Subaru was established in 1953 by Fuji Heavy Industries. They released their first car, the P1, in 1954. Only twenty were ever produced due to multiple supply problems. In 1972 Subaru released the first passenger car equipped with four wheel drive - the Leone. The Leone proved to be very successful, and Subaru would specialize in all wheel vehicles from then on.
Certainly Subaru is best known today as the builder of the WRX STi. Its rally based performance quickly became legendary and with three consecutive victories at the World Rally Championships the STi had the credentials to make it one of the most popular sportscars of the new millenium.
At the 2007 Frankfurt International Motor Show, Subaru unveiled a new boxer style turbo diesel engine. It is the world’s first production horizontally-opposed water-cooled diesel engine, and is so efficient that a 3140lb Subaru Forester equipped with the new diesel can achieve roughly the same mileage as a 1600lb smart fortwo. Subaru has also made great strides in cutting back waste. The Subaru plant in Lafayette, Indiana was the first auto assembly plant to achieve zero landfill status - nothing from its manufacturing efforts goes into a landfill.