Nakajima Aircraft Company

Subaru's progenitor was the Nakajima Aircraft Company, formed in 1917. The NAC's primary reason for existence was to build warplanes for the Japanese Imperial Navy Air Force.

The Rabbit Scooter

After the collapse of the Japanese army and navy at the end of World War II and subsequent post-war sanctions, NAC was left with plants and technology but nothing to build. The company began producing the Fuji Rabbit Scooter in 1946 from spare airplane parts, its first foray into the automotive market.

Fuji Heavy Industries

Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, was formed in 1953, the result of a merger of the Nakajima Aircraft Company with four smaller corporations.

The P1 and Beyond

The then nameless company Subaru began producing tiny P1 micro-cars in 1954, of which only 20 were made. From there, the company has gone on to produce many models of cars, from the 360 in the late 1950s and 1960s and the Rex of the 1970s and 1980s, to the Vivio of the 1990s and the Legacy and Forester of the 21st century.

Subaru and Pleiades

To honor its roots as a corporation, CEO Kenji Kita in the 1950s decided to call his infant car company "Subaru," the Japanese word used to describe a cluster of stars in the constellation of Taurus that Greeks called The Pleiades, which is where Subaru gets its signature star logo.

Source:

Conceptcarz.com: History of Subaru

Subaru.com: The Early Years

Subaru-Global.com: History

Resource:

Video: The History of Subaru