#13 on the Dumbest Cars of All Time
As I was cruising AOL Autos for another project, I came across an article entitled "The Top 20 Dumbest Cars Of All Time". It was a great chuckle for the start of the day, I of course knew the cars listed (new and old) and was slightly offended that the Pinto made the list. Yes, my grandpa owned a 1975 Pinto and I LOVED that car, Orange plaid and all.
But number 13, is the one that caught my eye. I had never heard of it, so I thought I would do a little digging, and this is what I found out. Thank you to all of the researchers that went before me who provided 99.98% of this information.
Why was it rated #13 on the Dumbest Cars Of All Time: Well according to AOL Autos Staff:
Simply naming the car after yourself is a guarantee that things will not go well.
The Bricklin was the creation of Malcolm Bricklin and SV-1 stood for "safety vehicle 1". The American auto world was looking at trying to compete with the asian market for the small car market. Let's face it, we made them big, and lound and gas guzzling, and with the fuel market what it was, it was time for some forward thinkers to get in there and do some thinking. - thus the Pinto and the Vega, and the Bricklin SV-1 were conceived.
The basic idea of the Briklin SV-1 was a safe and economical sports car, but due to the extra weight of the safety features, the car was grossly inefficient and simply a safe sports car. Despite Bricklin's status as the founder of Subaru of America, he lacked auto industry experience and asked Herb Grasse to design his dream. Due to his inexperience and a lack of funding, they weren't able to produce enough vehicles fast enough to make a profit. Only 2854 cars were ever built between 1974 and 1976. The company went into receivership, owing the New Brunswick government $23 million.
The Bricklin was designed for safety with an integrated roll cage, 5mph bumpers, and side beams. The body was fiberglass with bonded acrylic in five "safety" colors: White, red, green, orange and suntan. The cars had no cigarette lighter or ashtray. Non-smoker Bricklin believed it was unsafe to smoke and drive. The Bricklin is the only production vehicle in automotive history to have powered gull-wing doors, that opened and closed at the touch of a button, as standard equipment. (the DeLorean gull-wing doors are manual).
The 1976 models were not part of the original production, however, when George Byers and Sol Shenk of Consoidated Motors purchased the majority of the parts and remaining cars left on the line, they assembled them from left-over parts and were sold as the 1976 model.
Random Facts:
American Motors (AMC) - powered variants are welcomed at AMC club shows (as well as at Chrysler shows by virtue of AMC's purchase by Chrysler in 1987)
A Ford - engined Bricklin can be counted by purists as being an "unofficial" Ford. Bricklin owners are openly welcomed into Ford Classic auto shows.
A white one is in the museaum of Science and Technology in Ottawa, Ontario.
There is an Orange Bricklin on show as part of the haynes International Motor Museaum collection in Sparkford, Somerset in England.
There is also an Orange Bricklin on display as part of the permanent collection of the LeMay America's Car Museum in Tacoma, WA
In the 2007 season of Chop Cut Rebuild, Malcom Bricklin claimed that the Bricklin's "grey Ghost" prototype was the inspiration behind the DeLorean car.
A few Bricklins were used as squad cars for the Scottsdale, AZ police department in the mid-70s, They actually had the same paint scheme as regular squad cars and even had a single beacon on the roof.
There was a 30 minute film made in 1974 called The Bricklen Story on CBC - it did not win awards.
A Brickliln SV-1 makes a brief appearance in the 1982 film The Junkman
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 20036, the Canadian mint issued a $20.00 sterling silver Bricklin coin with selective gold plating.
Bothe the Bricklin coin and the Bricklin stamp were a great success than the car itself, selling out quickly.
Now wasn't that fun? For all of you car enthusiasts out there, sorry that I didn't list all of the specs, but a simple search will net you a wealth of information on that subject.
BLD
Bruce Titus Automotive Group, Inc.
But number 13, is the one that caught my eye. I had never heard of it, so I thought I would do a little digging, and this is what I found out. Thank you to all of the researchers that went before me who provided 99.98% of this information.
Why was it rated #13 on the Dumbest Cars Of All Time: Well according to AOL Autos Staff:
Simply naming the car after yourself is a guarantee that things will not go well.
The Bricklin was the creation of Malcolm Bricklin and SV-1 stood for "safety vehicle 1". The American auto world was looking at trying to compete with the asian market for the small car market. Let's face it, we made them big, and lound and gas guzzling, and with the fuel market what it was, it was time for some forward thinkers to get in there and do some thinking. - thus the Pinto and the Vega, and the Bricklin SV-1 were conceived.
The basic idea of the Briklin SV-1 was a safe and economical sports car, but due to the extra weight of the safety features, the car was grossly inefficient and simply a safe sports car. Despite Bricklin's status as the founder of Subaru of America, he lacked auto industry experience and asked Herb Grasse to design his dream. Due to his inexperience and a lack of funding, they weren't able to produce enough vehicles fast enough to make a profit. Only 2854 cars were ever built between 1974 and 1976. The company went into receivership, owing the New Brunswick government $23 million.
The Bricklin was designed for safety with an integrated roll cage, 5mph bumpers, and side beams. The body was fiberglass with bonded acrylic in five "safety" colors: White, red, green, orange and suntan. The cars had no cigarette lighter or ashtray. Non-smoker Bricklin believed it was unsafe to smoke and drive. The Bricklin is the only production vehicle in automotive history to have powered gull-wing doors, that opened and closed at the touch of a button, as standard equipment. (the DeLorean gull-wing doors are manual).
The 1976 models were not part of the original production, however, when George Byers and Sol Shenk of Consoidated Motors purchased the majority of the parts and remaining cars left on the line, they assembled them from left-over parts and were sold as the 1976 model.
Random Facts:
American Motors (AMC) - powered variants are welcomed at AMC club shows (as well as at Chrysler shows by virtue of AMC's purchase by Chrysler in 1987)
A Ford - engined Bricklin can be counted by purists as being an "unofficial" Ford. Bricklin owners are openly welcomed into Ford Classic auto shows.
A white one is in the museaum of Science and Technology in Ottawa, Ontario.
There is an Orange Bricklin on show as part of the haynes International Motor Museaum collection in Sparkford, Somerset in England.
There is also an Orange Bricklin on display as part of the permanent collection of the LeMay America's Car Museum in Tacoma, WA
In the 2007 season of Chop Cut Rebuild, Malcom Bricklin claimed that the Bricklin's "grey Ghost" prototype was the inspiration behind the DeLorean car.
A few Bricklins were used as squad cars for the Scottsdale, AZ police department in the mid-70s, They actually had the same paint scheme as regular squad cars and even had a single beacon on the roof.
There was a 30 minute film made in 1974 called The Bricklen Story on CBC - it did not win awards.
A Brickliln SV-1 makes a brief appearance in the 1982 film The Junkman
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 20036, the Canadian mint issued a $20.00 sterling silver Bricklin coin with selective gold plating.
Bothe the Bricklin coin and the Bricklin stamp were a great success than the car itself, selling out quickly.
Now wasn't that fun? For all of you car enthusiasts out there, sorry that I didn't list all of the specs, but a simple search will net you a wealth of information on that subject.
BLD
Bruce Titus Automotive Group, Inc.
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