In 2005, the New York Times said Bricklin is "often likened to an automotive version of P.T. Barnum." In 2009, noted documentarian Morgan Spurlock said Bricklin "goes nonstop. He’s testosterone unleashed, a brilliant negotiator and an incredible character." In 2013, Rolling Stone described him as "brash, bombastic, and pathologically prone to betting the farm on pie-in-the-sky automotive endeavors." In 2017, Autoweek said Bricklin has "a mind that works like a machine gun." Keith Crain, publisher of Automotive News said Bricklin is "like one of those toy clowns that when you punch it, it bounces right back up."