Talk:Subaru Rex

Subaru Kei Car unidentified

I have found a picture of a Subaru mini type car that I took in the mid 1970s. I don't think I ever knew what it was, and have been trying to find out from Wikipedia. Without success. I think I must have taken the photograph in England probably in 1973, but I do not believe the car was ever seriously marketed in England, though I remember seeing one or two - I think looking a little elderly but it's hard to tell - in Crete around 1982. If anyone knows what it is, that would help build the wiki knowledge base. And I'd be interested to know, too... And thank you. Charles01 09:32, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

This is considerably newer than 1973, it must be built after May 1976 and possibly as late as 1979. The Rex was widened and received a longer nose in May 1976, and this is the kind of car pictured. It's LHD, I wonder where it was registered?  ⊂| Mr.choppers |⊃  (talk) 03:21, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Thank you. And thank you for expanding the accompanying entry as a result of which I can no longer call the car unreservedly "unidentified". I don't remember the license plate and I'd missed that it was left hand drive. Though the seats look a bit non-standard ("upmarket" 1970s style). I think (confidence maybe 85%) I photographed it in October round the back of Earls' Court which was the exhibition hall in London where they held the London motor show. I used to turn up and wander round the outside with a camera, because the inside was (1) very expensive to access, (2) far too full of people for it to be possible to get near to interesting cars unless you were mega-patient which I'm not and (3) featured lighting that was in any case "wrong" for photography with my combination of equipment. The price I paid was sometimes ending up with pictures of cars I could not recognize. This one could easily have been taken in October 1976. I think the model was new at the time, at least for the English, and in the wake of the oil price shock they may easily have had one on a stand and be checking out "reaction" to it: had someone expressed sufficient interest, maybe they'd have been taken out to drive this little,one "round the block". As far as I remember, typical Kei cars, were restricted in width in order to comply with taxation requirements and/or possibly as wide as you were permitted to have your car if you did not have a private parking slot in Tokyo. But the feeling was that Kei cars were unsuitable for western markets because western people were wider than Japanese people and would not fit in the cars. I have to confess that this is consistent with my own observations, at least where one is content to think merely in terms of averages. Anyway, that is consistent with the manufacturer having widened a traditional kei car to try it out on the western export markets which at this time had already proved such a good earner for Toyota and Datsun/Nissan. Though here in Europe - at least in mountainous bits like Switzerland and Austria - the segment where Subaru really concentrated and flourished in the next decade or so was the niche for four-wheel drive sedans. Much cheaper and prettier than a Land Rover, while Europe's only mainstream 4wd manufacturer, especially at that stage, was really concentrating only on the upper ends of its ranges for 4-wd technology. A cost conscious Swiss farmer wanting to get around his village with occasional trips to the cantonal capital at the end of the valley could find a Subaru's price irresistably tempting beside that of an Audi Quattro. All of which is a bit of a digression from the Rex, but I thought it worth-while to enter (1) the thank you and (2) what more I can remember of where and when I photographed it. Regards Charles01 (talk) 06:20, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Yup, little Switzerland was Subaru's third biggest export market in 1985 at least. Those seats are original, the Japanese really liked fixed headrests back then for some reason. See this interesting link for a period brochure. And thanks for having shared so many of your photos!  ⊂| Mr.choppers |⊃  (talk) 14:16, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

File:Subaru Rex 1992 white.jpg Nominated for Deletion

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