Jalopnik: malcolm bricklin

The 1970 Subarus: Driven By Very Groovy Chicks, Very Brave Hoons

Murilee Martin — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST

If you're young where it counts, the Subaru Sport is a grabber! We've got the whole line of Malcolm Bricklin's little imports, including the 360, microtrucks, and the innovative front-drive, boxer-engined Star.

Thanks to LTDScott for the tip!

The Cheap, Ugly 1969 Su-BAR-u 360: Wow!

Murilee Martin — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Back when Malcolm Bricklin decided to import the 66 MPG Subaru 360 to the United States, there was just one selling point: cheapness! This trio of ads, featuring a bell-bottomed babe and painfully dated flute-and-harpsichord soundtrack, gave no hint that one day SOO-bar-oo would sell huge quantities of somewhat less tin-can-esque vehicles in North America. When was the last time you saw a car ad trumpeting the cheapness of spare parts? Thanks to SOS10 for the tip!

How About A Yugo For The 24 Hours Of LeMons?

Murilee Martin — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EDT

When we were at Evil Genius Racing to get the cage put in the Black Metal V8olvo, we couldn't help but notice the bright red Yugo GV parked by the shop. Turns out the little Balkan pseudo-Fiat belongs to laboratory assistant and expert welder Evil Clint, who picked it up for next to nothing and is contemplating turning it into a 24 Hours of LeMons car. If he does... well, a Yugo would be a likely shoo-in for the People's Choice award, but it's a good thing Evil Genius Racing builds such solid rollcages- just imagine being in a Yugo on the same track as, say, the Size Matters Fury! Make the jump for more photos.

My favorite part? The "Use Only Geniune Yugo Service Parts" sticker on the air cleaner. You wouldn't want to put any low-quality parts on your Yugo, would you?

Every New Morning: Bricklin's China Plan Changes Again

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 17:00:00 EST

If one thinks about it, the only truly great thing Malcolm Bricklin ever did was bring Subarus to America. Other than that, Yugo? The Bricklin? Entirely amusing vehicles, but only if other people own them. So who really expected his venture with Chery to succeed? Well, we kind of did. At least for a while. But now that the Cheries are possibly on board to build the Dodge Hornet, Bricklin's holding the bag, calling the cars' quality not up to snuff, and deciding that Visionary Vehicles is going to design their own automobiles and find a producer in China to build them. We're suddenly feeling like this just won't end well. [Thanks to Kevin for the tip.] – Davey G. Johnson

Bricklin drops Chinese import plan [Inside Line]

Related:
Bricklin Delays Chinese Imports Yet Again [Internal]

Bricklin Delays Chinese Imports Yet Again

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 14:30:00 EDT

"We are putting our face out there and saying, 'Look at us.' And if we do our job, we're going to win this game," says Malcolm Bricklin. "And if we don't, we're going to get our ass kicked right on the first day." According to the Art Vandelay of the auto industry, the joint venture to bring Chinese cars to our shores is going more slowly than he'd anticipated, now saying that Visionary Vehicles will launch sales in late 2008 or early 2009, introducing a new model every three months. We're sort of holding our breath, but kinda not.

Bricklin delays plans for importing Chinese cars [Reuters]

Bricklin Pops Chery Brand Before GM Can

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 12:17:43 EDT

According to Visionary Vehicles' spokeswoman Wendi "Oh Lord, Take Me Downtown, I'm Just Looking for Some" Tush, the Chery vehicles they're importing from China won't be branded as such in the US due to pressure from GM, who claim the word's too similar to "Chevy." "They're bigger than we are and they have more lawyers than we do," she explains. "It's all about keeping value to the consumer." That and not getting the dingleberries sued outta Bricklin's tush, we suspect.

Chinese car maker Chery will market under different name in US [Detroit News]