As a young mechanic at a dealer that sold these cars I was chosen to fix the dozens of issues these things had. The senior mechs. Wouldn’t touch them. The colored body panels faded at different rates so most got repainted. The hatch windows kept falling in. One owner got stuck inside the car when the electrics failed. It was a lot of fun for a 19 year old mechanic.

Jay is keeping automotive history alive. I remember the Bricklin.

I know Jay likely won't see this, but I'm so happy he is healed up from his accident. And, if I can be a bit selfish here, I'm so glad he's back to doing this show. One of my favorite KZfaq channels. Glad you're back Jay and I hope you never stop making this show!

My Dad had a Bricklin when I was about 17. I remember that he had to have installed an aftermarket compressor for the doors, so that you could open it. But the compressor never really worked, so my brother and I would stop by an air pump at gas stations periodically to get them gassed up. Even STILL, the doors could only open like 3/4 of the way and they were OBSCENELY heavy. It sounded really cool inside it, and the car could have been outstandingly cool if only they'd have executed everything correctly. More's the pity. I miss that car, and I miss my dad. Cheers, Jay, for always bringing back good memories of me, my dad, and cool older cars.

In 1974 - 1975, I was a kid working at a "Jack in the Box". A guy came through the drive-thru in a brand new Bricklin. It was kind of a mustard tan color. I was fascinated with the car and the owner was glad to tell me about it. I asked him if opening the gull-wing doors was difficult in close parking... He said the door extended only nine inches from the car when opening and he demonstrated it by opening the door in the drive-thru. (I don't remember it taking very long at all to open and close.) As far as I remember, that is likely the only Bricklin I've ever seen.

Nice to hear Bricklin is 84 years old and still kicking 🌞

I am from NB and these were built about 40 minutes away from where I was born. I give Jay props for getting the details accurate! We were a small, poor province and we were very proud to produce a beautiful car like this! To produce a car that was being compared to the top performance cars of the time was something to be proud of at that time!

I bought one in Moncton NB in 1984 and drove it to Edmundston NB in March which is about 5 hours due north and the heater conked out and I almost froze to death. That was my first experience with disappointment. I then took the car to a body shop in Grand Falls to have all the delamination defects corrected which necessitated painting the car but it came out quite nice and was a show stopper. The doors was next to require repair and that was a challenge as my wife had gotten stuck in the car when a hydraulic hose broke and squirted oil on her. Boy was she pissed. Another defect was the alternator swing bracket which was made from sheet metal as opposed to cast that broke off going over a railroad crossing. I finally gave up and sold it as I was starting a family and reliable all year transportation was a necessity when winter lasts 6 months. This biopic on the car sure brought back memories..some good and some bad. Thanks for the memories Malcolm.

My dad was the chief fabricator at AVC Engineering where the prototypes were built. I think they built three of them. I watched the entire process from the clay modeling stage to the finished product. They built the Greenwood Corvettes there too.

Always found these cars fascinating but the more I learned the more I realized just admiring from afar is enough.

My buddy has two SV-1's sitting at his shop. The story goes some lady's father collected them, and has recently passed away. The deal she made him was to fix one up for her and get it running, and he gets to keep the other. We got the one he is keeping running a few weeks ago. Put a fuel pump from an 85 F150 on it, drained the old gas, put some fresh in, and it started within a minute. The carb was leaking everywhere, but it ran very good. The tires are 35 years old, so that gives you an idea on how long it has been sitting. Its still got a long way to go, but it will be a very cool driver when its done.

I'm from Minto N.B where the body panels were made. I was only a kid at the time but I remember there were rejected body panels regularly thrown out at the local dump. I think one of the main problems with those panels is the building where the panels were made was unheated [so I've been told by people who worked there] and that would really affect the resins not to mention the difficulties working in the winter in an unheated building. Another interesting note, Back in the early '90s I helped paint the house of a man who was pretty high up in the company and worked in the offices in St John. He had lots of stories about it but the one I remember is that there were actually two black cars built on special order for company use. IIRC, they were for higher-ups in the company. It was really something incredible for a pre-teen kid with cars on the brain to have real sports cars built in his little home town. [even if it was just the bodies]

I love how Jay remembers the car in the Mad Max movie but not the movie title. True car guy.

Some of my most favorite episodes are of Jay & Jeff shooting the breeze about cars, philosophy, and life in general. It's easy to see why these two regular guys who are wildly successful are so well loved and respected.

I graduated from high school in Canada in 1979. One of the rich kids in my graduating class used a Bricklin as a grad car. Someone else in the class used an Opel GT. Pictures of both cars made the yearbook.

It’s pretty dope that I’m 24 years young and a car fanatic. But what’s most dope is the facts Jay shows us classics & explains the history ( including the guess )behind these vehicles , and then I go to the comments and read some you guys stories that you guys had when the cars first came out and etc… as a young car guy it’s pretty cool that I get to, read , listen, & watch a piece the past. Feels almost as if I was there with all you guys in that day of age. Jay Leno & To All his Subscribers.. might not mean anything. But Thank You 🏁❤️ things like this make me feel whole. Seriously

This car was built just a few minutes from my house in Saint John, New Brunswick. There's still a bunch of them kicking around here. Super cool cars with an amazing history.

I love my Bricklin SV-1 and I drive it as much as possible. Always attracts a lot of attention anywhere I take it because so few people have ever seen one.

I was 12 years old in 1975 and do remember the car being built here in Saint John New Brunswick (St John's is in Newfoundland) but I am not sure I ever saw one on the road at that time. If I did the memory has left me. But some background on the city: Saint John is historically an industrial town on the smaller scale. A major ship building town at one point, it evolved into a paper producer and our port never freezes, so port activity was a big contributor to the economy back then, as we're the rail yards. But my recollection most from that time period was union strife within the various unions, and Saint John was heavily unionized at the time. My father was union president for the IBEW for 2 terms in the late 60s and it's no exaggeration to say whether it be the electrical workers, the ship yard workers, or the carpenters union which my grand father once held the role of president in, the city was militant. My career path was laid out, either power commission, shipyard or port, whatever it was I would have a job in a union gig. I don't recall the Bricklin plant being unionized. I could be wrong, but that would have been a huge deal back in the day. I know my father was not a fan and that may been the issue. He would have welcomed any employment opportunity for the city - provided it was unionized. Thanks for this Jay!

A Canadian car ahead of it's time. I remember seeing one at the A&W in 1975. I was in awe. It was very expensive at $25,000.00 CAD. My 1974 Dodge Challenger was $4,680.00 with taxes. A huge difference.

Fantastic job guys. I was 15 when all of this took place here in New Brunswick. I recall the media hype surrounding the economic potential, and how "futuristic" the car looked. Thank you for pointing out how its failure was not due to the local workforce. Well done.

Mr. Leno does so much more keeping interest in cars as more than appliances than any other entertainer. His love for cars as art and technology is palpable. Thank you so much for your time and energy in bringing your passion to us all!

1949 Crosley was first American auto with four wheel disk brakes, from Goodyear/Hawley. Built in Indiana. Corvette got 4 wheel disk brakes in 1965. Thanks Jay I love your show. I just added the information, so you are aware and give credit where credit's due, thank you very much

Jeff Dunham is my favorite guest on Jay Leno's Garage. He always brings unique vehicles & the banter between him & Jay is like two old buddies on a Saturday afternoon drive.

7:30 The De Tomaso Pantera actually used the Ford 351 _Cleveland_ for most of its production run. They only changed to the Windsor in '88 when Ford Australia ran out of Cleveland blocks (the US having ceased production of the Cleveland in '74.)

I love how the rear bumper looks like an 8-track tape sticking out of a player. Very "of the era". ;)

Built not to far from my home in New Brunswick, Canada. Thanks for putting our little province on the map Jay.

Car looked just like Forest Whitaker when they were trying to turn the headlights on!!!!! Lol

I love Jeff's enthusiasm for the malaise-era. I love it even more when Jay humors him and features some of his cars.

Jeff Dunham shares my particular love of cars. The uneven vacuum lights always make me smile when they lazily open and close and the weird cars that didn't do well are always the ones I look at the most

Really love how these guys appreciate the car for all it's aspirations while acknowledging it's challenges.

You're a national treasure, Jay. Thank you for sharing your many talents and gifting them to the world!

Love the whole Malcolm Bricklin story… and he’s still at it!😊

He brought up the crank windows like it was a bad thing. I'd much rather have crank windows than electric.

21:53 2 comedians making hilarious jokes and the lights go down Ba-dum-pum 🥁😂

This is a great video. I remember the Bricklin very well - a close friend owned one and it was maintenance intensive only because he bought it used. It was not maintained well, came from a sunny hot climate and had body laminate issues, headlights worked fine if they opened and my right shoulder got wet from the leaking door (he took it through a car wash!). The engine was a dream to work on - a lot of common Ford 351 Winsor (CA) parts were just about everywhere. We thought we were so cool - and we were (LOL).

I am a bit surprised that Jay didn't mention the 351 Cleveland. The Pantera used the 351 Cleveland, not the 351 Windsor. The 351 Cleveland was the high performance 351 from Ford. No doubt the Bricklin went with the Windsor since it was built in Canada while the Cleveland was built in the US.

Miss you guys doing the car-on-the-lift underside reviews. Please bring them back!!

I just adore Jay Leno. He's the car-expert fun uncle I never had who still keeps it real

The assembly plant was in Canada, and HQ in Scottsdale, but engineering was done in the Detroit suburb of Plymouth, MI, not far from AMC. Bricklin uses a LOT of AMC Hornet/Gremlin parts - brakes, chassis, etc. - not just the AMC 360 V8 in 1974. Some of the engineers were friends of my dad, and my dad had a 1974 Bricklin brochure with notes he wrote by hand about the production ramp up plan. I still have this brochure.

I've seen a couple of them up close here in N.B.. I got a chance to sit in one, at the museum (as I recall it wasn't roped off at the time). I remember the interior seeming rather simple, and somewhat pieced together with some gaps bigger than you'd see on other American cars. Like them or not, they still turn heads. That headlight demo was so awesome. Great episode Jay, & Jeff Dunham!

Great to see Jay feeling better and back on the Street. Jay is Number One !!!!

I was 9 years old living in northern New Brunswick when the company brought 2 of them to the shopping mall. It was showcased inside the mall. I remember how marvelled I was of this car... wanted one ever since . The sales person talked about all of the safety and options, good memories. BTW, Bathurst, N.B.

I remember the Bricklin saga as a teenager in New Brunswick, a darn shame it didn’t succeed. The last one I saw was a white one while I was visiting in Phoenix a few years back, it was exciting to see it in the rear view mirror then pass! Thanks for a great video!

The sounds, the smells and all the other senses you feel when you drive a cool car, isn’t that what makes cars so much fun. I’ve driven an electric car and it just didn’t feel right. It was like it had no heart, it was lacking a soul. I’m 54 so maybe I’m just to old. I still remember buying my first car, I loved it so much. I still remember the throaty sound it made when I pushed the pedal down, I still remember how it felt too. Same was true with any of my motorcycles. I used to go driving just for fun. I didn’t care where I went, it was the drive I loved. There was a good restaurant two hours away from my house that made really good pizza. Every so often I use it an excuse to for a drive. My now wife was the only girl I dated who got it. If it was a nice day, she’d suggest we go for a ride. She loved to put her window down and enjoy every moment of it. That’s when I knew she was a keeper. Lol

I love old timer car stories. This is one of my favorite videos. Thank you!

I'll forget the first time I ever seen or heard of Jay Leno was on the TV show called Good Times back in the 1970s. He was hilarious.

Great for having Jeff Dunham on with you! Glad to hear both of you sharing your knowledge. I had a Pontiac Fiero in 1985 and can relate to some of the things you described. Father worked for General Motors so I had access to new cars every year from Chevy Vegas, Opels, Chevy Camaro, Corvette, Corvelle, Corvair, Impalas, Buicks, etc. They were tanks compared to today's vehicles but not so many safety features as you would think.

This could be my favorite JLG video....just two buddies tooling around and shootin' the breeze. Love this stuff! Great vid Jay. Thanks

Thank you, Mr. Leno for another great history lesson, it’s always a pleasure when you have Jeff Dunham on your show, he is truly a car lover and an expert on all cars. I see the similarities with a 240 Z as well seeing that I have one also🙏🏽

Without a doubt the best Jay Leno's Garage episode in a long time. Great to have an entertaining guest, who is knowledgeable and communicative. I know it's the nature of the beast, but many of Jay's guests can be talking about the rarest, most exotic sports car on the planet and you find yourself dropping off after a few seconds. Also loved the fact that there's a bit of car knowledge one-upmanship going on.

Jeff Dunham and Jay Leno. My first 2 choices to sit down and shoot the sh!t talking cars. They are treasures.

The kind of hilarious thing is, that car reminds me of all the 80's era "generic sports car" you'd see in cartoons. It actually has a nice retro look nowadays, and the idea of making a car that's supposed to be safer shouldn't have had to be a novel idea.

My dad was from St. John, we took a drive by the Bricklin factory back in '75, I would have been 10 years old. I still remember seeing hundreds of Bricklin's in the lot next to the plant. All the different "safety" colors. Red, yellow, blue, orange. Might even have seen Jeff's car there.

I took a paint and body course at the local votech school about 15-16 years ago and one of the guys had one of these and we tinkered with it trying to get it running. We managed to get it back road worthy but the body on his was in terrible shape it had separated so bad and we as a bunch of body shop kids never did manage to figure out how to fix that thing. Truly was an absolute nightmare of a car. My hat is completely off to whoever Je-fa-fa paid to restore that thing.

i grew up in southern New Brunswick and we used to see the Bricklin drive past now n then ,quite a bit .i remember at a car show, around there one time , and there were 4 of them sitting together . another thing i wanted to mention is one of the bigger cities in that area is called Moncton and right beside it theres a place called Dieppe .i noticed the poster in your shop Jay on this episode , with the same name on it .

Great video by two great entertainers and car enthusiasts! I was 9 years old, living in Saint John, New Brunswick (still do). There was a lot of unemployment in the day. Premier Richard Hatfield cut a deal with Malcolm Brickin and it was big news - a real honest to goodness car manufacturing facility was coming to town and it will put us on the map, and the region will become affluent with big manufacturing dollars! There was an allure that we would finally be famous the world over for producing a really fancy car way ahead of its time. While I was only 9-10 years old, I could feel, (but not completely understand) the hype of it all at the time. When the whole thing failed in 1976, there was, and continues to be much synicism that "Tricky Dickie" (the Premier) had a kick back deal where he would funnel public money to Bricklin, build cars for a couple of years, shut it all down, and the two of them would walk away with a suitcase full of money each. Of course, we know that is was an engineering, parts procurement, and most of all, a production failure because they didn't put experience or investment into the manufacturing. They put all the eggs into the Research and Development, and by the time they hit the manufacturing phase of the project, they were trying to stretch the finite amount of dollars left. Thank you gentlemen for this! There a few still around town here!

So much like the Delorean. Ambitious in appearance, Substandard below the surface.

"You can't appreciate what you're doing on the road." Perfectly put.

As the headlights open they are like a sleepy person walking from a dream, then when the switch is hit it becomes a person being put under anesthesia 😂 KNOCKED OUT

Jeff knows how to pick em. What a neat car, a glimpse into the future back in '75

When I was a kid I saw the same colour car in a Halifax, Nova Scotia show room. I can still remember the feel of the door switches. To me, in 1976, it was the coolest car in the world.

As a Detroit kid I remember the Popular Mechanics issue discussing the SV-1 and all the excitement of the design. It was beautiful and weird, too bad it did not catch on and get refined. I love how Jay thinks and has the ability to live out a working guys dreams. Jeff was very knowledgeable too, really car guys talking real car guy stuff.

I love Jeff’s collection he has the unique, interesting stuff.

I was working in San Francisco a few years back and had a day off. Went up to Muir Woods and walked the (main) trail (HIGHLY recommended). When I came out to the parking lot there were 11(!) Bricklins in the parking lot!! I'd never seen more than 1 at a time - evidently this was a Bricklin club road trip. Awesome looking vehicles.

1975 a long time ago. Dam J just made me feel old.

The Bricklin aside, it was most fun and enjoyable to see and hear the warm repartee between two good friends who are comedic and love cars. Thanks, Jay and Jeff for sharing this car with us!

It's always entertaining when Jeff Dunham visits Jay Leno's Garage. Hilarious and down to earth 🙂

I'm glad that Jay mentioned the DeLorean. There are so many parallels between the two cars, it's absurd. If this had a blockbuster movie behind it, instead of its stainless steel "successor" I can imagine they'd be far more well known.

I love how grounded and drama free these videos are. Just good solid stuff! Saw Jay live in MA this weekend - sharp as a tack. Man, he is funny. BTW, i like how Dunham died his hair “Safety Red” for the bit 😅 Jeff is obviously a real car guy - he starts talking and he lights up!

Jay and Jeff are so fun together , plus they have a great tailor.

Brings back memories! A neighbor down the street got a red (orange) one just like Jeff's. I was 12 and remember seeing him drive by and pull into his driveway. Jumped on my Stingray bicycle and rode over for a closer look. Looked so futuristic with the gull wing doors. He let me sit behind the wheel, funny how some memories stay with you!

My neighbor across the street had one for a while. It was white and had numerous problems. It was no where near this nice. It was the only one I saw inside and up close. Interesting car with lots of potential. Too bad it never cought on or got past the teething stage. Love the show and the unique cars you showcase.

Jay is keeping automotive history alive. I remember the Bricklin.. Nice to hear Bricklin is 84 years old and still kicking .

You know it wasn’t a bad looking car and even by today’s standards is still a pretty good looking car. I remember them, but mostly seeing them behind barns and garages with old pieces of lumber layed on them.

In the late 80's my drama department had a car wash in Newport Beach. One of these came in and I told everyone to stop. We changed out our rags to wash this. My dad had a cherry 66' Mustang and I knew what this was. We gave it a good clean wash, but I respected what we were washing.

I've had mine since 2003- always a head turner when I brought it out. Herb Grasse was the designer of the car and it was his Pantera brake lights that they used when showing the prototype to Malcolm

My dad's 1970 Volvo 145 had 4 wheel discs. I think the first 140 series from the late 60s were 4 wheel disc. My dad's comment: "The brakes'll put you through the dam windshield!"😊 There were more choices for rear axles in drum brake versions.

Jay, the headlights opening up has me in stitches.. love your show!

I was in my teens when the bricklin was made. I remember all the hype around it. Living in Canada at the time. I remember how cool it was to have a car like that being Canadian built. Didnt know anything about its construction

I feel the same way about the DeLorean. I think John was a genius and had an amazing concept. Unfortunately by the time they built the factory in Ireland and changed almost everything it was doomed. It still has a special place in my heart. One day I still hope to own a DeLorean, or at least drive one.

I owed a Safety Red serial#00887 1975. I was tossed between a Pantera and the Bricklin, I loved that they shared tail lights, but the rusty Pantera gave way to the Acrylic, gull wing doors , and the uniqueness. Although the "B's" 351 Windsor was no match for the Pantera's 351 Cleveland. My friend recently sold the two he had from new. Neither "B" had 1000 miles on them. Perfectly stored and maintained. Excellent episode. Keep on keeping on.

Glad you featured this car Jay. Jeff Dunham has a great car collection. The Delorean is my all time favorite car and Bricklin is the Canadian Delorean. Very interesting cars despite the build quality issues. We have one in my town in Safety Green. The Ford V8 cars I've heard are easier to buy engine parts for. Just gotta remember they are highway cruiser cars not supercars. Glad these are still around and being taken care of 😊

You and Jeff put together a fun video that exceeded my expectations. I remember the car reviews from the day and they almost treated the Bricklin as an exotic car.

I love my 1974 Bricklin SV1 I have of the rare 4 speed cars ! Completely restored to original. And signed by Malcom Bricklin

Door failures were common. My friend got trapped in his when the doors wouldn't open and neither would the windows. He got someone's attention in the parking lot who contacted a mechanic who somehow extracted him from the vehicle. He sold the car immediately.

I'll always admire Delorean and Bricklin, despite their ultimate failure, because they launched the creation and production of unique and beautiful cars despite the low odds of their success. They are a very rare breed.

Back in the 80’s my sister dated a guy who had one. It was green. It was already falling apart pretty badly, and then he hit something and poked a hole in the oil pan. Anyway, we lived in Fairbanks Alaska and I ended up helping him fix it. Took the pan off I think, did some welding, etc. helped him with the doors and such. I labeled myself the furthest north Bricklin mechanic. I probably still hold the title 😝☺️

Thank you for showing this car that was built in my province. This so far has been my favorite Jay Leno's Garage.

Absolutely wonderful video. These guys are so good together, and Jay is a TREASURE!! I wish Jay read these to know how much we appreciate his work. 👍

Jay’s expression is is priceless when operating the headlamps. "that says quality" 😂

What an interesting tale behind this car. First time I've seen one. I recall the name, but none of the details behind it. Thanks for saving this one, Jeff. As always, thanks for bringing automotive history to light, Jay.

This is an awesome episode! I sure would have loved to have some of your video in my "Bricklin Chronicles". Thank you Jay for this fine presentation of the Bricklin

Found this...by accident...I am pleasantly surprised. I love Leno & Dunham. I also love Bricklin's, however, I am not able to find/acquire one. My wife & I married 1973...50 yrs later I still love the car...and my wife...lol. This segment of JLGarage was fun. I will laugh for a loooong time watching the headlights operate...LOLOLOLOL...the thump on the hood to close the (lazy-eye) driver side was perfect. Looked like...Bubba J. Thanks, gents, for the segment...SAFE driving.

I love listening to Jeff, and Jay talk about cars.

Top-notch entertainment. These guys are the pinnacle of fun. I loved this show. ton's of facts and even more of fun and humor added to it. Can't fail. I just love watching this.

Nice to hear these two guys appreciating the Bricklin for what it was. I've seen too many people on television giving them no respect.

It's really good to see a Bricklin actually being driven in the age of automotive appliances. I expected a lot of negative feedback as has been the case with some other iconic cars, but, hey, it was a pretty positive take, overall. Sad that a Pantera owner doesn't keep his 351s straight, though. The 351W was never a real performance engine from the Ford factory, until the 351 Cleveland had been gone for a long time. In the early '80s you had the so-called 351 H.O., for pickups and police spec vehicles. The '95 Cobra R model Mustang had probably the highest performing factory production 351W. The Panteras that came to America had 351 Clevelands, not any prettied up truck engine like the 351W. But, heck, it's very in style to replace old iron with stroked Windsors, so maybe that's what you did with your Pantera, for all I know. When Jay says that people tended to drive 50-60 MPH in the '70s, I had to laugh and shake my head. He must have been hanging around with some real...oh, yeah, Hollywood, Burbank, Beverly Hills. Okay, then. I didn't know anybody with a pulse that drove that slowly, not by choice at least. State trooper, county sheriff or city cop drawing a bead on you? Yeah, then you slow down to that kind of non-speed. I twisted apart more speedo cables than I can count back in those days and for a while onwards. No point replacing them, either, because I would just make mock of the replacement as well. Less traffic then, unless you were in L.A. or some place like it. Many, MANY less traffic cops per capita. And although performance of cars has advanced hugely in most ways, even a 3.91 Dana 60 equipped Mopar will make short work of the miles at 6200RPM. The benchmark for every gearhead I ever knew back then, unless they were so Chevy-centric that they wouldn't acknowledge anything Ford powered doing anything of note, was not a Hemi Belvedere. Badass car, certainly. Impressive in several ways. Yes, and yes. But THE benchmark for any real gearhead, for many, many years was the Shelby 427 Cobra. Nothing on the planet that someone with a good deal of money and who was not a professional race driver could legally acquire came anywhere near it's performance. Not for a long, long time. Thanks to you and all the people you know for sharing modern views of all the classic and sometimes largely unknown vehicles of the past.

They made these just down the road from where I grew up, my father worked on the assembly line, I still have his Bricklin name tag . I always wanted to own one of these, hope to one day have one .

I had one of these, #2417. Pretty much the worst car I've ever owned, a total money pit that set me back for years trying to get it right, and I never did. They are truly beautiful cars, and as Jay alluded to, all you had to do was pop the doors at a gas station and you were belle of the ball. I owned mine in the early 2000s and even then it was a show-stopper. But there were also issues such as the air doors in mine had a leak in the system, so they would run out of air (there's a tank hidden in the rear bumper -- which means you could stop at a service station and use the tire air station to refill your doors so they'd open/close properly). Like the mid-70s C3 Corvettes, they are terribly slow; they handle a bit better than the Corvettes of the era but the brakes will give you an ulcer, and the AMC -sourced rear end didn't feel like it was properly located by the suspension, so the back end tended to wander a bit too much. Mine suffered from the leak issue to the point that it became unusable in any kind of mixed weather. But the crash safety aspect was no joke. They got that part of it right ... but very little else, other than the styling.