This really only seems to be a huge issue with this community. The auto industry does this all the time, and people are more than happy to oblige. If you're building a house, you're often required to put a large payment (percentage wise) up front and deadlines/budgets are missed all of the time.
I realize this is apples and oranges, but IMO, the mining community is pretty unique in their entitlement demands and expectations. I really don't understand why every BFL thread needs go through 250 posts of bullshit. If the argument is of morality or philosophy behind ASIC development (by anyone) then it deserves its own thread. If it's to further hack and bash at BFL's business practices, there's a thread for that in Offtopic.
There is a huge difference between a deposit and 100% payment. When I bid on my house I put 1% of the purchase price into escrow as good faith money.
Regarding cars, this is an excellent example. A dealer is charged the full price of a car he ordered the exact moment it rolls of the assembly line. Not a minute before that. If you want to purchase a custom configured car, you will need to pay a deposit with the dealer, but certainly not the full price. I considered buying a Tesla a couple years ago and they were asking for less than 10% as a deposit at that time.
Car dealers are required to post a financial bond to help reimburse any customer deposits in case of insolvency.