History of the Bricklin Automobile

What do a Mercedes, a DeLorean and a Bricklin all have in common? Give up? They all have wings, well, gull-wings anyway. A gull-wing is a door that opens up rather than out. Vehicles with gull-wings are very futuristic looking, but these three cars are all from our past.

Most people have seen the odd-looking DeLorean either in person or on TV. Most car aficionados drool over the thought of owning a 1954 Mercedes 300 roadster gull-wing. But what about the Bricklin?

The Bricklin was a sports car that was manufactured in Canada from 1974 through early 1976 for sale in the United States. There were 2,854 cars built before the Bricklin Company went bankrupt. An estimated 2000 are on the road or being restored today.

Bricklin SV1 and Sterling Kit Car

The Bricklin was the creation of Malcolm Bricklin. Young Mr. Bricklin had become a millionaire at the age of 25 from a hardware and plumbing supply franchise business. His next venture was cars. In 1968, Bricklin went to work for Subaru of America and began importing the two-stroke Subaru 360. The Subaru was a big hit, but what Bricklin really wanted was to manufacture his own car.

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This chunky format, retro-feel encyclopedia reviews 150 of the most incredible cars in motoring history from the earliest to experiments for the future. Each automobile is illustrated and accompanied by informative text, a colorful quote, and a specifications box. Distributed generously throughout the book are delightful photographic spreads showing cars that are typical of their era. The chapters trace the story from the first steam-powered vehicles and the Ford Model T, to favorites such as the James Bond amphibian car, the holder of the supersonic land speed record, and right up to the latest Air car, which has been hailed as the true car of tomorrow.

In 1973, Bricklin found assistance from the New Brunswick government. New Brunswick agreed to help cover some of Bricklin’s costs if he would build manufacturing plants in Mintos and St. John’s. Bricklin agreed.

Bricklin’s goal was to sell a sporty looking, but affordable car. His intention was to sell them for under $4000. Unfortunately, when the first cars rolled off the assembly line, the price was $7,400.

Bricklin made only one model, the SV-1 which stood for Safety Vehicle 1. Standard equipment was a built in roll cage, side guard rails and shock absorbing, 5-mph bumpers. The car was designed to be safe in the event of an accident and had the powering and handling to avoid one.

Classic Sports Car Set

The Bricklin was a futuristic looking vehicle which was well liked by the general public and well photographed by the press, but it was never produced in large enough numbers to make a profit. By 1975, the price tag had skyrocketed to $9980. Production was supposed to be at the rate of 1000 per month. In the two years production took place, the most that ever came off the line in one month was 429.

The drivetrain, suspension, and many other components were made in Detroit. It took time to have the parts shipped to Canada and valuable production time was lost. The New Brunswick government soon lost interest in Bricklin’s fancy sports car and refused to shell out any more money. Complaints from owners also started rolling in. There was a problem with the electro-hydraulic door system, leaky door weather-stripping, and generally inferior quality when compared to other cars of the time. All these things lead to the bankruptcy of the Bricklin International Company. Bricklin has lost $20 million.

The Bricklin was a rather unique car. A distinguishing feature, aside from the doors, was acrylic body. A vacuum forming process bonded colored acrylic to the fiberglass body panels. The Bricklin was actually paintless and scratches could be easily buffed out. Bricklins came in only five colors: Safety Red, Safety Orange, Safety Green, Safety Suntan, Safety White. These colors were typical of the mid 70s. All cars were black below the belt-line and had beige colored interiors. Another complaint from owners was the absence of an ashtray or cigarette lighter.

Canadian Automobiles: Chevrolet Biscayne, Chevrolet Bel Air, Acura Mdx, Acura El, Bricklin Sv-1

There were 780 Bricklins manufactured in 1974. These cars came with a 220bhp AMC 360cid V-8 engine. In 1975, a switch was made to the 175bhp Ford 351W V-8 engine. The 1975 model year saw 2,062 cars roll off the assembly line. Bricklin went into receivership in September of 1975 with 12 cars left on the line that had VIN plates issued in 1976. The actual number of Bricklins manufactured is unclear. Several 1976 models were completed years later, making the total production figure even more confusing. The Clarkson Company of Canada was appointed by the court to sell the last 287 1975 models. A man named Bill Byers of Columbus Ohio was handed the last 12 1976’s of along with all stock and rights to the Bricklin name and trademark. A production final figure of 2,854 is generally accepted as the production count for the SV-1. There were a few more cars assembled from parts by private citizens and some 1976 models have VINs that exceed the 3000 mark.

The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History

Six months after its American introduction in 1985, the Yugo was a punch line; within a year, it was a staple of late-night comedy. By 2000, NPR’s Car Talk declared it “the worst car of the millennium.” And for most Americans that’s where the story begins and ends. Hardly. The short, unhappy life of the car, the men who built it, the men who imported it, and the decade that embraced and discarded it is rollicking and astounding, and one of the greatest untold business-cum-morality tales of the 1980s. Mix one rabid entrepreneur, several thousand “good” communists, a willing U.S. State Department, the shortsighted Detroit auto industry, and improvident bankers, shake vigorously, and you’ve got The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History.

As for Malcom Bricklin, well he hadn’t lost his interest in cars. Remember the Yugo? The Yugo was a small, box-shaped car that sold for under $4,000. It was supposed to be an alternative to purchasing a used car. The cars were made in Yugoslavia and exported to the U.S. Sound a little familiar? People were so distracted by the price that they failed to notice just what they were buying. The Yugo was cheap all the way around. The quality of these cars was so poor that used car dealers began advertising their lemons as a low-cost alternative to the Yugo. The man behind the Yugo venture was none other than Malcolm Bricklin. A total of 84,439 Yugos were built between the 1986-1990 model years.

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