If only John DeLorean himself had a time machine, he might have gone back in time to help his past self keep the iconic car model alive until the Back to the Future trilogy would spike demand. Even without Hollywood’s help, DeLorean created a very unique car: brushed stainless-steel panels, a fiberglass underbody and gull-wing doors made it a head-turner. As did its sticker price: $25,000. At that price, there were other flashy, and more powerful models around. His company floundered, and soon so did DeLorean himself.

On this day, October 19, in the year 1982, the once high-flying auto executive John DeLorean was arrested at a Los Angeles, California, airport motel with a briefcase full of cocaine.

DeLorean won the eventual court case, citing entrapment. An FBI agent approached him with an idea to save his company that involved cocaine and smuggling, and DeLorean went along. But the court victory was a Pyrrhic one, as the DeLorean automobile company went into receivership. No more new models have been built, although willing buyers can have one assembled from many of the leftover spare parts. Or if you want the original, be prepared, as one collector did, to pony a sum north of half a million dollars.