Sound familiar to you? These are the words that make up the slogan campaign of the Japanese auto manufacturer Subaru. Though the company is relatively small in size compared to its other competitors, Subaru generates quite enough of a lucrative profit for it to be recognized as among the leading industry leaders in automotive production. What else is there to expect, after all, from a company that understands the balance created by equal thought and emotion? For those at Subaru, then, constructing a line of products that run from a number of Subaru car parts or auto replacement components to tire pieces must entail high engineering performance that would ensure Subaru parts are not going to give anyone even the littlest bit of trouble, and that the designs should appeal to the tastes as well as whims of present consumers.
Such a distinction carries over to its production of trucks and car components. Think. Feel. Drive. The orientation of the slogan, at first glance, may seem to be conflicting in nature, especially when one considers the words “think” and “feel”, with one side advocated by Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am” and the other by Rosseau’s “I feel, therefore I am.” But Subaru serves to adjust the definitions this time by advocating balance between thought and emotion, between idea and sentiment. The slogan has served to capture the core of Subaru’s strength as Subaru has focused its marketing and production work in turning out all-wheel drive vehicles that exhibit conventional bodies and that employ turbo-charged engines that are horizontally-opposed. Subaru’s success lies mainly in its seamless adaptation to changing consumer needs and demands. In the 2000s, Subaru captured a high percentage of the U.S. market with its production of its SUV line that was smaller and lighter than the other SUVs available at that time. In short, Subaru provided consumers with a choice they didn’t have before. What was wrong with the big, heavy cars? The time, back then, was starting to be characterized by a growing number of people buying and learning how to handle a car. Taking this into consideration, Subaru knew that the shifting consumer dynamics was going to affect the market, and that more and more choices had to be available to answer divergent consumer preferences. Subaru’s plan, it turns out, was a success.
Still keeping an eye out for outside factors, Subaru switched to refining its line of all wheel drive autos and wagons to avoid turning into another corporate road kill under the wheels of competing Japanese automakers that had already mastered the market and would no doubt have squashed Subaru’s initial forays into the niche with crushing force. This attention to the shifting cues of the market and consumer motivations have enabled Subaru to market its products, from its auto parts line or auto replacement parts row to its engines. In the 1990s, Subaru would again make its presence known as it developed rally car makes that employed the much publicized six-cylinder SVX and Impreza. With the interest in rally racing becoming more and more widespread, Subaru, maker of reliable Subaru parts, again found itself at the forefront of another niche.
