Auto industry / Business & brands
John DeLorean
1925–2005 · automotive engineer and executive, founder of DeLorean Motor Company
Detroit-born GM maverick who created the Pontiac GTO, ran Chevrolet, then built the stainless-steel DeLorean made famous by Back to the Future.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Summit, New Jersey
aged 80- Birth name
- John Zachary DeLorean
- Detroit years
- 1925–1973
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
DeLorean was born in Detroit to immigrant parents; his father worked at Ford's Highland Park plant. He went to Cass Technical High School, studied engineering at Lawrence Institute of Technology in Highland Park and, after army service, briefly tried law school in Detroit. He started at Chrysler, moved to Packard on East Grand Boulevard, and in 1956 joined GM's Pontiac division, where he championed the 1964 GTO, often called the first muscle car. He became Pontiac's general manager in 1965 and head of Chevrolet in 1969, the youngest division chief in GM history. In 1973 he left GM to found his own company; the gull-winged DMC DeLorean was built in Northern Ireland from 1981. The company collapsed after his 1982 arrest in an FBI sting; he was acquitted in 1984 on grounds of entrapment. He died in New Jersey in 2005 and is buried at White Chapel cemetery in Troy.
Highlights
- Championed the 1964 Pontiac GTO, widely seen as the first muscle car
- Also shaped the Pontiac Firebird and 1969 Grand Prix
- General manager of Chevrolet from 1969, youngest GM division head
- Founded DeLorean Motor Company in 1973; DMC-12 built 1981–1982
- Acquitted of drug-trafficking charges in 1984 (entrapment defense)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 4
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · late 1930s–1941
Cass Technical High School
He studied the electrical curriculum at Detroit's elite public technical school; the historic 1922 building was replaced in 2005 and later demolished.
Studied here · 1940s
Lawrence Technological University
He studied here on scholarship when it was the Lawrence Institute of Technology in Highland Park; the school later moved to Southfield.
Worked here · 1952–1956
Packard Plant
Closed · 1903–1958
He worked as an engineer at Packard before joining GM. The Albert Kahn–designed plant closed in 1958; parts were torn down in 2017–2023 and the rest stands as an empty ruin.
Buried here · 2005
White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery
His ashes are interred here, with military honors from a Detroit National Guard unit at the service.