Back to the Future

[Greg Myers]

[ra7c7er]

That's really cool.

I just watched a program on some channel called 80's tech and they did a whole thing on the Delorean. I didn't know you could still get a new/old Delorean today. Made from 0EM parts leftover from the factory in Ireland.

For those that didn't know here is the website of the company

http://www.delorean.com/index.html

[Greg Myers]

From the press packet for the open house on June 6th 1965

[MikeMc]

The Florida branch moved about 6 months ago...used to drive by it daily

[diymirage]

FOUND HIM...hes behind the one with the bleu stripes

[DiscoSpud]

From the press packet for the open house on June 6th 1965

After seeing that picture I now need a change of underwear

[Greg Myers]

Inside, at the beginning

[Greg Myers]

This is the site that got me thinking about these types of photos :

[Junkman]

When I visited in 1994:

And now:

30.000 jobs gone.

You know what? Even the future was better in the good old times.

[BOSWELL891]

That's really cool.

I just watched a program on some channel called 80's tech and they did a whole thing on the Delorean. I didn't know you could still get a new/old Delorean today. Made from 0EM parts leftover from the factory in Ireland.

For those that didn't know here is the website of the company

http://www.delorean.com/index.html

I watched the show too it was Modern Marvels on the History Channel(i watch that channel a lot) it was very interesting to learn about the car and how its put together and to know you can practically get an almost brand new still today but for a pretty penny more than likely

[BOSWELL891]

From the press packet for the open house on June 6th 1965

The striped one in the second row must have been custom order or just a special one.

Edited June 9, 2011 by BOSWELL891

[Junkman]

[Junkman]

well that explains everything

That explains what? The relocation of 30.000 jobs to Romania?

Anyway, here are a few pics from the Auto-Union DKW (now Audi) factory:

[Harry P.]

They used to make some really nice cars here at the Packard plant in Detroit, MI.

Not so much anymore...

[Greg Myers]

maybe this is where it all went wrong ?

[Jim Gibbons]

Love these pictures. Here's a blog article about the Fiat plant that was once in Poughkeepsie, NY. I live less than a mile from where it used to be.

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2009/06/08/inside-the-poughkeepsie-fiat-factory/

It eventually became Western Publishing, then was torn down, and is now a Home Depot, Staples, etc., shopping plaza. I loved this old building, and wish it had been saved. My friend and former landlady worked for Western in their art department. This Western plant mainly published children's Golden Books and comics. About eight years ago, she showed me some artwork she had salvaged when she worked there. The company was throwing it all out, and she kept some as she thought they would make some nice decoration for her daughter's room when she was very young. They were animation cells from Walt Disney cartoons from Mickey Mouse, Bambi, Snow White, etc. that were used for Golden Books. She was going to toss them, too, but when I told her what they might be worth, she was amazed. My sister sold them for her on Ebay, and she made some very nice money on them. One of them was Mickey and Pluto together, and sold for about $1200. They covered a two week vacation with her daughter and son-in-law to his family in Austria, and then some.

[Junkman]

The Fiat 'Lignotto' factory in Turin had/has a test track on the roof:

Built from 1916 and opened in 1923, the design (by young architect Matté Trucco) was unusual in that it had five floors, with raw materials going in at the ground floor, and cars built on a line that went up through the building. Finished cars emerged at rooftop level, where there is a rooftop test track. It was the largest car factory in the world at that time. For its time, the Lingotto building was avante-garde, influential and impressive — Le Corbusier called it "one of the most impressive sights in industry", and "a guideline for town planning". 80 different models of car were produced there in its lifetime, including the famous Fiat Topolino of 1936.

The factory became outmoded in the 1970s and the decision was made to finally close it in 1982. The closure of the plant led to much public debate about its future, and how to recover from industrial decline in general. An architectural competition was held, which was eventually awarded to Renzo Piano, who envisioned an exciting public space for the city. The old factory was rebuilt into a modern complex, with concert halls, theatre, a convention centre, shopping arcades and a prestigious hotel. The work was completed in 1989. The track was however retained and can still be visited today on the top floor of the shopping mall and hotel.

Edited June 10, 2011 by Junkman

[Harry P.]

This storage building in Seattle used to be a Model T assembly plant!

Usually you think of an auto assembly plant as a spread-out, low building, to accomodate the long assembly lines, but this one has a strange layout for an auto assembly plant.

[Jim Gibbons]

Very cool, Christian. Glad the complex was saved and used. That was the original plan for the old Poughkeepsie building, but the amount of asbestos in it made the cost too high. The wrecking ball did the rest.

[Junkman]

Very cool, Christian. Glad the complex was saved and used. That was the original plan for the old Poughkeepsie building, but the amount of asbestos in it made the cost too high. The wrecking ball did the rest.

They tried the same with the beautiful Renault plant on the ÃŽle Seguin, which was constructed between 1929 and 1934 in Art Deco style. The last car which was built there was the Renault 5 (Supercinq) in 1992. The factory then remained dormant until 2005 when it was finally decided to demolish all the buildings and only leave the entrance gate. Jean Nouvel, an architect, is supposed to be leading a project to turn the island into a cultural centre. I wonder, how many more cultural centres - in times where there is no culture at all - and how many less factories we need to fend for ourselves in future? Obviously the project isn't forthcoming either (crisis, you know) so currently the island is wasteland.

[Chuck Most]

A few years back in Hot Rod Deluxe, they ran photos of the abandoned car plants which still stand in and around Detroit. There were also some shown on the History series "Life After People." Sad thing is? When that show aired, they used actual current footage from Detroit to show how buildings will deteriorate unattended in the future. It is good to see some of the old factories being repurposed, though.

[imatt88]

Cool stuff, for sure..

Its nice to see that some of the factories are being reused..

Too bad they couldn't do that here in the States more

[Greg Myers]

Is that red thing off in the distance, a Hot Wheels Loop ?

[Jim Gibbons]

Is that red thing off in the distance, a Hot Wheels Loop ?

No, Godzilla's mom called him home for lunch, and he left his hula hoop behind.

[novadose71]

Here's the only one on my photobucket, scanned from an old National Nostalgic Nova magazine