Mac Laren was a Brazilian manufacturer based in Niterói, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, that briefly ventured into automobile production in the 1980s. The company originated as a shipyard founded in 1938. By 1984, facing a steady decline in shipbuilding orders, it sought to diversify and make better use of its idle manufacturing capacity, leading it to enter the automotive sector. To this end, Mac Laren acquired from…