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1981: Will the DELOREAN Motor Car be a Success? | Newsnight | Retro Transport | BBC Archive
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11:08Now PlayingNewsnight's Gavin Esler reports from California, on the US launch of the DeLorean motor car. Manufactured in Northern Ireland with large UK government investment, there is a lot riding on this futuristic-looking vehicle. The DeLorean sells at $25,000 and the company will need to sell 30,000 a year to make a profit.
The gull-winged, stainless steel spors car certainly looks the part - but will it appeal to the American public, particularly now, in the middle of a fuel crisis that has seen a rise in demand for more economic vehicles?
Gavin talks to DeLorean dealer Cy Eagett, Vice President of the DeLorean Motor Company Dick Brown, auto analyst Harvey Heinbach, Tony Hopkins of the Northern Ireland Development Agency and John Russell of Automotive News, to gauge how likely the DeLorean is to succeed.
Clip taken from Newsnight, originally broadcast on BBC Two, 15 May, 1981.
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