#just seems to be 'fuck elon musk and his self-driving cars' and it seemed like he had no opinions on anything else

[rubberbandballqueen]

now that i have finished thoroughly examining my ballot i find it notable how few candidates mention queer rights/healthcare in their campaign platforms

[asfeedin]

The true, cocaine-fueled story behind Back to the Future’s DeLorean

What’s the link between Hollywood, an American businessman, time-travel, and a mountain of cocaine big enough to make even Keith Richards’ knees tremble? Answer: the DMC DeLorean, AKA the DMC-12, AKA the car from Back to the Future.

This weekend marks the 35th anniversary of Back to the Future, so let’s travel back in time and pay homage to the real version of that Mr Fusion-powered 88 mph gull-winged chariot. Strap in, because it’s a wild ride.

[Read: Remembering the Nucleon, Ford’s 1958 nuclear-powered concept car that never was]

But why a time-travelling DeLorean?

Most of the world, certainly outside the US, probably had no idea about the eponymous DeLorean until it featured in Back to the Future, which first hit screens in 1985.

First off, the time machine in Back to the Future was never actually even meant to be a car, let alone a DeLorean. According to director Robert Zemeckis, speaking on the DVD commentary of the films, the time machine was first a laser device, which was scrapped because, uh, dull!

In the second draft it was a refrigerator. But apparently the filmmakers were concerned it would encourage children to climb into fridges and get stuck, so that idea was scrapped too.

Credit: Ewan Roberts

The DeLorean dressed up as it was in Back to the Future Part 3. Arguably the best of the trilogy?

Eventually, the film’s producers decided that you’d want the time machine to be mobile, so they looked to cars. The DeLorean was chosen because of its radical look, and iconic gull-wing doors. Incidentally, its “spaceship” like appearance has been credited as one of the main reasons for it being chosen as well. The DMC-12 was made of brushed stainless steel and was left unpainted, because DeLorean apparently didn’t want to spend money on painting equipment.

In an interview with Esquire, the film’s co-creator Bob Gale said that the film was offered $75,000 to use a Ford Mustang. Gale basically told Ford to get stuffed, and responded with: “Doc Brown doesn’t drive a fucking Mustang!” and so, history was made.

Credit: Wikimedia CC

Original artist designs for the DeLorean time machine were “too good.” Film makers wanted it to look like the Doc had indeed made it in his garage. Many hardcore film fanatics restore and build up Back to the Future DeLorean replicas, just for fun. (This one seems to have something to do with Uber, eurgh.)

The importance of Gale’s remark shouldn’t be understated. The films were littered with other product placements — everyone remembers Nike’s self-lacing shoes and Mattel’s Hoverboard. But by 1985, the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) had already folded, meaning Gale’s steadfastness on the DeLorean was even more valuable and stopped the car from being lost in the annals of time. Instead, we got one of the most iconic film cars ever.

By the time the films were released, the car had already developed a name for itself, for reasons that had little to do with the vehicle and everything to do with the jet-setting playboy that invented it.

The man, the legend

John DeLorean, the man who would later go on to found the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), was a stalwart of the automotive world. He was the lead engineer behind iconic muscle cars, like The Pontiac GTO, and the Pontiac Firebird. He worked for many years at General Motors before parting ways with the American automotive giant in 1973.

In 1975 he set up the DeLorean Motor Company with the goal of producing an “ethical” sportscar. One that’s safe, reliable, and built to last. Think of DMC as the Tesla of its day. It wanted to challenge the status quo.

Credit: Wikimedia

John DeLorean was born in 1925. He rose through the ranks of the automotive trade thanks to his risk taking, take no crap attitude. He’d end up being one of the youngest high-ranking executives at GMC by 40 years old.

For design of the DMC-12, DeLorean called on one of the most influential yet unknown car designers, Giorgetto Guigiaro. The Italian designer had a way with the pencil that would see his designs go from paper to the silver screen on more than one occasion. His Lotus Esprit went on to become James Bond’s famous underwater car.

With such pedigree behind the project, you’d think the DMC-12 would find its way into the history books on its own merit. But that wasn’t to be, as the car wasn’t exactly any good and John DeLorean had a habit for going a bit over the top.

The first and only, DeLoreans

The first DMC-12 made its way onto the road in 1981, and around 9,000 units were ever made.

To build the car, DeLorean approached the British government, which threw £100 million of tax payer money at him to build a factory in Northern Ireland. The British government thought they were generating thousands of jobs in an area struck by war, DeLorean thought he was getting a great deal to realize his dream.

DMC-12s had a 2.85 liter V6 motor, putting out 130 hp, mounted behind the drivers powering the rear wheels. Drivers had a choice of 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmissions which were pretty typical for the early 80s.

Credit: Wikimedia CC

The DMC-12 was ran on a 2.85 liter V6 made my Peugeot, Renault, Volvo. Nothing screams pedigree like those three names, right?

There was just one body style, featuring those iconic gull-wing doors, and no choice of paint. Every car was finished with brushed stainless steel, which some owners maintain using WD-40, not soap and water like every other car.

All of this came together to produce a car that wasn’t practical, particularly fast, and didn’t handle like a sportscar should. And because of mechanical flaws that needed to be worked out, production was delayed, and the car ended up costing far more than was initially forecast.

It was called the DMC-12 as it was originally going to be sold for $12,000, but various overruns and production challenges pushed its price tag closer to $25,000.

Credit: Wikimedia CC

Perhaps the most iconic part of the DMC-12 are its gull-wing doors. Any guesses where Elon Musk got the idea for his “Falcon” doors from?

Even though no accurate records exist of how many DeLoreans were ever sold, reports suggest the car had no problem initially capturing the hearts and minds of the American motoring public. But it couldn’t turn the initial interest into consistent sales.

A year later in early 1982, nearly a decade after DeLorean left GMC to set up his eponymous company, some 7,000 vehicles remained unsold.

Add this to economic recession and DeLorean‘s company was on the ropes.

A slippery slope

The British PM at the time, Margaret Thatcher, ordered DeLorean to raise more money to keep the company in business and support his employees. DeLorean, enraged, claimed that the British Government was closing his Northern Ireland plants on the grounds that its Catholic employees were “tithing the Irish Republican Army.”

But the reality was that DeLorean needed some $17 million to save his company from bankruptcy — that’s $46.5 million accounting for inflation.

Over the course of 1982, DMC’s financial situation worsened, and DeLorean was left with few options.

In October 1982 he found himself in a Los Angeles hotel room with a man he half-trusted in the hope he could save his company. The man, James Hoffman, a previously convicted drug smuggler, alleged that DeLorean had come to him looking to carry out a cocaine deal to generate funds to support his failing business.

During the meeting a briefcase supposedly filled with 27 kg (about $6.5 million worth) of cocaine was laid out on a table. Discussions had also alluded to a bigger deal, in which DeLorean would part finance the sale of $24 million worth of the drug. He agreed and was even recorded on video as saying the white stuff is “better than gold.”

Credit: Jason Leung

Despite not being the best car, even at its time, the DMC-12 has a dedicated following. Many enthusiasts restore and care for their beloved vehicles. According to classic car forum Honest John and the DeLorean owners club, in July 2019 there were about 150 in the UK. Not all were registered, though.

DeLorean was promptly arrested at the hotel on grounds of narcotics law violations.

However, James Hoffman was working with the FBI as an informant. According to reports, DeLorean never actually wanted to go along with the cocaine trafficking. In fact, it was Hoffman who approached and coerced DeLorean into the bogus deal, in an attempt to provide information to the FBI and have his own sentence reduced.

DeLorean was able to prove that he had been “play-acting” all along. He went along with Hoffman after threats were made against his family.

By August 16, 1984, DeLorean was acquitted on grounds of government entrapment.

DMC will never be forgotten

Sadly, a week after DeLorean’s arrest, his company filed for bankruptcy and by December 1982, just two years after the first cars were sold, DMC was no more and the British government shutdown his NI factory.

It wasn’t just DeLorean’s drug smuggling antics that landed him in hot water, he also had a track record of misappropriating company funds. DeLorean went on to spend many years unpicking legal cases related to the downfall of his beloved car business. In 1999, he declared bankruptcy. The story of his life has been made into a film of its own, called Framing John DeLorean.

Back to the Future press poster, look for the subtle presence of the DeLorean, the film’s true leading star.

DeLorean never gave up on his dreams and in his final years he attempted to resurrect DMC by designing and selling watches, eyeglasses, and sunglasses. He hoped he would eventually be able to drum up enough support and funding to relaunch his car company. In March 2005, John DeLorean died of complications from a stroke.

The DMC-12 might not have been DeLorean’s greatest car, and it may have met its premature end because of his Machiavellian antics. But it was those antics and self-belief that gave birth to the idea in the first place, and eventually led Back to the Future’s filmmakers to pick it as their time machine.

Back to the Future may have helped make the DMC-12 one of the most iconic cars ever, but it — and its creator — should be remembered for so much more than that.

Sources: Reuters, Washington Post, New York Times 1, New York Times 2, Volo Auto Museum, Drive Tribe, Esquire, Back to the Future DVD commentary

Read next: Elon Musk bought $45M in Tesla stock since ‘that weed joke’ — now it’s worth double

Corona coverage

Read our daily coverage on how the tech industry is responding to the coronavirus and subscribe to our weekly newsletter Coronavirus in Context.

For tips and tricks on working remotely, check out our Growth Quarters articles here or follow us on Twitter.

Source link

Tags: cocainefueled, Delorean, futures, Story, True

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2yMDfec via IFTTT

[adstoppi]

Latest Post

Elon Musk explains why Tesla’s Cybertruck windows smashed during presentation

The unveiling of Tesla’s Cybertruck last week was full of surprises, but none more shocking than the moment when lead designer Franz von Holzhausen smashed two of the vehicle’s “armor glass” windows onstage with a metal ball. It certainly wasn’t the result CEO Elon Musk was expecting, who could be heard muttered “oh my fucking god” under his breath before being forced to complete his presentation in front of the fractured panes.

But Musk says he knows what went wrong, and explained things on Twitter. Right before the metal ball test, von Holzhausen smacked the door with a sledgehammer on stage to prove its durability (and unlike the glass, it was fine), and Musk says this impact “cracked base of glass,” which is why the windows subsequently smashed when hit by the ball.

This seems plausible, especially as Musk also shared a slow motion video of von Holzhausen performing the same exact test before the event, with the ball bouncing harmlessly off the window. The combined impacts likely weakened the glass, setting the stage for the eventual smash.

At any rate, the smashed glass was just one moment in an event which gave viewers plenty to talk about without the on-stage mishaps. The divisive design and impressive specs of the Cybertruck have caught the world’s attention, and since the unveiling Musk has been drip-feeding bits of information on Twitter to keep people engaged.

Solar panels on the roof that charge the car as it drives? We’re doing it, says Musk. A new matte black finish? “Sure,” he says. The Tesla CEO even suggested a second, “smaller” version of the Cybertruck would make sense in the “long term.”

We’ll have to wait and see how many of these promises become a reality (remember: Musk has been predicting Teslas will have “full self driving” capability for years) but there’s certainly a lot of interest in the Cybertruck. As of Monday morning, Musk said the company had received more than 200,000 preorders for the vehicle, “with no advertising & no paid endorsement.” All it took was a few smashed windows instead. https://adstoppipro.com/blog/elon-musk-explains-why-teslas-cybertruck-windows-smashed-during-presentation More blog here

Contact Us  |   Facebook  |   Twitter  |   Support

from Blogger https://ift.tt/2pKgtiG via Adstoppi More blog here

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

Azealia Banks posted more screenshots. Let's unpack this mess.

Welcome to another chapter in the bizarre saga of Azealia Banks/Grimes/Elon Musk!

Azealia Banks — who claims she was abandoned by Grimes and trapped in Elon Musk's mansion while he tripped acid — has been dropping juicy screenshots hinting at the unfolding drama in her Instagram stories. 

SEE ALSO: Simulation report: Elon Musk unfollowed Grimes on Twitter

On Tuesday, Banks posted a screenshot of a conversation between her and an unnamed source. She circled a text that said, "I made you look really good today. The attorneys like you and said you're smart." 

The texts also discuss "damages that Claire caused" — Claire is Grimes' birth name. 

In another screenshot posted to Azealia Banks' story, a person alleged to be Grimes says that "he" (Musk) "got into weed" because of her influence and that when he decided to take Tesla private, the stock would be worth $419 each. 

"So he rounded up to 420 for a laugh and now the sec is investigating him for fraud," Grimes texted. 

Image: instagram/azealiabanks

Image: INSTAGRAM/AZEALIABANKS

Banks circled those texts and called Grimes "a pathological liar." 

Lost in all the messiness of this situation? Here's a timeline of this wild ride:

Jul. 30: Grimes announced that she was working with Azealia Banks on her next album. 

well i’ve started like 4 beats for her now lol she has to come to la to finish

— Grimes (@Grimezsz) July 31, 2018

Aug. 7: Musk says he was taking Tesla private, and then got turned into a meme. 

Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018

Aug. 10: Banks arrives at Elon Musk's mansion in L.A. 

In an Instagram DM, she later told Business Insider that Musk was "scrounging for investors to cover his ass after that tweet" and that he wasn't cute in person. 

Also, Musk and Grimes left for DefCon together, leaving Banks in his house.  

Great Q&A @defcon last night. Thanks for helping make Tesla & SpaceX more secure! Planning to open-source Tesla vehicle security software for free use by other car makers. Extremely important to a safe self-driving future for all.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 11, 2018

Aug. 12: Apparently Banks gets trapped in Musk's house, and things start getting weird. 

Buckle up everyone, THIS is where it gets fun! That Sunday night, Banks compared staying in the Musk mansion to the real-life version of Get Out, and then exposed Musk for "being too stupid to know not to go on Twitter while on acid." 

She also claimed that she wasn't allowed to bring her boyfriend with her, and said "it was probably some weird threesome sex shit to begin with." 

According to Business Insider, she left that night. 

Azealia Banks exposing Elon Musk for tweeting while on Acid.. while she was waiting for Grimes at her home ... whewwww lord 😳 pic.twitter.com/i9BXWWrLAD

— sadhoeflo (@sadhoeflo) August 13, 2018

Aug. 13: Musk clarifies his now-memed "funding secured." Also, Banks has more to say.

Apparently Saudi Arabia is going to help Tesla go private, according to a note on the company's website. 

Azealia Banks, meanwhile, continued her rant about her weekend at Elon's on another Instagram story. She said that Musk was "better off hiring an escort" because Grimes can't keep quiet about the business. 

While dragging both Grimes and Elon Musk through personal attacks and going off on a diatribe about the colonization of South Africa, Banks also hinted at Grimes spilling secrets. 

Musk, meanwhile, told Gizmodo he didn't know Banks and that he "has never even met [Banks] or communicated with her in any way.”

But Banks sent Business Insider an alleged screenshot of a conversation between her and Mac Boucher, Claire's brother, that said, "Elon will meet with you tonight." 

Three days later, Elon admitted to seeing Banks "for two seconds" in a New York Times interview.

Just when you think it doesn't get crazier than Elon vs. the shorts, you find out about the Azealia Banks Vs. Grimes/Elon craziness and realize THERE COULD BE SO MANY MORE LEVELS OF CRAZY TO GO.$TSLA pic.twitter.com/A5YEqwXbP1

— Jeremy C. Owens (@jowens510) August 13, 2018

She kept going. pic.twitter.com/YF8PX56dm3

— Jeremy C. Owens (@jowens510) August 13, 2018

Aug. 18: Banks posts more screenshots and now we know too much about Musk's genitalia. 

Banks, our screenshot queen, posted more receipts on her Instagram story. "Elon Musk has been tapping my phone all week," she claimed, posting screenshots of texts allegedly between her and Grimes from before their meeting.

In the texts, Grimes roasts Musk for his "weird accent that doesn't actually exist," but brags about his "giant dick." 

Let's also just appreciate Banks calling Musk a "wild thornberry." 

Basically, though, the screenshots seem to show that Musk at least knew Banks was planning on a visit. 

Azealia Banks posting conversations with Grimes about Elon Musk and claims he's tapping her phone pic.twitter.com/XLaWCjUTUN

— ™ (@908hoe) August 18, 2018

Aug. 19: Grimes and Musk stop following each other.

The internet's most confusing couple stopped following each other on Instagram, and Musk unfollowed Grimes on Twitter. Considering Musk's bizarre Twitter presence, this could mean nothing. Right? 

Aug. 20: Musk deletes his Instagram and Banks says he has her phone. 

Musk told Gizmodo that he deleted his Instagram account because he didn't "like it." 

The same day, Banks called him out on her infamous Instagram story, begging for her phone back. This is where it gets even spicier — in deleted story videos, she complains about how she wants to go home and says "none of this shit has anything to fucking do with me." 

"Honestly, what the fuck is even going on," she asks in one of the videos. "What the actual fuck is going on?" 

Self-proclaimed "Teslaqologist" and "founder of the Canadian Institute of Cultural Teslaqology" @ravenvanderrave tweeted screen recordings of the videos. You can check out the full thread here. 

1. Azealia Banks Instagram thread $TSLA pic.twitter.com/G9UQJKlvuY

— Gavran Teslaqov (@ravenvanderrave) August 21, 2018

You up? Latest from Ms. Banks pic.twitter.com/PA92P8h512

— Hope King (@lisahopeking) August 21, 2018

Aug. 21: More screenshots, and now attorneys are involved?

Banks posted more screenshots on her story that alluded to "damages that Claire caused." She also said on her story that she was finally leaving Los Angeles, sans phone, and that she couldn't "stay here for anymore of this shit." 

"If you knew that you couldn't work ... you should have just told me to stay my ass home," she ranted on her story. Banks also pointed out that Musk "sent that first tweet" before she even got on her flight, and that she could have easily stayed. 

Azealia Banks is the gift that keeps on giving $tsla no way i am @‘ing musk in this inam@enjoying reading grimes screenshots pic.twitter.com/KKEhHFJuHR

— Wall Street Walrus (@wallst_walrus) August 21, 2018

Twitter users, meanwhile, wonder what the heck Banks could have had on her phone. 

Maybe video of an acid fest? Sky's the limit with this bunch.

— Smartish Elon for Prison (Xenomorpher) (@xenomorpher1) August 21, 2018

Theory: 1Banks records damaging Elon conversation 2Elon lies he never saw Banks (changes story later to say briefly saw, never in ear shot tho...why lie about this in 1st place?) 3Elon and Grimes fight over why Banks was brought to his house 4Grimes/Elon break up

— Rout LLC (@RoutLLC) August 21, 2018

Others want to employ her to do the same thing to the presidential administration. 

paradrop Azealia Banks into the White House with her cell phone and the wifi password

— JuanPa (@jpbrammer) August 21, 2018

Whatever's going on, it appears that Banks somehow got in the middle of an SEC investigation, and is not happy about it. 

At least she gave us the wild summer story we didn't even know we needed!

WATCH: This tricked-out SpaceX helmet is nearly all 3D printed