The DC-10 was discontinued after the many failures in the 70's--leading up to the grounding of the entire fleet after the AA DC-10 crash in Chicago. Douglas retired the name after orders dried up and the public's confidence of the plane tanked.

The MD-11 is a beefed up DC-10 with many fuel/labor enhancments. The biggest improvement was done to the onboard computer systems. The "new" product was going to save the plane but Douglas botched the process with too many cost overruns and delays.--dooming the plane to the competion. The MD-11 is prone to tail strikes and needs very careful attention during landings.

After the merger, Boeing discontinued all of the Douglas planes (except the 717---I excpect this to be discontinued soon) so they could concentrate on their own planes.

The biggest fans of the MD-11's are the air freight companies--they love them. All existing passenger MD-11's will be eventually converted to freighter use.

I have always thought the 1011's were a better product than the DC-10's/MD-11s. Even the smaller details just made more sense such as the 1011 does not have any over the wing exits---the DC-10 does.