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Malcolm Bricklin


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#1 WGD706

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Posted 10 September 2007 - 12:05

Former Orlando resident Malcolm Bricklin has long been one of the most interesting people in the automotive world, with a past that includes building his own Bricklin sports car; importing the Yugo; bring Subaru to America, and recently, announcing that he would be the first to import Chinese cars to the U.S., which isn't happening. Now, he's planning a luxury plug-in hybrid, announced in a press conference last week.

Here's an excerpt from a story in Autoweek by Kevin Wilson, writing about Malcolm:

"At 68, by his own admission, Malcolm Bricklin isn’t getting any younger. But his adventurous entrepreneurial spirit doesn’t seem to be aging. The man who first imported Subarus (the turtle-like 360) to America, produced a safety/sports car with gullwing doors in Canada, and brought us the Yugo, now pledges to build a 100-mpg plug-in hybrid car by 2010 and intends to win the Automotive X-Prize with a production model.

"In a joint teleconference call with X-Prize Foundation chairman Peter Diamandis, Bricklin explained that his Visionary Vehicles operation, originally created to import cars from China, has morphed from an “LLC” to an “Inc.,” and retains 26 of its original 28 dealer partners as investors. Another $50 million capital investment, he said, would be announced by the end of this month.

"Bricklin says he’s still in conversation with potential Chinese partners, but that he hopes his hybrid car can be built in the United States, perhaps in one of the factories recently closed by domestic automakers. This would fit in with Visionary’s low-cost production goals, he suggested, because it might be possible to get the factory “for free” and because the beleaguered United Auto Workers union is “willing to talk in sensible terms now.”

"Leaving an opening to build the car anywhere in the world, he said Visionary would select the production location for the as-yet unnamed vehicle by mid-2008."
http://blogs.orlando...-boy-brick.html

Read the rest of Kevin's story at
http://www.autoweek....07001/1530/FREE.

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#2 275 GTB-4

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Posted 02 May 2015 - 07:30

I saw two fine examples of Malcolm's work in Arthurs Seat, Victoria quite recently...impressive vehicles.

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#3 D28

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Posted 03 May 2015 - 16:11

Bricklin is less than fondly regarded in New Brunswick Can, where he left taxpayers holding the bag for at least $25 M when his  Bricklin  gullwing venture finally ran out of other people's money. Not the first or last entrepreneur to attract gullible government backing, but any people dealing with him should invest  very cautiously.


Edited by D28, 03 May 2015 - 23:49.


#4 275 GTB-4

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Posted 03 May 2015 - 22:52

Bricklin is less than fondly regarded in New Brunswick Can, where he left taxpayers holding the bag for at least $25 M when his  Bricklin 
gullwing venture finally ran out of other people's money. Not the first or last entrepreneur to attract gullible government backing, but any people dealing with him should invest  very cautiously.


Ohhhh Dear...so it looks like he snowbirded down to Florida to escape the heat! Another Delorean debacle!

Thanks for letting us know...as always, a pity that a nice engineering exercise was been soured by greed or incompetance  :|



#5 Catalina Park

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Posted 04 May 2015 - 01:25

There is a lot of common chapters in the Delorian story and the earlier Bricklin story.
Anyone would almost assume plagurism.

#6 Ray Bell

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Posted 04 May 2015 - 05:12

All the same, it's nice that the opening post got a reply after seven years and four months of lonely existence...