DeLorean dreams

Gordon Ramsey

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

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Abstract

As Northern Ireland emerged from sectarian conflict following the paramilitary ceasefires of the early 1990s, a concerted effort was made by government and commercial interests to reestablish tourism as a significant industry in the province. The industrial heritage of Belfast was seen as an important resource for attracting tourists, and following the release of James Cameron’s blockbusting movie in 1997, the Titanic became the symbol around which this aspect of the tourism product was organised. The Titanic, previously seen as a symbol of sorrow and hubris in Belfast, was widely embraced, rapidly displacing leprechauns and Guinness memorabilia in gift shop windows, and portraits of masked gunmen on the gable walls of working-class areas of the city, which were themselves becoming tourist attractions.

Another iconic, yet tainted product of industrial Belfast, the DeLorean sports car, which was also immortalised in a (1985) Hollywood movie, was not embraced in the same way, however. For over a decade after the peace agreement, the DeLorean was an invisible part of Belfast’s heritage. The tourism industry made no attempt to profit from the high profile established by the Back to the Future movies, and working-class muralists showed no inclination to celebrate the skill of its makers on gable walls.

Fifteen years after the peace agreement, one small-scale entrepeneur has finally started to offer a ‘DeLorean experience’ to tourists. This paper will examine why the DeLorean has not been embraced as a tourist brand or a symbol of working-class identity in the way that the Titanic has, and will compare Belfast’s relationship with the DeLorean to New Brunswick’s relationship with the Bricklin, a vehicle which shares much with the DeLorean, not just in appearance but also in the historical circumstances of its production and demise.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAutomobile Heritage and Tourism
EditorsMichael V. Conlin, Lee Joliffe
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherTaylor and Francis
Pages39-60
Number of pages22
ISBN (Print)9781315436197
Publication statusPublished - 01 Dec 2016

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