Page 3
Malcolm Bricklin's first franchises,
which sold in the early 1960's, got him into trouble; so would some of his
later franchises. By the time he was twenty-five his name was on half a dozen
lawsuits, and there was even more by the time he was thirty-five.
When Malcolm dropped out of university in 1958, he established a building
supplies business in Orlando, Florida. Malcolm could draw on established lines
of credit and suppliers... he was learning about the business. He decided to
franchise Handyman stores which sold hardware. An investor would pay $250,000
for a Handyman licence to a territory such as the Western States. When the
Handyman chain was at a peak of 18 stores, the lawsuits started. Malcolm was
being sued for $153,000 plus court costs. The three plaintives had made down
payments of $95,000.
After several other success and failures Malcolm formed
two car companies. General Vehicle Inc. and Bricklin Vehicle Corporation were
incorporated in 1971. Malcolm had his designer, Meyers, design an inexpensive,
four-cylinder car. Malcolm thought the car should have gull-wing doors. He
complained that the Meyers design looked like the Datsun 240Z. Malcolm replaced
Meyers with Marshall Hobart in early 1972. Hobart's designs were turned over to
Dick Dean in mid-1972. Dick Dean was a custom car builder in southern
California. By late 1972 he had constructed a prototype car.
 |
|
19 More
All pages © Heritage Resources and New
Brunswick Community College - Saint John.
One of Malcolm's first automotive
bankruptcies involved importing this beauty in the 1960's! Read more about it
later in this website