• Source: Subaru of America

Subaru of America, Inc. (commonly abbrevriated as SOA), based in Camden, New Jersey, is the United States–based distributor of Subaru's brand vehicles. SOA is a subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. The company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers throughout the United States. SOA also plays a minor role in the design of vehicles for the U.S. market, working with Subaru Corporation and Subaru Research and Development to help convey American consumer preferences.




History


In 1967, Malcolm Bricklin approached Subaru with the idea of bringing the tiny Subaru 360 to the United States. After a great deal of regulatory red tape and negotiation, Bricklin made a deal with Subaru. Bricklin formed Subaru of America, Inc. to sell Subaru franchises and later brought in Harvey Lamm as the COO.
Subaru of America established the Eastern Division in 1968 in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania at 555 City Line Avenue, and the Western Division at 1000 West Coast Hwy, Newport Beach, California. The headquarters later moved to Pennsauken, New Jersey and then Cherry Hill, New Jersey. In 1986, it was fully acquired by Fuji Heavy Industries (now named Subaru Corporation).
In 1989, Fuji Heavy Industries and then-partner Isuzu opened a joint factory in Lafayette, Indiana, called Subaru-Isuzu Automotive, Inc., or SIA, which initially manufactured the Subaru Legacy and Isuzu Rodeo. In 2001, Isuzu sold its stake in the plant to FHI for $1 due to flagging sales and it was renamed Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. SIA has been designated a backyard wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, and has achieved a zero-landfill production designation. SOA is SIA's largest customer, being the sole distributor in the United States for SIA produced vehicles, although SIA also ships vehicles to Canada and various other countries for sale by other Subaru Affiliates and independent distributors. SOA also utilizes SIA's two mile test track and off-road course for dealer incentive programs and training.

Subaru built a new 250,000 square foot headquarters in Camden, New Jersey and relocated there in 2018. In May 2019 demolition started on the previous Subaru building in Cherry Hill.




Popularity in the LGBT community


In the United States, Subaru vehicles have been associated with being popular with lesbians. Subaru of America's marketing strategy from 1993, at a time when very few celebrities were out as LGBT and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and Defense of Marriage Act had just passed. Subaru was at the time marketing more towards niche groups such as skiers and kayakers. As all-wheel drive was becoming standard on all Subaru models, when looking for people willing to pay a premium for all-wheel drive, four possible core groups were identified, who at the time were responsible for half of Subaru's US sales: teachers and educators, health-care professionals, IT professionals, and outdoorsy types. A fifth group was found - single women living in places like Northampton, Massachusetts and Portland, Oregon, well known meccas of LGBT community. The lesbian Subaru customers liked that the cars were "good for outdoor trips, and good for hauling stuff without being as large as a truck or SUV, fitting them without being too flashy". Some Subaru ads for that reason have featured double entendres with LGBT-related terms. In addition, Subaru of America has actively supported the LGBT community, such as supporting the Rainbow Card providing dedicated benefits to the community, and has been credited with treating its LGBT customers as "people, not consumers". In a Car Talk e-mail nominations survey, Forester and Outback were ranked as #2 and #1, respectively, of "The Ultimate Lesbian Cars".




Products


Subaru cars available in the United States, which are sold by SOA:




= Present models

=
Subaru Legacy since 1990
Subaru Impreza since 1993
Subaru Impreza WRX (now known simply as WRX) since 2002
Subaru Outback since 1996
Subaru Forester since 1997
Subaru BRZ since 2013
Subaru Crosstrek since 2013
Subaru Ascent since 2019
Subaru Solterra since 2022




= Past models

=
Subaru 360 1968–1970
Subaru 1100 1971
Subaru 1300 1972
Subaru 1400 1973–1976
Subaru 1600 1977–1979
Subaru BRAT 1978–1987
Subaru DL/GL 1980–1989
Subaru XT 1985–1991
Subaru Justy 1987–1994
Subaru Loyale 1990–1994
Subaru SVX 1992–1997
Subaru Baja 2003–2006
Subaru Tribeca 2006–2014
Subaru Impreza WRX STI (later known simply as WRX STI) 2004–2021




Motorsports


With the rise of rally racing, and the import scene in the U.S., the introduction of the highly anticipated Subaru Impreza WRX in 2001 was successful in bringing high performance, AWD compact cars into the sports car mainstream. Subaru supplies a factory-backed team for Rally America, and has won the driver's title in five of the seasons.
Starting in 2006, Subaru of America sponsored the Subaru Road Racing Team (SRRT) with a Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT Spec-B in the Grand-Am Street Tuner class. In 2010, SRRT campaigns a WRX STI in the Grand Sport class.




See also


Subaru
Subaru Industrial Power Products
Subaru of Indiana Automotive
Subaru Park, a soccer stadium near Philadelphia sponsored by Subaru of America
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.




References






External links


Official website

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Toyota RAV4
• Toyota
• Clarion
• Denso
• Industri otomotif di Jepang
• Toyota Corolla
• EBird
• Toyota Yaris
• Liga Utama Sepak Bola Amerika Serikat
• Attack on Titan
• Subaru of America
• Subaru
• Subaru Impreza
• Subaru WRX
• Subaru Forester
• Subaru Baja
• Subaru Legacy
• Subaru Tribeca
• List of Subaru transmissions
• Subaru Ascent