# What would be todays equivalent of the DeLorean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2014, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436 "2014-06-23T12:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/21 "2014-06-23T16:34:09Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Depending on your age you might miss the joke due to context. It wasn’t just that the car looked weird and was easily recognizable. It was already a failed company and concept. The company went bankrupt in 82. John DeLorean was arrested for trying the smuggle cocaine to finance the company in October of 82. The first movie came out in 1985. So the reaction that Marty gave was not just because it was an odd looking car. The name DeLorean was a joke at the time. I’m sure by then there were three years of Carson punchlines involving the company and the man. I don’t think there is a car with anything like that backstory to be equivalent in a remake. But give Tesla a few years and see where it goes. If we’re going down these lines, then a Smart car might be a good choice. They’re widely lampooned in US automotive circles, both because of their looks, and because they get rotten gas mileage for a car that small. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/22 "2014-06-23T16:39:59Z")
I second the Tesla Model S. It fits all the criteria (well, okay, maybe not _affordable_ per se, but Deloreans weren’t affordable in 1985, either) and it has the same “cool” factor as the Delorean did. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/23 "2014-06-23T16:40:30Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > Here are my two suggestions but I’m sure you can better them - first thing that came to mind was the [Nissan Cube](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Cube#mediaviewer/File:NISSAN_cube_Z12_rear.jpg) for its aesthetics; then the bulbous [Fiat Multipla](http://www.motorstown.com/images/fiat-multipla-bi-power-07.jpg) which would make anyone in 1984 double-take. Whaddya reckon? The Nissan Cube would definitely look bizarre in the 1980’s. It still looks bizarre now. There was also a similar-looking car (whose name escapes me right now) which, together with the Cube, prompted jokes that Japanese designers had forgotten how to draw curves. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/24 "2014-06-23T16:54:27Z")
How about [Fisker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisker_Automotive)? [ul] [li]Small, one off manufacturer [/li][li]Funky looking, pretend sports car[/li][li]New technology[/li][li]The company is bankrupt[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/25 "2014-06-23T17:05:47Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > The Nissan Cube would definitely look bizarre in the 1980’s. It still looks bizarre now. There was also a similar-looking car (whose name escapes me right now) which, together with the Cube, prompted jokes that Japanese designers had forgotten how to draw curves. Scion xB. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/26 "2014-06-23T17:06:41Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > [Tesla Model S](http://www.teslamotors.com/models). > > It’s roughly the same inflation adjusted price. It’s the only model from the company (so far). And it certainly stands out compared to other cars, especially most of the boxy mid 80s cars. > > The “can be mistaken for a UFO” thing wouldn’t really work anymore. We’ve had cars for too long now and seen too many concept cars, unlike the 50s when an older person could easily remember a time when automobiles weren’t common. yah but… > [@](#): > > It’s got to be; > > 1. … > 2. Look weird enough to stand out 30 years ago - so old man Peabody can mistake Marty for an alien. The only observable weird things about the Tesla are the iPad for a dashboard, the lack of an exhaust pipe, and how quiet it is. It otherwise looks like a generic sedan (kind of on the large size by today’s standards, but 30 years ago it would look not out of place in a parking lot full of Crown Imperials). ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/27 "2014-06-23T17:07:43Z")
I always thought the world’s biggest lemon is the French car Citroen. By the way, I think that Citroen means “lemon” in French. Interesting marketing there. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/28 "2014-06-23T17:14:58Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > Scion xB. That’s the one !!! Thanks! Upon further review, I’d forgotten how boxy cars were in the 1980’s. The Cube and the xB might well have fit right in back then :eek: Fisker is a good choice as a Delorean analog. By most accounts, Fiskers were actually pretty crappy cars. At least a few caught fire just sitting in dealer’s lots or shipping terminals. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/29 "2014-06-23T17:18:21Z")
Actually, one of the new Mini Coopers would work, since they’re similar to the classic ones but hadn’t been released 30 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/30 "2014-06-23T17:20:27Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Fisker is a good choice as a Delorean analog. By most accounts, Fiskers were actually pretty crappy cars. At least a few caught fire just sitting in dealer’s lots or shipping terminals. Plus, Justin Bieber had one, so there’s _that_ association… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/31 "2014-06-23T17:28:38Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Actually, one of the new Mini Coopers would work, since they’re similar to the classic ones but hadn’t been released 30 years ago. The Mini Cooper and Fiat 500 wouldn’t work anymore than a New Beetle would because in 1985 the originals were still on the roads, typically in the hands of cash-strapped high schoolers. They’d simply say “Is that the new model?”, just like the designers intended. They’d work better for a movie like **The Kid** where a character goes back in time and their vehicle reverts to an older model of their modern car. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/32 "2014-06-23T17:41:57Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Depending on your age you might miss the joke due to context. It wasn’t just that the car looked weird and was easily recognizable. It was already a failed company and concept. The company went bankrupt in 82. John DeLorean was arrested for trying the smuggle cocaine to finance the company in October of 82. The first movie came out in 1985. So the reaction that Marty gave was not just because it was an odd looking car. The name DeLorean was a joke at the time. I’m sure by then there were three years of Carson punchlines involving the company and the man. I don’t think there is a car with anything like that backstory to be equivalent in a remake. But give Tesla a few years and see where it goes. Mileage may vary, but I disagree that THE joke of the car in the movie was its reputation. I was an adult when the movie came out, and my take was Marty’s incredulity wasn’t because of the reputation of John DeLorean and his ‘alternative revenue stream’ but that, in contrast to normal boring science, using a Delorean was cool. Although DeLoreans lacked performance to back up the look, they were interesting cars, daresay ‘neat’ if not actually ‘cool’ even without time travel capability. Marty was impressed with Doc Brown using a DeLorean because, hey, anyone could add time machine capability to a 4 door Nova, or a 4X4 Toyota, but using a Delorean has _style_. DeLoreans were rare. Seeing one on the street was as uncommon as seeing a Ferrari. Although in fact, Doc would have been better served building the time machine on a car that could go 0-88 in under the two minutes shown in the movie.🙂 Even a diesel Rabbit would outperform the car in the movie! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/33 "2014-06-23T17:44:30Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Depending on your age you might miss the joke due to context. It wasn’t just that the car looked weird and was easily recognizable. It was already a failed company and concept. The company went bankrupt in 82. John DeLorean was arrested for trying the smuggle cocaine to finance the company in October of 82. The first movie came out in 1985. So the reaction that Marty gave was not just because it was an odd looking car. The name DeLorean was a joke at the time. I’m sure by then there were three years of Carson punchlines involving the company and the man. I don’t think there is a car with anything like that backstory to be equivalent in a remake. But give Tesla a few years and see where it goes. MAD Magazine even lampooned this in their parody “Bleak For the Future.” They had Doc Brown say “John DeLorean nearly did time, so why not use a DeLorean for a time machine?” ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/34 "2014-06-23T18:00:31Z")
I’d go with the Tesla S. Has way cool factor and having finally seen the real thing on Saturday, I would have been gobsmacked if that appeared in front of me in 1985. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/35 "2014-06-23T18:03:07Z")
The answer you are looking for is the EV1. The body has ultra low drag needed to pass through the flux stream. It is all electric so you don’t have to worry about finding gas if you travel to outside the brief time period where it was used. Just charge it up with plutonium or the Mr. Fusion unit. The point of using the DeLorean was it was quirky, kind of desirable and such an infamous failure seeing one is a “What the hell! A DeLorean?” moment. The EV1 is all those things plus it is a car only time travelers would have access to. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/36 "2014-06-23T18:11:30Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Fisker is a good choice as a Delorean analog. By most accounts, Fiskers were actually pretty crappy cars. At least a few caught fire just sitting in dealer’s lots or shipping terminals. Except that few people would recognize a Fisker Karma. They never achieved the level of fame that the Delorean did in its day (partly due to the scandal surrounding the founder, but also because start-up car companies were rare at the time). ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/37 "2014-06-23T19:00:49Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > yah but… > > The only observable weird things about the Tesla are the iPad for a dashboard, the lack of an exhaust pipe, and how quiet it is. Meh. Like I said before, it’s not really possible for an average 1985 person to think any 2015 car is a UFO or anything other than a strange, possibly one-off, automobile. Even the “boxy” cars we have today like the xB or the Cube look like Japanese Kei cars (which they basically are). ETA: Actually, if I saw a saucer driving along the road in 1985, I’d have been more apt to say, “Huh, I wonder when the Parade is” rather than posit it’s aliens or time travelers or something. That kind of surprise wasn’t really possible then. I’m not sure how possible it actually was in 1955, movie or not. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/38 "2014-06-23T19:15:05Z")
I’m thinking old school. [http://www.imcdb.org/i465637.jpg](http://www.imcdb.org/i465637.jpg) Almost no one knew what is was 30 years ago, even fewer today. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/39 "2014-06-23T19:40:15Z")
I always assumed the reason for using the Delorean (the filmmakers’ reason, I mean, not Doc Brown’s) was the gullwing doors, which made it more plausible as a UFO and more generally “futuristic” as opposed to just a custom hot-rod made by a 50s car guy with a wild imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436/40 "2014-06-23T20:18:44Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > I’m thinking old school. [http://www.imcdb.org/i465637.jpg](http://www.imcdb.org/i465637.jpg) > Almost no one knew what is was 30 years ago, even fewer today. They’re even cooler when one puts a propeller in the nose! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-todays-equivalent-of-the-delorean/691436.md?page=3)