<P> In Western markets, the Subaru brand has traditionally been popular among a dedicated core of buyers . Marketing is targeted towards specific niches centered on those who desire the company's signature drive train engine, all - wheel / rough - road capabilities or affordable sports car markets . </P> <P> Subaru is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster M45, or "The Seven Sisters" (one of whom tradition says is invisible--hence only six stars in the Subaru logo), which in turn inspires the logo and alludes to the companies that merged to create FHI . </P> <P> Fuji Heavy Industries started out as The Aircraft Research Laboratory in 1915, headed by Chikuhei Nakajima . In 1932, the company was reorganized as Nakajima Aircraft Company, Ltd and soon became a major 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 1950, Fuji Sangyo was divided into 12 smaller corporations according to the Japanese Government's 1950 Corporate Credit Rearrangement Act, anti-zaibatsu legislation . Between 1953 and 1955, four of these corporations and a newly formed corporation decided to merge to form Fuji Heavy Industries . These companies were: Fuji Kogyo, a scooter manufacturer; coachbuilders Fuji Jidosha; engine manufacturers Omiya Fuji Kogyo; chassis builders Utsunomiya Sharyo and the Tokyo Fuji Dangyo trading company . </P> <P> Kenji Kita, CEO of Fuji Heavy Industries at the time, wanted the new company to be involved in car manufacturing and soon began plans for building a car with the development code - name P - 1 . Mr. Kita canvassed the company for suggestions about naming the P1, but none of the proposals was appealing enough . In the end he gave the company a Japanese name that he had "been cherishing in his heart": Subaru, which is the name of the Pleiades star cluster in Japanese . The first Subaru car was named the Subaru 1500 . Only twenty were manufactured owing to multiple supply issues . Subsequently, the company designed and manufactured dozens of vehicles including the 1500 (1954), the tiny air - cooled 360 (1958), the Sambar (1961), and the 1000 (which saw the introduction of the Subaru boxer engine in 1965). </P>

What is the country of origin for subaru