Subaru
Subaru was in 2011 the world’s 26th biggest automaker by production. “Subaru” is the Japanese name for the Pleiades stellar constellation represented on the corporate logo that symbolizes the companies that merged to create Fuji Heavy Industries, of which Subaru is the automotive manufacturing division. Subaru uses all-wheel drive as standard equipment for mid-size and smaller cars in in the North American market except the rear-wheel-drive BRZ introduced in 2012.
The first Subaru car was the Subaru 1500. From 1954 to 2008, the company designed and manufactured the 1500 in 1954, the tiny air-cooled 360 in 1958, the Sambar in 1961, the 1000 in 1965, the R-2 in 1969, the Rex and the Leone in 1971, the BRAT in 1978, the Alcyone in 1985, the Legacy in 1989, the Impreza in 1993, the Forester in 1997, the Tribeca in 2005, the Exiga in 2008, and the BRZ in 2012.
Nissan acquired a 20-percent stake in Subaru in 1968 by government-ordered consolidation of the Japanese auto industry to improve competitiveness. When Renault acquired Nissan, its 20-percent stake went to General Motors in 1999. During the brief General Motors period, the Impreza sold in the USA as the Saab 9-2X.
In 1976, Canadian customers got their first Subaru vehicles when Subaru Auto Canada Limited began sales of the Subaru Leone. In 1989, Toronto-based Subaru Canada, Inc purchased Subaru Auto Canada Limited in an expansion process that eventually placed Subaru dealers across the country. Subaru Canada, Inc, wholly-owned by Fuji Heavy Industries, markets and distributes Subaru vehicles and parts through a network of 88 authorized dealers throughout Canada.
In the 1970s, Subaru decided to change its model range from small vehicles like the Rex and Sambar to larger cars like the Leone, and, when Subaru launched the Legacy in 1989 to compete with the Toyota Camry, Nissan Stanza, and Honda Accord, its market success gave the company a new direction. The Legacy was a mainstream departure from previous vehicles, which had a reputation for quirks. Subaru continued the new direction with the controversially-styled Alcyone XT in 1985, the Alcyone SVX in 1992, and the Impreza in 1993.
The model name “Alcyone” is for the brightest star of the Pleiades constellation on the Subaru logo. Before the 1985 XT launch, Subaru already had produced vehicles with styling very different from that of other vehicles of the time. The wedged-shaped XT was the first Subaru to stray from earlier models that offered practicality in that it was not designed for heavy loads or commercial uses. The XT six-cylinder, 2,700-cubic centimeter engine under Japanese government engine displacement regulations made it a luxury vehicle subject to an annual road tax.
From 1995 to 2000, a series of advertisements for the new Outback starred Paul Hogan in his Crocodile Dundee character to highlight Subaru’s all-wheel drive and depict the Outback as at home in rugged Australian locations. Before introducing the Outback, Subaru sold the Isuzu Trooper as the Subaru Bighorn.
At the 2007 Frankfurt International Motor Show, Subaru introduced a horizontally-opposed, liquid-cooled turbo-diesel engine, the first of its kind on a passenger car, with a 2,000-cubic centimeter displacement and 148 horsepower. In March 2008 Subaru offered the turbo-diesel in the Legacy sedan and the Legacy and Outback wagons in Europe with a five-speed manual transmission only.
Current Subaru models are
• The BRZ, a transplant of the Toyota 86 sports coupe with front-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive
• The Exiga, a front-engine, four-wheel drive, seven-seat crossover utility vehicle not sold in the USA or Canada
• The Forester, a compact sport utility vehicle with front-engine, four-wheel drive
• The Impreza, a compact four-door or hatchback sedan in production since 1992
• The Legacy, a midsize sedan in production since 1989
• The Dex, a variant of the Toyota bB, a small wagon.
