Subaru Repair and Service at Wayne's Garage
The Subaru 360 was the first Subaru imported to the US in 1968. |
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27 East 27th |
333 Q St. Springfield, Oregon 97477 (541) 746-7142 tech@waynesgarage.com |
Subaru is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation
conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (FHI).
Subaru first started out as The Aircraft Research Laboratory in 1917 headed.
In 1932, the company was reorganized as Nakajima Aircraft Company, Ltd and
soon became the primary manufacturer of aircraft for Japan during World War
II.
At the end of the Second World War Nakajima Aircraft was again
reorganized, this time as Fuji Sangyo Co, Ltd. In 1946, the company created
the Fuji Rabbit motor scooter with spare aircraft parts from the war.
In 1954, the first Subaru car called the P-1 was unveiled. Powered by a
four-cylinder engine the name was soon changed to the Subaru 1500.
Very few were made when sales were suspended due to problems with funding
and support, but Subaru soon resolved its difficulties and rolled out the
360 in 1958. Dubbed the Ladybird because of its ladybug shape, the compact
360 proved immensely popular, and remained in production for 12 years.
Subaru was the first Japanese auto maker to offer front-wheel drive
passenger cars in Japan (1965) and four-wheel drive passenger cars in the
world (1972).
Subaru 1500
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