1978 Subaru Brochure! And a bunch of others!

"Subaru.  Inexpensive.  And built to stay that way."  They come out of the doors with a big, bold statement and a GF Hardtop right there on the cover.  4 Cylinder 1595 CC Boxer engines at their core with Coupes, Sedans, Wagons, and even the BRAT among the contenders for Subaru.  It's just one of the many older pieces of marketing I've found.  '78, '80, and '85 Subaru brochures are courtesy of my dad, who owned a BRAT back then.  The 2003 and 2008 brochures are ones that I have found buried in paperwork at the dealership I work at.

It's neat going through this time capsule and seeing that, while styles may have changed over the years, how the core values for Subaru remain intact.  Even when it wasn't a standard option, 4-Wheel Drive has remained a big part of the Subaru image.  Boxer engines give the cars better balance.  Even safety was part of the picture before IIHS tests were praising every Subaru the company made.

Some things have been lost to time.  Center headlights, rear-facing bucket seats, and tweed interiors are among the casualties.  But there's an obvious pedigree that the newer cars have inherited over the years that you can see.  There are "On-Demand" 4-wheel drive Turbo-Traction Wagons and GL Hatchbacks that obviously hold lineage to modern Subarus, but it's the idea of that slogan that still carries through.  Make something that lasts, whether it's built for the adventurer, the rally driver, or the soccer mom.