Former aluminum- siding salesmen (like those played by Danny DeVito and Richard Dreyfuss) could be missing out on the business opportunity of the century, or at least ceding the nascent market to one of their ilk who made a mint in rustproofing during the 1980s (before crashing out, o'course). Hap Hirsh, former owner of undercoating distributor Thermo-Guard, recently signed a deal with Chinese carmaker, Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co. to distribute the company's SUVs and pickups to the US. Hirsh, who once assisted Malcolm Bricklin — whose Visionary Vehicles firm plans to bring China-built Chery models to the states — in a former business venture, joins David Shelburg Sr. a businessman and former Bricklin associate from Scottsdale, Arizona in the race against Visionary to bring China's cars to the US. We can hardly wait to see the inevitable Barry Levinson movie about them.
Chinese Dreaming: Another U.S. entrepreneur signs deal, aims to import cars to U.S. [AutoWeek]
Related:
Malcolm Bricklin Profile in Inc. Magazine [internal]