R.I.P. John DeLorean

Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of John DeLorean's death, which caught me by surprise, and really darkened my day.

From the literature I've absorbed over the years I have learned that he was the kind of guy that people either loved or hated. And that is fine. Everybody is entitled to their opinion and I can accept that some people simply did not like him.

I won't argue. I hate Billy Crystal, who is loved by the rest of the world, for a reason that escapes me.

But what is really boiling my blood is how, since his death, professional journalists and non-journalists alike have jumped on the John DeLorean bandwagon, and are eagerly writing his life's story, providing the public with quite a lot of incorrect information.

Rumours and personal opinions are being stated as facts, and the people who disliked DeLorean either as a person, or a businessman, are saying some absurd, untrue and unfair things.

It would be nice to remember John for his accomplishments and his contributions toward the automotive industry. But he did not belong to the automotive world alone. He had a family - one that had to endure the strains of his court battle.

And that is the most important thing - to know that John Zachary DeLorean was acquitted of all charges brought against him. That he served no time in jail. He was found innocent. In a court of law.

The verdict? Entrapment. By the U.S. government.

Do the research yourself. You'll find it was the United States government who approached DeLorean with the cocaine. You'll find a lot more than that, too.

Don't remember John for the lies and the rumours. Remember him for the good stuff, like the GTO and the DMC-12.