I saw a lot of unusual vehicles traded in during my time as a dealership technician. On this day, I arrived at work to find a rare 1981 DMC DeLorean sitting in the front line of the Machens truck center.

John DeLorean founded the company that bears his name in 1975. Production of the company's only product, the aptly named DeLorean sports car, began in 1981 and lasted until the end of 1982 before the company went bankrupt.

The most distinctive aspect of the DeLorean is its stainless steel body. No DeLorean left the factory painted.

The other distinctive aspect of the DeLorean is its unique gullwing style doors that are hinged at the roof.

There were only two options available from the factory on a DeLorean. Buyers could choose either a black or grey interior, and either an automatic or manual transmission. Additional accessories, (stripes, floor mats, luggage rack, etc.), were available through DeLorean dealers.

This car is a 1981 model that showed 18k original miles on the odometer.

Total DeLorean production is disputed, but estimated to be anywhere from 8,500 cars to 9,200 cars produced for the 1981, 1982, and 1983 model years. Production for 1981 is estimated to be approximately 6,700 cars. The surprising aspect of this is that roughly 2/3rds of the production run is thought to still be around thanks to a couple of key reasons.

The DeLorean seemed to be destined to become another low volume experiment by an upstart company that failed early in its history. But thanks to the 1985 film Back to the Future and its sequels, the DeLorean became a Hollywood star and sparked a renewed interest in the car.

This renewed interested created a demand for DeLorean parts and service support. In 1995, Stephen Wynne revived the DeLorean Motor Company name for his Texas-based company that provides restorations services and parts support for DeLorean owners, (Wynne was able to acquire the remaining parts inventory of the original company). Production of new DeLoreans has been in the works for some time, but has yet to be realized.