Auto Biography

Here is a history book with a personality as offbeat as its subject: the futuristic and ill-fated Bricklin Safety Vehicle‑1 sports car from the 1970s. Dimitry Anastakis has authored other works on the Canadian auto industry, but none are as epic — or as playful — as Dream Car. Its scholarly bona fides are striking; almost 100 pages of endnotes and bibliography attest to the seventeen years the University of Toronto professor spent on the project. Yet it’s far from stodgy. From neon-tinted cover art to a car-song playlist, from dozens of vintage photos and ads to an invitation to read its seven chapters out of sequence, Dream Car evokes a mind determined to wash some of the starch out of Canadian history.

What better tone to strike than playfulness in a book about a car that was essentially a toy for boys? With its long, tapered snout, hideaway headlights, big V8 engine, moulded acrylic body, electro-hydraulic gull-wing doors, built‑in roll cage...