Bricklin SV-1, 1975, Sports Car

Famous for its gull-wing doors and acrylic-plastic body, the Bricklin is the best-known postwar Canadian car. Conceived in 1971 by American businessman Malcolm Bricklin, the Bricklin automobile was intended as an economical and safety-oriented sports car for the North American market. With loan guarantees of $2.8 million from the New Brunswick government, as well as the province's purchase of 51% of the company's shares, Bricklin Canada Ltd. established a car factory in Saint John in 1973, and became New Brunswick's first automobile manufacturer since Maritime Singer went out of business in 1920. All of the Bricklin's major components - transmissions, brakes, suspensions - were purchased from other auto makers. Acrylic body panels were to be manufactured in Minto, New Brunswick and then shipped to Saint John. Originally GM Opel 4 cylinder engines were to be used, but this was changed to American Motors Corporation engines, then to Ford V-8s. The SV-1, the model featured on the souvenir stamp, had a box-section perimeter frame and encircling rollcage structure that was intended to provide protection in collisions. Sadly, two years after the factory opened, Bricklin Canada folded because of production problems. As much as 60% of the production of the Minto plant had to be scrapped, and a quarter of the acceptable output was damaged in transit to Saint John. The gull-wing doors weren't working properly, and the weight of the V-8 engine was double that of the four-cylinder plant that the design called for. When the company closed in 1975, about 2700 cars had been built and sold. The province of New Brunswick lost about $23 million; nonetheless, automotive history has been made.