Subaru, a Japanese car company, is the automobile division of Fuji Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (FHI).
“Subaru” is the Japanese word for the star cluster Pleiades that is depicted in the company logo. The Pleiades (also known as the Seven Sisters) has only six stars easily visible to the naked eye. Subaru’s logo of six stars represents the five companies that came together after World War II to form one large company. While smaller than many of its competitors, Subaru has been a highly profitable company for many years. It is noted for the production of conventional-bodied cars with full-time AWD (in fact, in many markets its entire product range has this feature) and its use of the horizontally-opposed turbo charged engine.
Subaru’s best-known vehicles are high performance turbocharged versions of its Impreza, and Legacy (known as Liberty in Australia – it was renamed out of respect for the Legacy Australia Foundation, which aids veterans and their families during and after wars), which offer outstanding performance and handling at relatively affordable prices. Modified versions of the Impreza WRX and WRX STi have been competing successfully in car rallies and the World Rally Championship for many years (World Champion drivers include: Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Petter Solberg). The Subaru World Rally Championship cars are prepared and run by Prodrive, the highly successful British Motorsport team. Several endurance records were set in the early and mid-nineties by the Legacy.
Popular nicknames (especially among owners) for the Subaru brand name are “Scooby” and “Scooby-Doo” in the UK, and “Subie” in the U.S. The Impreza WRX model is often referred to as the “Rex”.