| Subaru is the automotive division of Fuji Heavy
Industries Ltd. (FHI), a comprehensive, multifaceted transport equipment
manufacturer. FHI develops a range of innovative products based on
reliable technology in various and diversified areas such as
automobiles, aerospace, bus manufacturing, house prefabricating,
industrial products, transportation and ecology systems. |
|
| Aiming to be a major global player in the twenty-first
century, FHI creates and develops innovative products by taking a
pioneering stance while respecting tradition. The Company's approach to
technology involves freethinking, flexibility and unfailing enthusiasm. |
|
| For its automobile division, FHI has Subaru under its
group of companies. Over the years, Subaru has evolved into one of the
most recognised car brands today for its engineering, design,
functionality, safety and quality by various motoring organisations
around the world. |
|
| Subaru's range includes the Forester, Legacy, Outback,
Impreza, Impreza Sports Wagon, Impreza WRX and the Impreza WRX STI.
Collectively, they have been known to be "driver's" cars offering superb
handling because of its All-Wheel Drive technology built into every
model. |
|
|
|
| The origin of the Subaru name and logo dates back in the
1950s when the first president of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI),
Kenji Kita, stated "Japanese cars should have Japanese names." Mr. Kita
was ardent about producing passenger cars and in 1954 the Company'
produced its first passenger prototype, the P-1. |
|
| After several name proposals, Mr. Kita gave the car a
beautiful Japanese name that he had been quietly cherishing in his heart
– Subaru. |
|
|
|
|
| Subaru is the name of a star cluster in the Taurus
constellation. Six of its stars are visible to the naked eye, but about
250 bluish stars can be seen if one uses a telescope. |
|
| In the West, the cluster is called Pleiades, in China,
Mao, and in Japan, Subaru ("to govern", "to gather together" or "to
unite"). In Japan, it also goes by the name Mutsuraboshi ("Six Stars"),
under which title it appears frequently in very old Japanese documents
such as Kojiki and Manyosyu and literature such as Makura-no-soshi.
Clearly, this is one of the clusters much loved by the Japanese from
ancient times. Interestingly enough, FHI was formed by the merger of six
companies. From then on, the new corporation adopted the "Subaru"
cluster of stars as the official logo for its line of automobiles. |
|
