They Are Gettin' The Last Laugh, All The Way To The Bank

How Subaru Outsmarted A Bad Consumer Reports Review And Took Over America

[H]ead over to Road & Track, where you’ll find a lovely story about Subaru’s rise to glory in the United States. I won’t tell the whole story here, you’ll have to read R&T’s, but it does include a wonderful bit about how the Subaru 360 received an absolutely scorching review from Consumer Reports in 1969 (which you can read here).

In response, Subaru simply just worked around Consumer Reports. From R&T’s story:

So Subaru of America decided to focus on markets where Consumer Reports had less sway—as Automotive News puts it, “small towns where the reputation of the local dealer was more important than awareness of the brand he was selling.” The American importer targeted rural regions far away from the big cities. Places like Vermont, Minnesota, Washington state, New Hampshire and western Pennsylvania—where hardworking people on a budget might be willing to try a relatively-unknown brand offering cheap, frugal transportation.

That, plus some innovative four-wheel drive tech and an oil embargo helped jump start Subaru sales in America. It’s also why it is no coincidence that everyone thinks about Subarus when they think New England and the Pacific Northwest.

(Jalopnik.com)

The Irony

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5000th Post

This Made Me LOL

Marriage is all about sharing . . . . .

The man placed an order for one hamburger, French fries, and a drink. He unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half, placing one half in front of his wife He then carefully counted out the French fries, dividing them into two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them.

As he began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the people around them were looking over and whispering. Obviously, they were thinking, ‘That poor old couple – all they can afford is one meal for the two of them.’

As the man began to eat his fries a young man came to the table and politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple. The old man said they were just fine – they were used to sharing everything.

People closer to the table noticed the little old lady hadn’t eaten a bite. She sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink..

Again, the young man came over and begged them to let him buy another meal for them. This time the old woman said ‘No, thank you, we are used to sharing everything.’

Finally, as the old man finished and was wiping his face neatly with the napkin, the young man again came over to the little old lady who had yet to eat a single bite of food and asked ‘What is it you are waiting for?’

She answered: ‘THE TEETH.’

(Bits&Pieces.us)

Weekend Goals

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This Man Deserves A High Five

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