18th May 2003, 09:16

As a 1975 Bricklin owner I can only applaud the car as a word of art. Upsides and downsides set aside, the car is just plain cool!

I meet young people everyday who have no idea of what the car is and its place in automotive history. The first question is usually... "is that a Delorean?" Thanks to "Back to the Future" for making the public aware of gull wing cars. Someone should make a high budget movie, or some popular television show should feature a Bricklin to set the record straight.

My usual reply is... "No this is the car that John Delorean copied." For those who were not around in the mid 1970's most don't have a clue about what a Bricklin was or is. But then too most of them don't realize that Sir Paul McCartney was the leader of the band Wings, or that he was involved in some other obscure band before that.

What I like most about Bricklins is that not everyone has one or can get one. My wife calls it the "Batmobile." I guess you could say I am a fan of obsolete and defunct car manufacturers. I own a 1950 Studebaker (Bullet nose) 1956 Nash Metro, a 1958 and a 1959 Berkeley, a 1969 and a 1970 AMX, and a 1974 MGB. The Bricklin is still my favorite.

I don't ususally race other cars because I don't have to. The other drivers can tell that the car is fast and that you could get a speeding ticket standing still. :) The car is a blast to drive and it's almost impossible to stop for gas without someone asking, "What kind of car is that?"

"It's a Bricklin."

"It's a what???"

Chuck Simms

Owner of # 2829.

4th Jan 2004, 13:40

I fell in love with the Bricklin when I worked at a Chevrolet dealership in Texas as a teenager after school. The cars had Ford 351 engines, were manufactured in a plant in Nova Scotia by an Arizonan and were sold by Chevrolet. Figure that one out!

A Road & Track review comparing the 1975 Bricklin, Datsun 240Z and the Corvette wasn't too kind to the Bricklin at all. Complaints abounded regarding poor fittings, leaks, the hydraulic door system and other things. For the kind of money one paid to possess such a vehicle (a Corvette was cheaper, and the Datsun was cheaper still), workmanship should have been better.

Yet, nothing prepares you for the arresting appearance of the car. Although gullwing doors had been done before (Mercedes) and since (DeLorean), this car was special. It just had a beefy sexy look. I've never gotten it out of my system. So I content myself with driving 300ZXs.

21st Jan 2004, 22:01

Actually it was manufactured in New Brunswick not Nova Scotia (it is the other canadian province next door to NS). Acrylic/fibeeglass body panels produced in Minto, NB, and then assembled in a large plant in Saint John (next to the port to make them easy to ship).

Past driver, 8th from the last off of the assembly line. Fast car... heavy feeling to it too. This one has less than 3500miles on it too ;-)

26th Jan 2004, 12:12

There will always be opinions on any subject based upon a person's personal experiences. For myself, I tend to take many of these opinions with a grain of salt. It's like deciding on what movie to see based upon a critic's review. I prefer to experience something first-hand and make my own observations. Had the original post emphasized something along the lines of "in my opinion" or "it's been my experience..." then perhaps people would not have gotten so defensive about it.

I just recently acquired #274 and am working on it enough to get it mechanically sound and have some fun over the summer before I start a ground-up, frame off restoration. My intent is to leave the car as original looking on the outside, but to make it something special under the hood. I'm confident that the 360 under the hood will do quite well as a stock engine until the time comes to beef it up a little.

I intend to fully enjoy this car for what it is, not what people tell me it should be or shouldn't be. As with anything, enjoyment comes from how much you allow yourself to be realistic about an object versus how it compares to your dreams about it.

Dennikro@hotmail.com.

7th Feb 2004, 09:22

Everyone has the right to their opinion, but having owned a Bricklin for three years now, I can tell you you'll get far more comments and talk to a lot more people than if you were driving a Vette, or almost any other car for that matter.

I also don't feel the need to race, but having driven a Vette too, my car would certainly stand up to the challenge. In my opinion, the Bricklin is a beautiful car and a pleasure to drive, as often as I can...

Rick

Vin 782

25th Mar 2004, 05:36

If you own or have owned one of these cars why don't you leave your own review about it???

14th Jul 2004, 19:56

I don't really know much about the Bricklin, but being a car person I have read quit a bit about them and am curtly looking at buying one. From what I have read though they seem to be a prime example of a car way ahead of its time and your revue seems a little bit false!!! I would enjoy any true info that people could give me about the car though. Just i-mail at Flyboy20000@aol.com Thank you.

26th Aug 2004, 10:46

Well, I think we have to agree to disagree.

Next July (2005) the Bricklin International Meet will be held in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Come to the event and see for yourself.

If you have a Bricklin, please bring it and register for the meet.

For more information about the meet, please email me at

bricklinmeet2005@hotmail.com.

For more information about the car, go to www.bricklin.org.

Ray Sharpe

Bricklins 842, 999, 1442 and still looking for a green one :)

1st Sep 2004, 18:55

I've owned a Bricklin (#1864) since February of 1984. I'm the second owner and I love the car. It has been tremendously reliable, and finding parts for it at Napa is easy due to the Detroit origin of most of the mechanical bits and pieces. I have found the performance of the car to be very comparable to a similar vintage Corvette.

If I had to fault the car anywhere, it'd be two things. First, the inside of the car can get hotter than the Arizona desert when the sun beats down (one of these days I'll fix my air conditioning). Secondly, I haven't been able to stop rain from finding its way into the car - the best solution I've found is to leave the car in the garage when clouds are threatening!

By the way, the Bricklin assembly line is moving once again. Go to www.modelbricklins.4t.com

Tim Palmer.