The Bricklin: automotive fantasy or lost opportunity for prosperity?

Outrageous History!

When American automotive entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin and the Province of New Brunswick's Premier Richard Hatfield sat down for coffee at the Lord Beaverbrook Hotel in Fredericton in 1973, little did they realize the bumpy road they would soon ride together. At that meeting, Bricklin, ever the salesman, convinced Hatfield to commit to a joint venture between the province and Bricklin's company to manufacture a futuristic, cutting edge, high-performance sports car in New Brunswick. It wasn't that Hatfield had been swindled. If anything, Hatfield was just as enthusiastic as Bricklin about the proposal. Both men had put their reputation on the line and both, eventually, paid the price. University of Toronto history professor, Dimitry Anastakis, who is researching and writing a history of the Bricklin, takes us through the fascinating adventure of the Bricklin SV-1.