Orland Park Couple's DeLorean Love Brings Movie Magic To Life For Many

ORLAND PARK, IL — Orland Park residents Tom and Corrinna Sedor first met as teenagers at a Chicago roller rink in 1985, sparking a love story that has spanned nearly three decades—and features a bit of cinematic sparkle.

"One of the first movies we saw as a couple was 'Back to the Future,'" Tom Sedor said. "And that is how the story began."

"The story" to which he refers is the fascination they both developed with a certain sleek and aerodynamic automobile with gull-wing doors and an unpainted stainless-steel exterior.

The DMC-12 DeLorean.

When introduced in 1981, the car was truly one-of-a-kind. It turned heads with its eye-popping futuristic aesthetic — and was unlike anything else on the road.

Despite its cool and modern appearance, however, the DeLorean proved a disappointment.

Although its sports-car profile strongly suggested that it was a driver’s dream, it failed to deliver the high performance its low-slung design seemed to promise.

Reviewers panned its sluggish acceleration, poor handling and cramped interior.

Consumers were equally unimpressed. By late 1981, they bought only 3,000 of the 7,500 cars produced.

In 1983, after just two years of production, manufacturing ceased. John DeLorean, who left a high-ranking position at General Motors in 1973 to start the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), threw in the towel after building an estimated 9,000 cars.

But then came the movie “Back to the Future.”

Actor Michael J. Fox propelled his career into the stratosphere with his portrayal of Marty McFly, but he was not the only one to ride that Hollywood hit to stardom. So too did the DeLorean — capturing moviegoers’ attention in its role as the time machine built by the mad scientist Dr. Emmett Brown — aka “Doc Brown.”

Minutes into the movie, Doc Brown coaxes a dog named Einstein into a DeLorean outfitted with a litany of contraptions, devices, and wires. He then performs his first successful time-travel demonstration by sending Einstein and the car one minute into the future — and back. A fictional component called a flux capacitor was the primary means by which the car achieved its time-travel ability.

In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, Marty McFly asks incredulously, “Wait a minute, Doc. Are you telling me that you built a time machine... out of A DELOREAN?”

The movie’s initial box-office success prompted two sequels, which came out in 1989 and 1990. More than 40 years after its release, “Back to the Future” retains a loyal cult following.

And so, too, does the iconic DeLorean Time Machine.

Capitalizing on the enduring popularity of the movie and the car, several DeLorean owners have converted their cars into Time Machine replicas and even created revenue streams by renting out appearances by the cars at special events.

Tom and Corrinna Sedor operate one such business through the websites deloreanride.com and deloreanusarental.com.

They purchased their first DeLorean in 1992 and have been in the time machine replica rental business since 2015.

"My whole reason for converting my vehicle into a Time Machine replica was to celebrate the Chicago Cubs potentially winning the World Series in 2015, as per 'Back to the Future 2,'" Tom Sedor recalled. "Interestingly enough, the Cubs won the World Series a year later in 2016."

The Sedors later expanded their business to include a DeLorean limousine and a DeLorean 4x4 owned by their business partner, Rich Weissensel. They also have ventured into replica vehicles from various other movies and TV series.

Further, the Sedors and Weissensel capitalize on their relationships with DeLorean owners nationwide — helping customers hook up with cars for special events no matter where they reside.

Steve Squires, 50, is one of the Sedors’ satisfied customers. He has rented the use of their DeLorean Time Machine for an annual fundraising event he hosts in Middlebury, Ind., to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

"We were looking for something to draw the attention of the general public," Squires said. "We came up with the thought of trying to find a DeLorean Time Machine to tie in with our fundraising — with the obvious tie-in to Michael J. Fox."

Like the "Back to the Future" star, Squires was diagnosed with Parkinson’s while only in his 20s.

Squires reached out to Suzy and Mike McElhattan of DeLorean Midwest — a Crystal Lake, Illinois-based company that offers DeLorean upgrades such as suspension improvements, increased horsepower, power steering upgrades, better brakes, engine swaps and electric conversions.

Suzy McElhattan connected Squires with Tom Sedor.

"Tom and his wife brought their amazing car to our fundraiser, and it was a tremendous hit," Squires said. "We had a ton of people stop in to see it and have the opportunity to sit in it and get their picture taken. Since then, we have had him come to town for a few of our other events, and each event has been a great success. We really appreciate what they have done to help us out."

Rates for renting a DeLorean Time Machine through the Sedors’ business vary extensively based on variables such as how much travel is involved, but customers can expect to pay $275 an hour plus mileage and any overnight travel expenses — with a two-hour minimum and discounts for rentals beyond four hours. The hourly rate for renting a DeLorean DMC-12 without the Time Machine modifications is more affordable at $150 an hour. Typically, the dollar-figure cost for a Delorean Time Machine rental tends to wind up in four digits, even if the event starts and finishes on the same day.

Of course, DeLorean owners have made significant investments in their cars. According to Hagerty Insurance, values are $116,000 for a vehicle in concours condition, $80,500 for excellent condition; $53,300 for good condition; and $32,000 for fair condition.

The car’s connection to the “Back to the Future” franchise no doubt has boosted values.

One person who appreciates the staying power of “Back to the Future” and the iconic role of the DeLorean is, of course, Michael J. Fox himself.

In his 2025 book “Future Boy,” Fox calls the film “a magical movie, more magical than if it had been sprinkled with stardust.”

Even Fox, however, pulls no punches when it comes to the DeLorean’s flaws as a vehicle. People assume, he writes, that getting to drive the DeLorean as he did in the movie must have been exhilarating.

"I thought so too, at first, but soon I grew to hate driving the DeLorean," he writes in the book. "First of all, let’s face it — it’s a (crap) car, with cheap appointments — and that’s before our special effects crew added their two cents (or several million dollars, all in). Those jerry-rigged accoutrements — the flux capacitor and various time clocks and flourishes — tend to be rather rough-edged, metallic, and sharp."

Driving the car took a physical toll, Fox writes.

"After that first night in the driver’s seat, and for the remainder of the movie, my hands are crisscrossed with lacerations, my knuckles bruised, and my elbows contused from slamming into the space-edged console," Fox recalls.

The DeLorean, then, often takes it on the chin when evaluated on the basis of its merits as a vehicle.

Sedor, however, believes the car deserves much better reviews than it gets.

"The DMC-12 is one of the more spacious, ergonomically comfortable cars I've driven," he said. "It is so wide in the driver's seat that it’s like sitting in a recliner with wide armrests."

There’s a reason Fox might have gotten a bad impression of the car, he added.

"The Time Machine parts definitely take up space," he said. "Beyond that, the DeLoreans for the 'Back to the Future' movies were probably selected on appearance, not their mechanical condition. So they may have sat in garages rather than being driven on a regular basis and maintained."

Weissensel, Sedor’s business partner, suggested that the DeLorean DMC-12 was not in production long enough to warrant adding horsepower.

"The DeLorean started with a normally aspirated engine when production began, with a twin turbo expected in 1984," Weissensel said. "This is not unlike the Lotus Esprit that started with a normally aspirated 2.0L engine in 1976 — which was associated with poor performance — before eventually upgrading to 2.2L turbo in 1982, which pleased race enthusiasts. Had production continued, the next step was for the DeLorean to get increased horsepower."

Those buying DeLoreans nowadays have multiple ways they can boost performance, he added.

"With DeLorean turning 45 in 2026, many engine swaps are available, from Chevy LS to Honda VTEC," Weissensel said. “So horsepower junkies have a few options for their need for speed."

Some DeLorean owners do electric conversions, he added, using Tesla hardware or other setups. Weissensel’s Delorean limo is powered with such Tesla hardware.

Putting aside debates over its quality as a car, one must acknowledge one indisputable truth: The DeLorean’s Hollywood stardom has helped it carve out a special place in the annals of automotive history — just as it has done in the lives of Tom and Corrinna Sedor.

Story submitted by Bill McCleery. Photos by Bill McCleery and Tom Sedor/DeLorean USA Rental