User:Kumboloi/sandbox/Bricklin SV-1

SV-1
Overview
Manufacturer	Bricklin Canada Ltd. General Vehicles Inc.
Production	1974–1975
Model years	1974-1976
Assembly	Canada: Saint John, New Brunswick
Designer	Marshall Hobart Herb Grasse
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car
Body style	two-door coupé
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout
Powertrain
Engine	360 cu in (5,899 cc) AMC V8 (1974) 351 cu in (5,752 cc) Ford Windsor V8 (1975–76)
Transmission	3-speed Torque Command automatic (1974) 4-speed BorgWarner T-10 manual (1974) 3-speed FMX automatic (1975)
Dimensions
Wheelbase	96.0 in (2,438 mm)
Length	178.6 in (4,536 mm)
Width	67.6 in (1,717 mm)
Height	48.15 in (1,223 mm)
Curb weight	3,470 lb (1,574 kg)

The Bricklin SV-1 is a two-seat sports car that was built from 1974 to late 1975. The car was noteworthy for its gull-wing doors and composite bodywork of color-impregnated acrylic resin bonded to fiberglass. Assembly took place in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. To promote the SV-1 as a car designed with an emphasis on safety, the company touted such features as its integrated roll-over structure and energy-absorbing bumpers. The car's name is an acronym for "safety vehicle one".

The SV-1 was the creation of American entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin.

Among the factors blamed for the car's ultimate demise were ongoing quality control problems, nepotism, supplier shortages, worker absenteeism and a series of price increases that more than doubled the price of the car in two years.

The company stopped production after having built fewer than 3,000 cars. An estimated 1700 Bricklins were surviving as of 2012.

Corporate history

Subaru of America, FasTrack International

In 1968 Malcolm Bricklin was one of the co-founders of Subaru of America, which began selling the Subaru 360 Kei car in the United States. In 1971 Bricklin left that company, taking with him a cash payout and a number of unsold Subaru 360s.

Bricklin's next venture was a franchised race-track company called FasTrack International, where drivers drove cars around a closed course and paid per lap. An associated company, FasTrack Leisure Land, was established to franchise the development of resorts to be built adjacent to the FasTrack track facilities. The surplus Subaru 360s provided the mechanical underpinnings of the FasTrack cars. Bricklin hired Bruce Meyers to design a new plastic body for the FasTrack 360s. Bricklin personally owned a Manx SR, also designed by Meyers. One of Bricklin's managers at FasTrack used the same concept to set up a competing company called "Grand Prix of America". The manager was Zachary (Jack) DeLorean, and he brought his brother onto the board of GPA, an automotive executive named John Z. DeLorean, who would go on to establish the DeLorean Motor Company.

Company timeline

In 1971 Malcolm Bricklin registered General Vehicle Incorporated and another company bearing his name in the state of Delaware. Around this time he had developed an interest in automotive applications of acrylic. Bricklin instructed Meyers to design a body for a new full-size "safety car" with gullwing doors but was unsatisfied with the result. A running mock-up of a design done by Marshall Hobart was completed in December 1972, and was subsequently featured in a short promotional film sponsored by Bricklin. On the merit of the prototype and the film Bricklin raised $950,000 from banks in Pennsylvania and New York, $500,000 of which was from the First Pennsylvania Bank with the support of its Chief Executve Officer, John R. Bunting Jr. Rented space in Livonia. Struck a deal with AMC for engines. Hired Jack Reese, formerly with Renault at the Saint-Bruno Quebec plant. Reese to sell dealership franchises.

General Vehicle, Incorporated (GVI), incorporated in Delaware, moved to Scottsdale Arizona. Bricklin Motorcars, Limited, also incorporated in Delaware. Bricklin Canada, Limited, in Saint John, New Brunswick GVI design group in Livonia

- The Quebec government was anxious to find a tenant for a Renault plant in the province that was being shuttered. Bricklin asked for $7M. Quebec sent Jean de Villers, a senior Renault executive to assess Bricklin. de Villers recommended that the government reject Bricklin's proposal.

- Leon Klein, a Montreal accountant and business pitchman, contacted the New Brunswick Multiplex Corp., a joint federal-provincial development agency with offices in Saint John.

- Bricklin met with Fletcher (Multiplex), and brought Jack Reese, formerly of Renault and Mercedes Benz, George Rahman, formerly of Chrysler of England, Richard Vollmer, formerly on the team that developed the Ford Mustang and now Bricklin's director of Manufacturing, and Jean de Villers, formerly of Renault who had prepared the report for the government of Quebec and president of Bricklin Canada by June. Multiplex wrote a highly credulous report that borrowed heavily from the earlier Quebec report. This was forwarded to DREE recommending they provide a supporting grant to Bricklin.

- Factory space was provided in a former brush factory. General Vehicle Inc. was the parent company.

- Multiplex recommended that DREE provide Bricklin with a $4M grant. Bricklin met with DREE April 18, bringing the movie of the Grey Ghost. First Pennsylvania Bank offered up an additional $1M at this time. Bricklin wanted access to Auto Pact to eliminate duties on cars crossing the border. DREE hedged, and delayed.

- In April 1974 DREE provided a loan guarantee. Multiplex went to Harry Nason, the Deputy Ministry for Economic Growth for the province of New Brunswick, who took the issue to Hatfield.

- Hatfield read the DREE report, and got involved directly. A formal agreement was signed in June 1973 between the province and Bricklin for the company to build cars in New Brunswick.

On June 26 1973, with backing from Premier Richard Hatfield, the government of New Brunswick agreed to guarantee a loan of $2,880,000 for start-up and working capital to Bricklin Canada Limited. The government also agreed to buy 51% of the shares of Bricklin Canada Ltd. for an additional $500,000. The agreement gave the government the right to access Bricklin's books and some degree of control over the various Bricklin companies involved. This right was never exercised. Bricklin began to divert funds from Bricklin Canada to the US to cover expenses incurred by his related companies there.

- On June 26 New Brunswick guaranteed a loan of $2.88M for start-up and working capital.

The Bricklin Canada assembly plant was located in the Grandview Industrial Park in St John, New Brunswick, at 150 Industrial Drive in what had originally been a broom factory. A separate facility to produce the bodywork was located a 136 km (85 mi) drive north to Minto, New Brunswick,in a repurposed WWII Quonset hut.

In April 1974 the New Brunswick government raised their investment in Bricklin to $4,000,000. At the same time the Federal Department of Regional Economic Expansion (DREE) approved a loan guarantee of $2,700,000. In addition to this, the provincial government was required to deposit $1,000,000 in a non-interest bearing account with the other major investor in the Bricklin companies, the First Pennsylvania Bank.

- The cost of first few cars, largely hand built, was $50,000 each. The build cost of the first 800 cars was $16,000 each. Scrap rates for the molded body parts were 15 to 25 percent, even near the end of production.

- The per-car build cost of the 2880 cars produced was $13,000 each. A selling price of $6500 was announced in NYC. The wholesale price went from $2200 to $5400 (Loss of $8000 per car to Bricklin Canada) to $7200 (loss of $5000 per car to Bricklin Canada).

- A company named Visioneering was hired to do the engineering drawings for the production car, but when Bricklin fell behind on payment Visioneering refused to release the drawings until their account was brought up to date.

- On April 18 1974 the New Brunswick government increased its investment from $2.88M to $4M. Shortly afterwards DREE guaranteed a $2.7M loan. First Pennsylvania Bank agreed to provide a $3M credit if Bricklin Canada would deposit $1M in a non-interest-bearing account with First Penn, this money was provided by the government of New Brunswick.

- By summer of 1974 200 US dealers had paid more than $1M in franchise fees.

- The cost for first body components produced by Minto was estimated to be in excess of $50,000 per car. The plant was not ready to go into production, but Bricklin made plans for a plant-opening ceremony on August 6th.

- R.A. Woods Co. Ltd., a construction firm, placed a mechanic's lien against Bricklin plant in Saint John for non-payment of bills related to renovations at the Saint John plant. On October 8, the provincial government made a $2M "shareholder's loan" to Bricklin. (Election year?)

November 6 the province bought factory, after the owner placed a mechanics lien against Bricklin. Cost was $1,540,000, which included a $1,000,000 payment to the building owner and assumption of a $540,000 mortgage on the property..

- On November 6 the government agreed to purchase the Saint John plant from T.S. Simms and Co. Ltd by July 31 1974, but lease extended until October 31st ???. The government bought the plant for $1.54M and leased it to Bricklin. The sale closed on December 16.

- On November 8, the province approved a new loan of $1M for operating capital. This loan was not announced during the election.

- Wespac Planning Consultants of British Columbia was hired by the province to assess the viability of the Bricklin endeavour and to prepare production goals.

- On December 12 the Clarkson Gordon & Company was retained to monitor transfer prices and inter-company payments between branches of the Bricklin oranization. Touche-Ross & Co. had been hired as auditors. An additional $2.5M in financing was approved by the province.

- An additional $1M was advanced on January 23. On January 30 Premier Hatfield announced an offer of an additional $7.5M in financing (the earlier $1M was part of this offer.)

- In an agreement on March 11, 1975 the government took a majority position on the Bricklin Canada board of directors. The agreement would not be made public until December 17, 1975 - three months after the company went into receivership. Malcolm Bricklin was working on a new car model, and a new engine. The new model was to be called the Chairman. A condition of the new agreement was that FasTrack International Inc. subordinate its royalties on Bricklin cars until the $7.5M was repaid. This new financing agreement would be signed by Malcolm Bricklin on behalf of General Vehicle Inc., Bricklin Vehicle Corp., Bricklin Northeast Inc., Bricklin Midwest Inc., and Bricklin Power Supply Ltd.

- Bricklin instructed his engineers to start work on the "Chairman" car. Bricklin's US companies stopped forwarding payment for cars to Bricklin Canada. In July and August nearly $4M worth of cars were shipped without payment.

- In 1975 the dealer network began to collapse due to the car's poor quality and the lack of parts and support from Bricklin.

- Auditor Touche Ross reported to the New Brunswick government that it was unable to complete an unqualified audit due to the condition of the company's financial records.

- Shipments of cars to the US were halted by the provincial economic development minister until payments were made for cars already sent across the border. Clarkson Gordon determined that the company would continue to generate losses, and that another $10M would be needed by the company.

- On September 15 another $1.2M was provided by New Brunswick in letters of credit at the Bank of Montreal. 250 employees were laid off on September 18th.

- A budget was received from Clarkson Gordon on September 23rd. Bricklin Canada losses totaled $16.64M by June 30 1974. General Vehicle Inc. alone lost $6M.

- Report expected continued heavy losses, rising to an estimated $20.7M by March 1976. It estimated that additional capital of $10M would be required.

- Development of the "Chairman" was underway, led by by Grasse and Vollmer. The car would use a large Ford V8 engine from a Lincoln Continental, and the body and interior would have gold-plated fixtures.

- Salaries for family members ???.

- The Clarkson Gordon Company identified four goals. Projections were received September 23rd ???. Decision made to shutdown Bricklin down.

- Receivership proceedings started on September 25th.

- Bricklin was granted thirty days to present a plan to creditors for the continued operation of the company. If he was not successful the companies would be forced into bankruptcy. Bricklin claimed that he could arrange for up to $10M of private investment on the condition that the New Brunswick government provide an additional $15M in financing and agree not to interfere with Bricklin's operations.

- On November 17, the First Pennsylvania Bank began a court action to take control of Bricklin assets in the US. This would result in bankruptcy for Bricklin and the Delaware companies.

- The government of New Brunswick sought investors interested in reopening the plant, even though by this time the First Pennsylvania Bank had closed tenders on the sale of assets from the Canadian plants.

- Malcolm Bricklin filed for personal bankruptcy on December 12th. The First Pennsylvania Bank had seized and sold the inventory of Bricklin Canada Ltd.

- On December 15 Malcolm Bricklin resigned from the boards of General Vehicle Inc., Bricklin Canada Limited and his other US companies.

- Bricklin's US companies owed $34.6M when declared bankrupt on 12 January 1976. $26M was owed to the province of New Brunswick and the First Pennsylvania Bank through guarantees on loans to Bricklin Canada Ltd. Dealers were owed $1.5, and there were $3M in outstanding warranty claims. (US???) Suppliers were owed $929,000 and US employees were owed $133,00 in unpaid wages. The loss to the government of New Brunswick was estimated to be $23M?. Bricklin Canada owed suppliers between $4 and $6M.

"DREE finally came through with a 2.7-million guarantee, and the First Pennsylvania Bank lent $3-million."

"The second shoe dropped on September 23, 1975, when Clarkson Gordon and Company, hired in January to report on the company, filed their report with Lawrence Garvie. The accoutants reports that Bricklin's losses to the end of June 1975 totaled $23 million."

Receivership began 25 September 1975. Other government backed projects that had large losses did not have the same high profile. Bricklin managed to keep 700 people employed for 2 years.

Problems with producing bodywork that bonded the acrylic to fiberglass.

Bricklin US stopped paying for cars shipped to them from Bricklin Canada. Cost of the unpaid cars were $3,600,000. The cars received were sold at profit to dealers. Rate of production rose to 24 cars per day, until quality control issues forced it down to 16 cars per day. Each car still cost $13,000 to build.

First Pennsylvania Bank sold Bricklin's New Brunswick assets and all parts to Consolidated International Ltd., of Columbus Ohio. The body molds remained the possession of the province of New Brunswick.

The Canada Permanent Trust Company solicited tenders on the sale of Bricklin Canada assets and inventory at both the Grandview Industrial Park and Minto Industrial Park properties.

After the Bricklin manufacturer's receivership, George Byers and Sol Shenk of Consolidated Motors, an automotive liquidator from Columbus, Ohio, purchased the majority of the parts and remaining cars left on the line.

People

At one point early in the project Bricklin was in talks with John Z. DeLorean regarding the latter joining the company as President, and bringing his extensive experience and contacts in the automotive industry to the Bricklin project. The talks between the two broke down, and a short time later DeLorean told Bricklin that he was starting the DeLorean Motor Company.

The failure to meet DeLorean's terms notwithstanding, throughout the life of the Bricklin project the company was able to attract many people with extensive backgrounds in automobile design and automotive production. These included:

• Jack Reese, formerly of Renault and Mercedes Benz. In charge of developing Bricklin's dealer network.
• George Rahman, formerly of Chrysler of England.
• Richard Vollmer, part of the team that developed the Ford Mustang. He became Bricklin's director of Manufacturing.
• Jean de Villers, formerly with Renault, had prepared the report for the government of Quebec. Later president of Bricklin Canada.
• Ed Jones, a Production Manager with Ford Motors of Canada. He became Vice President and Director of Operations for Bricklin.
• Terry Tanner.
• Morris "Morrie" Adams, a former production line supervisor with Chrysler, transferred to Saint John after de Villers' departure.
• Jack Hennessey, hired as vice-president and general manager. He had worked in a management position at Ford plants in St. Thomas and Oakville.
• Vic Scully, a former accounting supervisor with Chrysler.
• Herb Grasse, previously in design at Ford and Chrysler, was put in charge of designing the production model.
• Tom Monroe, a Ford-trained engineer and the founder of AVC Engineering. He was tasked with designing the car's chassis.
• A. E. Jones, a former Ford engineer, developed a production schedule for the SV-1.
• C. A. Van Nortwick, a former Ford engineer, had the job of finding a process to bond the body materials in production.
• Jerrold Beaumont.

Many of these people would later leave the company. Reasons for their departures included frustration over seemingly intractable production problems, lack of management and fiscal oversight, interference by members of the Bricklin family, and the sense that Malcolm Bricklin did not understand the problems facing the company, much less have solutions to them.

Following the pattern set in his previous endeavours, Malcolm Bricklin hired many of his family members to fill important positions in his various companies. These included:

• Albert Bricklin. Malcolm's father.

Model history

Rear

Interior

Prototypes, design

Malcolm Bricklin wanted to build a small, affordable sports car with gullwing doors. Power was to come from a four-cylinder engine from Opel. Bricklin entrusted design of a road-going proof-of-concept car to Bruce Meyers, but soon transferred responsibility for the design to Marshall Hobart. Dick Dean built the car, which was complete by December 1972. This car became known as the Grey Ghost. When completed the car had a six-cylinder Chrysler Slant-6 engine instead of a four. Other features included a rear suspension from a Datsun 510, a braking system that drew parts from Opel, Datsun and Toyota, and a tilting steering wheel from a Chevrolet.

In 1972 the Bricklin Vehicle Corporation began working with Herb Grasse Design and AVC Engineering to redesign and re-engineer the car. Three prototypes were built with assistance from AVC. AVC engineer Tom Monroe would later join Bricklin as Chief Engineer.

Design of the production SV-1 was done by Herb Grasse, a graduate of the ArtCenter College of Design who had earlier been employed by both Chrysler and Ford. Grasse had also worked with George Barris on the conversion of the 1955 Lincoln Futura show car into the original Batmobile.

It is claimed that Grasse opted to use the same taillamp units fitted to his personal DeTomaso Pantera for the Bricklin. These Carello units were also used on cars from Maserati and Lamborghini, but originally appeared on the Alfa Romeo 2000 Berlina.

The first of the original three prototypes became known as the Red Car. While some references say that it, like the Grey Ghost, had a Chrysler slant-6 engine, pictures exist of a Bricklin identified as the Red Car with an Argentine-sourced version of the Kaiser/Jeep Tornado inline six-cylinder engine from an IKA-Renault Torino installed. All subsequent prototypes had V8 engines. As many as 8 prototypes were eventually built.

Manufacturing

The E.M.C. Company consulted on the plastic bodywork and built some trial parts. Toolmaker Visioneering Inc. would produce the master patterns for the molds using their new CNC equipment. E.M.C. expected to supply both the large panel press as well as a complete set of water-cooled cast aluminum molds for the 22 body-parts required for the Bricklin. Ultimately Bricklin only bought the press from E.M.C., opting to use epoxy molds for their bodywork. This temporary epoxy tooling would crack under pressure when in use.

Bricklin experienced persistent problems with the composite acrylic/fiberglass body panel technology. The acrylic resin first selected would blister at temperatures as low as 150 °F (65.6 °C). A substitute resin able to withstand higher temperatures was thinner than the original product, requiring an extra layer of fiberglass in the panel and increasing weight, so Bricklin reverted to the original resin. It was also discovered that ultraviolet light could pass through the acrylic layer, potentially degrading the polyester resins that were used to bond the acrylic to the fiberglass below.

To address these issues the company brought in polymer expert Archie Hamielec from McMaster University in Hamilton. A significant problem was lack of adhesion between the acrylic layer and the fiberglass. According to sources inside the company, as much as 60% of the acrylic used in the first few months of production was lost due to failures during the pressing and bonding stage, and another 10% was lost to damage during shipment of the parts from the Minto plant to Saint John. The only test for the integrity of the parts was a test suggested by Albert Bricklin, Malcolm's father, who proposed striking each part that came out of the presses with a seven pound hammer; if the part did not delaminate it passed. Even after an acceptable bonding method was found, in 1975 losses due to poor bonding continued to be 15% to 25% of the parts produced.

Release

The SV-1 was presented to a gathering of celebrities and potential dealers at the Riviera Hotel Las Vegas on 2 February 1974. The official unveiling of the car took place at the Four Seasons restaurant in New York on 25 June 1974.

1976 models

Among the inventory acquired by Consolidated Motors were several partially assembled cars which were completed by Consolidated and sold as 1976 models. Consolidated also built a small number SV-1s up from a bare chassis, and these were also sold as 1976 models. Bricklin had incorporated some minor body changes in the car for 1976.

Reviews and driving impressions

In a test done by Car and Driver magazine in May 1975 the performance of the Bricklin was found to be comparable to the contemporary Corvette, the only other V8-powered 2-seat plastic-bodied American sports car at the time.

Commemorations

• As part of a series commemorating Historic Land Vehicles, Canada issued the Bricklin Stamp on June 8, 1996. It had a face value of 45¢.
• In June 2003, the Canadian mint issued a $20 sterling silver Bricklin coin with selective gold plating.

Technical features

Production Bricklins were powered by one of two OHV V8 engines, depending on the year of manufacture. Cars built in 1974 received a 360 cu in (5,899 cc) AMC V8 from American Motors. With a single four-barrel carburetor this engine produced 220 hp (164.1 kW) and 315 ft⋅lb (427.1 N⋅m) of torque. Transmission options for the year were a 3-speed Torque Command automatic (AMC's rebranded TorqueFlite 727) or a BorgWarner T-10 4-speed manual. Of the 772 cars built in 1974, 137 received the manual. Cars built in 1975 mounted a 351 cu in (5,752 cc) Windsor V8 from Ford, a change which required an extensive redesign of the car's subframe. With a single two-barrel carburetor this later engine produced 175 hp (130.5 kW) and 286 ft⋅lb (387.8 N⋅m) of torque. As Ford had no manual transmission EPA certified for the 351W engine, transmission options were limited to the Ford FMX 3-speed automatic.

The front suspension used A-arms and coil springs and was made up of parts shared with a variety of existing AMC models. At the rear was a Hotchkiss system of leaf springs on a live axle.

Braking was by power-assisted 11 in (279 mm) disks in front and 10 in (254 mm) drums in back. Kelsey-Hayes provided the brake components for Bricklins built from 1974 to early 1975, after which the car used parts from Bendix.

The Bricklin's chassis was a steel perimeter frame with an integrated roll-over structure. The front and rear bumpers were designed to absorb the force of a 5 mph (8 km/h) impact.

The SV-1's bodywork was a composite material made up of acrylic resin bonded to a fibreglass substrate. The acrylic was impregnated with the body's colour, which had the potential to reduce costs, as it eliminated the need for the factory to paint the cars in a separate step. The five "Safety" colours offered were one of the few options buyers had.

The doors, which weighed 90 lb (40.8 kg) each, were raised by hydraulic cylinders controlled by switches in the interior, and took up to 12 seconds to open or close. The system was sensitive to the condition of the car's battery, as well as being prone to breakdown. The system used a single pump and had no door interlock, so opening one door at the same time as closing the other had the potential to burn out the pump motor.

The cars had no cigarette lighters or ashtrays. There was also no provision for a spare tire.

Special models

Police cars

In November 1974 Bricklin announced that they would supply five SV-1s to the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona. The cars were leased to the city for $1 each. The Bricklins had the same paint scheme as the department's regular cruisers and a single beacon on the roof. The cars were used primarily for public relations events. Officers found them too difficult to get in and out of, and the Arizona heat caused battery issues that would prevent the electrically operated doors from opening.

The "Chairman"

In 1975 development began on a more exclusive model to be called the "Chairman" that would sell for $25,000. While mechanically similar to the existing car, Chairman cars were to have a larger engine than the stock SV-1. Visually they would be distinguished by black interior and a black body with gold stripes, gold coloured wheels and trim, and a gold-plated toolkit. The buyer was to be flown to the assembly plant to watch their car being built and receive a gold jumpsuit along with the car on delivery.

Two existing SV-1s were used to prototype the Chairman. Prototype #3 was used for the car's exterior appearance, and SV-1 VIN #1339 was used for interior development. Work on the car began in Arizona in June 1975 and moved to Livonia by July. The Chairman did not reach production.

The unfinished interior model VIN #1339 was bought by former Bricklin Manufacturing Engineering manager Terry Tanner and completed in the style of a Chairman.

Mini Bricklin

In 1978 mini-car builder F.W. & Associates offered a miniature version of the SV-1 to existing Bricklin owners through the pages of the Bricklin International quarterly magazine. The cars were powered by a 3 hp (2.2 kW) Briggs & Stratton gasoline engine and could be ordered in any of the Bricklin factory colours. List price was $550.00. The serial number of each mini-Bricklin was the same as that of the buyer's full-size car.

Retrospective

Listed on Time magazine's 50 worst cars.

- Problems that likely contributed to the company's failure included the wide geographic separation between branches of the Bricklin organization. Another factor was management, which was described a inadequate if not incompetent.

"There were also management problems, mainly stemming from Bricklin's personality. He was able to hire managers with solid background in the automobile business, but he was not able to keep them. Frustrated by his unwillingness to delegate even the smallest decisions, many quit.

Nepotism was rampant as well."

In museum collections

• Artifact no. 1975.0622 in the collection of the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, Ontario is a white Bricklin SV-1.
• An orange Bricklin is part of the Haynes International Motor Museum collection in Sparkford, Somerset England.
• A white Bricklin is part of the permanent collection of the Western Development Museum's location in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada.
• An orange Bricklin is part of the permanent collection of the LeMay America's Car Museum, located in Tacoma, Washington, USA.
• A green Bricklin is part of the collection at the Musée De L'Auto located in Les Jardins De La Republique Provincial Park in Edmundston, New Brunswick. The car has 1976 New Brunswick licence plates bearing the DS (Dominion Service) designation, indicating that the vehicle was owned by the provincial government. This may have been the vehicle that was driven by Premier Richard Hatfield.
• A fully restored Bricklin was displayed at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, New Brunswick until it was damaged in a flood. The car was subsequently taken to an archive site for restoration.
• A tan Bricklin is on display in the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum in Titusville, Florida.
• In 1976, the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto exhibited an SV-1 that was cut in half in order to show design elements unique to the vehicle.
• A white 1975 Ford-powered Bricklin is on display at the Kraftfahrzeugmuseum (motor vehicle museum) in Sigmundsherberg, Lower Austria.
• Two white Bricklin SV-1s are on display at Charlie's Auto Museum, in Arthurs Seat, Victoria, Australia. One is an AMC-powered example, and the other a Ford.

In the media

• The Bricklin Story was a 30-minute 1974 film produced by In-Sight Productions and funded by Bricklin as a promotional piece. It aired nationally on the CBC network. Described as "television puff", it was roundly panned by critics.
• History Television and Barna-Alper produced a documentary, The Premier, The Promoter & Their Car, for its Turning Points of History series. The documentary explores the political fiasco that surrounded the Bricklin vehicle.
• Film company Cojak Productions and director Chris LeBlanc produced a dramatized retelling of the Bricklin saga titled La Légende Bricklin. Malcolm Bricklin returned to New Brunswick to shoot scenes where he played himself. Three Bricklins once owned by the Irving family were discovered in Halifax and were purchased for use in the film. The film aired on RDI and Radio-Canada on April 15, 2006.
• As part of its series Tout le monde en parlait, Société Radio-Canada presented a 30-minute documentary on the car that focused on its economic impact in 2013.
• Bricklin International member and New Brunswick resident Charlie Russell wrote a two-part song, "The Bricklin", which takes a satirical view of the history of the car.
• In 2010, Theatre New Brunswick and The Playhouse (Fredericton) produced a musical, The Bricklin: An Automotive Fantasy, portraying the Bricklin story through funk music. An orange-colored Bricklin similar to Hatfield's was used on stage during the show.

• New Brunswick Premier Richard Hatfield's 1974 reelection campaign was nicknamed "The Bricklin Election", in part because of his government's financial support of the Bricklin company and also because of Hatfield's use of an orange-colored Bricklin in his campaign. He blamed criticism of the car on the opposing Liberal government.

See also

• Bricklin EVX/LS
• Visionary Vehicles

Further reading

• "The Bricklin SV1: America's Newest Safety Car". Motor Trend. July 1974.
• Playboy. September 1974. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• Road & Track. August 1974. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• Motor Trend. August 1974. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• "A Look at the Bricklin & its Making". Motor Trend. November 1974.
• Road & Track. April 1975. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• Sports Illustrated. 5 May 1975. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) - Zachary (Jack) DeLorean
• "Bricklin SV1 vs. Vette". Motor Trend. May 1975.
• Motor Trend. November 1975. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• Pickens, Stillman "Still" (1977). How to Brickle The New Brunswick Funny Book - Interduction [sic] by Still Pickens. Fredericton: Omega Publishing Division of Omega Management Services. ISBN 978-0969073208.
• Pickens, Stillman "Still" (1978). Bricklemanship The New Brunswick Grief Book - Interduction [sic] by Still Pickens. Fredericton: Omega Publishing Division of Omega Management Services. ISBN 978-0969073215.
• Starr, Richard (1987). Richard Hatfield - The Seventeen Year Saga. Formac Publishing Company Limited. p. 85-98. ISBN 0-88780-057-2.
• Clarke, R. M. (18 July 1995). Bricklin 1974-1975 Gold Portfolio. Brooklands Book Ltd. ISBN 978-1855203099.
• Hale, James (24 April 2004). Dune Buggies. Motorbooks. p. 44. ISBN 978-0760316849.
• White, Richard (2007). Making Cars in Canada - A Brief History of the Canadian Automobile Industry. Ottawa ON: Canada Science and Technology Museum. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-660-19742-5.
• Vuic, Jason (2 March 2010). The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History. Hill and Wang. ISBN 978-0809098910.
• Cranswick, Marc (15 December 2011). The Cars of American Motors: An Illustrated History. McFarland Publishing. ISBN 978-0786446728.
• Ledoux, Paul; Cole, Allen (20 May 2015). The Bricklin: An Automotive Fantasy. Scirocco Drama. ISBN 978-1927922149.
• Conlin, Michael V.; Jolliffe, Lee, eds. (2017). Automobile Heritage and Tourism. Routledge. p. 40-48. ISBN 978-1-138-21910-6.

External links

• Bricklin International, club website
• Brochure Pages From The Bricklin at The Old Car Manual Project
• "In search of the Canadian Car - Bricklin SV-1", an online exhibition of the Virtual Museum of Canada
• Bricklin SV-1 in movies and TV series at the Internet Movie Cars Database

Category:Automobiles with gull-wing doors Category:Cars of Canada Category:Sports cars Category:Cars introduced in 1974 Category:Rear-wheel-drive vehicles