"Great Scott!"

When you think of a time machine, how many of you think of the DeLorean DMC-12? Yea, I see you raising your hand. Originally designed in 1976, productions of the first DeLorean DMC-12 began in 1981 in Northern Ireland. "The DMC-12 featured gull-wing doors with a fiberglass "underbody", to which non-structural brushed stainless steel panels were affixed. "(Wiki)
Few cars support the gull wing, and the DeLorean wasn't the first but one of the well known models that did. The Gull-wings provide many different challenges for it's unique means of opening, specifically on counterbalancing the weight when the doors are open, keeping them light, while strong enough to survive impact. DeLorean's fix for this was to use a solid-steel torsion bar to counterbalance the door. Hard enough to withstand impact while light enough to be part of the door. Things didn't end well for the company or the car however.

In 1982, John DeLorean was arrested under the suspicion of trafficking drugs. While he was found not guilty, his company did go bankrupt, and the Delorians siesed production. Over 9,200 total cars were made, and today only 6,500 are known to still exist. At the moment, they are rare, but parts are available. Over priced, but available.

With little doubt in my mind, the majority of the popularity of this vehicle had to ahve come from the movie series, Back to the Future, which a scientist named Emmit Brown (Christopher Lloyd) invents a time machine using a delorean. One of my personal favorites, it released in 1985 and had back to back sequels in 89 and 90.

Given the choice of obtaining one of these fine vehicles... I'd go for one with a Flux Capacityer, and Mr. Fusion... Though I'm not sure about the Hover Conversion for $39,999.95



EAK

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Future_%28series%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeLorean_DMC-12
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gull-wing_door