UNIVERSAL CITY : DeLoreans Caravan Is Largest in History

While they didn’t exactly travel to the future, the 58 Valley DeLorean owners who participated in a caravan paying tribute to the car and the new “Back to the Future” ride at Universal Studios on Friday, were making history.

The event--a caravan that left the Brea Mall in Orange County and traveled 40 miles to Universal Studios--brought together 111 DeLoreans and their owners from five western states, constituting the largest gathering ever of the futuristic cars.

After snaking their way through the Imperial Highway, the Orange Freeway and the Hollywood Freeway to the Universal Studios entrance, the drivers exited their cars wearing lab coats like the zany character of Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) in the “Back to the Future” trilogy, which featured a DeLorean as a time-travel mobile.

Mona and Claude Mathews of Glendale said part of the enjoyment of owning a DeLorean is the recognition the car gets on the road.

“All the kids in the world know what a DeLorean is,” Claude Mathews said. He admitted, however, that the $60-million ride at Universal Studios--which simulates time travel in 24 model DeLoreans using motion-based flight simulation and 80-feet wide movie screens--did not feel like his commute to work. “I don’t drive quite that fast,” he said.

According to Edward Bernstein, the owner of DeLorean One, Inc., a service center for the cars in Canoga Park, there are 145 DeLoreans in the Valley.

DeLoreans were built during 1981 and 1982. In all, less than 9,000 cars were built by the DeLorean Motor Co. plant in Ireland before it was closed. But only about 2,000 DeLorean owners are active members with the DeLorean Owners Assn., said the association’s president David Knudson of Tujunga.

He said the cars are worth between $25,000 and $30,000, or roughly the equivalent of what they cost when they were new--thanks in part to the publicity generated by the “Back to the Future” movies.

“It has certainly helped maintain the legend of the car,” Knudson said.

DeLorean Motor Co, was owned by John Z. DeLorean, a former General Motors Corp. executive. He ran into financial and legal difficulties in the early 1980s, leading to the closure of his plant.

The original target price for the sports car was $15,000, but inflation pushed the price to $25,000. The car is now available mostly from private owners who are willing to sell.

Valley DeLorean owners said the camaraderie shared by DeLorean owners is one of the greatest benefits of owning the sports car.

John Spurlin of Northridge does not usually drive his DeLorean on errands, but often takes it to races and other DeLorean events around the country. “I’ve developed a lot of friends among the owners,” Spurlin said. “This is just a great group of people.”