Subaru of America's growth has been rapid but also consistent: It reported year-over-year sales gains every month since late 2011.
But that streak, which Subaru had cultivated for 93 months, was snapped last week when the automaker posted a sales decline of 9.4 percent in September. Subaru pinned the drop on fewer selling days, low inventory levels and a brisk sell-down of previous-generation Legacy sedans and Outback crossovers.
There's a stark contrast between the Subaru of eight years ago and the Subaru of today.