Ken, come on, couldn't you have done the DCS here too? It would have made my trip so much shorter....like 2 minutes! The show is about 3 blocks from my house. Here is the article from the Holland Sentinel (www.hollandsentinel.com) 'It made such an impression on me' Owners of unique Bricklin cars gather for annual meeting By OLIVIA COBISKEY Staff writer FEATURED ADVERTISER PROUD OWNERS: Paul and Pat Agema of Wyoming pose with their 1975 Bricklin on Windmill Island Wednesday afternoon. Holland will play host to a convention of Bricklin owners through Saturday. Sentinel/Dan Irving Paul and Pat Agema of Wyoming, Michigan pose with their 1975 Bricklin on Windmill Island Wednesday afternoon. Holland will play host to a convention for Bricklin owners running through Saturday. Sentinel/Dan Irving An interior view of the 1975 Bricklin owned by Paul and Pat Agema of Wyoming, Michigan. Holland will play host to a convention for Bricklin owners running through Saturday. RELATED STORIESIt's not a Lamborghini. It's not a DeLorean either. The cars with the gull-wing doors coasting down Eighth Street this week are Bricklins. "The gull-wing doors make the whole car," said Paul Agema, a member of the Bricklin International Owners Club. More than 100 people are expected to attend an international meeting of Bricklin car owners taking place at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center, 650 E. 24th St., through Saturday. Agema, co-chairman of the meeting, said the Bricklin was revolutionary for its time. The brainchild of Malcolm Bricklin, it was designed in Michigan by Herb Grasse to exceed safety requirements in the mid-1970s. The Bricklin (SV-1) had a built-in steel roll cage, shock absorbing bumpers that recede into the car in the event of a front or rear collision and a steel-enclosed fuel tank and side guard rails. It featured gull-wing doors -- which are hinged at the top -- a fiberglass body and tubular frame. They had no ashtrays or lighters. However, the company that sold the Bricklin went out of business in September 1975 after producing only 2,880 in 1974 and 1975. Another 17 cars were finished in 1976. Agema said there are approximately 1,800 Bricklins today still on the road -- 55 in Michigan. Club President Jim Wajda said that number jumps to about 80 if you count cars not registered with the club. "There were more Bricklin dealers in the '70s in Michigan than in New York," said Wajda, who bought his first Bricklin in 1983 for $7,500 when he was 17. "So it's always great coming back home." Wajda said he was 10 when he saw his first Bricklin. "I've always remembered it -- it made such an impression on me that day," Wajda said. "And I promised myself that when I made it, I'd buy one." Standing next to his orange Bricklin, Agema said he bought it new for $8,500 after the company went bankrupt. For him it was also about fulfilling a childhood dream. "As a kid I saw some of the Mercedes with the gull-wing doors and always wanted one," Agema said. However, Agema is the first to admit the car was plagued with problems from the beginning. The hydraulic door system, made famous 20 years earlier by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, wasn't reliable. In fact, his wife has been stuck in the car several times because the doors malfunction. "The Bricklin was a good car, they just didn't have time to work the bugs out," said his wife, Pat Agema. However, the doors weren't the only problem. The weather stripping leaked and the rain would slide down the windshield and into the air- ducts fogging up the windows inside and dripping on the passengers feet, Paul said, all problems he's since fixed. The Wyoming couple attended their first Bricklin car meet in Hershey, Pa., the same year he bought the car. "The first meetings everyone would get together and buy parts and figure out how to fix things," Paul said. But it's more about the life-long friendships they've made along the way. "You don't just do it for the car, you do it for the people," Paul said about the meets. The event is open to the public. For more information on the club, visit www.bricklin.org or call the Holiday Inn at (616) 394-0111 for tickets to any of the events. Many options The Bricklin was initially meant to compete with the Corvette, the most expensive car GM sold in the 1970s. In 1977, a fully-optioned Corvette cost $8,000 to $9,000. By 1975 the initial $4,000 price tag on the Bricklin has increased to more than $9,980. By the numbers Cars built by year 1974 -- 750 1975 -- 2,130 1976 -- 17 By the colors White -- 1,900 Red -- 250 Orange -- 250 Green -- 250 Suntan -- 250 If you go Today 10 a.m. Caravan to Gilmore Car Museum, 6865 Hickory Road, Hickory Corners. Admission $5 5 p.m. Dinner, Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant, 216 Van Raalte Ave. Friday 10 a.m. Road Rally begins at Holiday Inn parking lot, ends at the White House Restaurant in downtown Saugatuck 5 p.m. Caravan to Jeanies Country Cafe, 6642 Blair Lane, Holland Saturday 9 a.m. Car show and judging in front of Holiday Inn 5 p.m. Banquet Contact Olivia Cobiskey at olivia.cobiskey@hollandsentinel. com or (616) 546-4264 To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/