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SUBARU

Subaru is a Japanese maker of cars and trucks, and is owned by Fuji Heavy Industries of Tokyo, Japan. Subaru cars are renowned for their rally-style designs and rugged reliability, as well as decades of success on the racing circuit.

Subaru uses a unique all-wheel drive configuration that has distinguished the brand among car enthusiasts, critics and consumers alike. Some of the more popular Subaru models include the Impreza and the Legacy, while contemporary offerings include the Forester, Exiga, BRZ, Outback, the Exiga, Trezia and Dex models.

Like many automotive manufacturers, Fuji started out as a producer of airplane parts and military aircraft in WW2 before switching focus to build scooters and combustion engines in the aftermath of the war. Beginning in 1954 the company began producing cars, the first of which was the Subaru 1500; by the end of the 1960s major competitor Nissan stepped in to buy twenty percent of Subaru and expand the company’s product line. When Nissan was purchased by European carmaker Renault, the stake in Subaru was sold to GM; some odd rebranding occurred as a result, with a Subaru Impreza model being sold by GM in the U.S. as a Saab vehicle. Toyota then entered into an agreement to acquire rights to a Subaru production plant in Indiana, intending Toyota vehicles to be manufactured there. Subaru did not reach the Canadian market until the mid-1970s, and today is sold at more than 80 dealerships across the country.

Subaru infiltrated the public consciousness of North America with the launch of a new marketing campaign in the mid-1990s, starring the Crocodile Dundee film character. Subaru vehicles were rebranded as off-road, four-wheel drive cars that could handle difficult terrain and challenging road conditions. While the campaign was successful, much of what has driven Subaru’s success in the past twenty years has been the high resale value associated with Subaru cars. Customers who buy Subarus are more likely to hold on to them longer, and many Subarus are seen as an intelligent option in lieu of a sport utility vehicle, which tend to consumer more gas and many of which have safety and reliability issues.

In 2008, Subaru’s parent company decided that Subaru would no longer be represented in rally racing, in what was considered a reaction to the worsening economic conditions worldwide. This unfortunate policy decision will likely have an effect on the public perception of Subaru, which built much of its reputation on its successes in the racing world.