Co., Texas, said he spoke with DeLorean Thursday morning. Though DeLorean is not affiliated with the Texas business that sells DeLorean parts and boutique items to owners and collectors, he calls occasionally.
Said Espey: "John had a lot to say about everything that's going on at GM now."
Staff writer Diana T. Kurylko contributed to this report.
Source:
Automotive News / March 18, 2005 / By Edward Lapham
John DeLorean, the 80-year-old former General Motors executive and maverick automaker, suffered a stroke on Thursday, according to sources close to the family.
DeLorean was admitted to Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown, N.J., on Thursday and transferred to a rehabilitation center on Friday, according to a hospital official.
No further information on his condition was available Friday afternoon.
DeLorean rose through the ranks during his career at General Motors, which included running Pontiac Motor Division and Chevrolet Division -- in the days when Chevy accounted for a quarter of U.S. new-car sales.
He left GM in 1973 and later founded his own business, DeLorean Motor Co., which produced stainless steel automobiles with gullwing doors at a factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from February 1981 until the company filed for bankruptcy in September 1982.
DeLorean was later tried and acquitted of charges he had tried to sell cocaine to save his company. He also was acquitted of federal fraud charges related to his car company.
The car is probably best known for its starring role as a time machine in the "Back to the Future" movie trilogy.
James Espey, vice president of DeLorean Motor Co., Texas, said he spoke with DeLorean Thursday morning. Though DeLorean is not affiliated with the Texas business that sells DeLorean parts and boutique items to owners and collectors, he calls occasionally.
Said Espey: "John had a lot to say about everything that's going on at GM now."
Staff writer Diana T. Kurylko contributed to this report.