Subaru of America is fresh off its best U.S. sales year.
Its lineup is anchored by three all-wheel-drive crossovers that remain in strong demand, and the brand has achieved 74 consecutive months of year-over-year sales increases.
This year, with a flowing pipeline of fresh products headed to retailers, including its largest model ever, the three-row Ascent, Subaru anticipates it will chalk up still another record sales year in the United States.
That hasn't always been the narrative for Subaru, a car brand created by the Japanese industrial conglomerate formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries.
This month, as the automaker marks its 50th anniversary of selling vehicles in the U.S., Subaru of America officials and people who shaped today's business over the last few decades remark that success has been a long, and occasionally bumpy, road.
Since its start here in 1968 as an importer of a quirky microcar called the 360, Subaru has fought — and usually won — a slew of uphill battles to reach the market position it enjoys in 2018.
But the automaker isn't resting at 50.