2. Bricklin SV-1
The SV-1 was the brainchild of automotive entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin. He produced just 3,000 of them in Canada from 1974 to 1975. But for a short while, they marketed the SV-1 as the best, most advanced American sports car. But as soon as the first cars started rolling down the assembly line, it was clear the SV-1 was not as good as drivers anticipated it would be.
The idea was to produce a safe and fast sports car as the name SV-1, which stood for Safety Vehicle One, suggested. Bricklin designed the car with big bumpers, warning sensors, and power Gullwing doors. Although it didn’t have any cigarette lighters, it had an integrated roll cage and lots of other things. Unfortunately, all those extras made it heavy and not agile. The power came from a 360 AMC V8 engine, which wasn’t powerful. Even though the company later turned to the 351 Ford V8, it still couldn’t deliver any real performance numbers.