"Boxer_4" (Boxer_4)
03/28/2020 at 20:11 • Filed to: None
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"Boxer_4" (Boxer_4)
03/28/2020 at 20:11 • Filed to: None | 3
| 10 |
Back in April of 2017, the parent company of Subaru, Fuji Heavy Industries, changed their name to Subaru Corporation. There is still at least one place that you can still find the Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) name - the watermarks on the VIN placards .
Fuji Heavy Industries started adding a repeating FHI watermark to the VIN placards sometime around 2014 or so (from what I can find). Amusingly, they left the FHI watermark on the placard when they switched the company name to Subaru Corporation. As far as I can tell, this only on the Gunma built cars, not on the Indiana built cars. Who knows whether this was a conscious decision, or if they are just running remaining stock.
I’ve noticed a few legacy company logos on Subarus over the years - There were some old FHI logos on my old SH Forester (they stopped using that logo in 2003), and some Nissan branded push-pins can be found under the hood of the early SJ Foresters on the bumper-mounted grille assembly.
PowderHound
> Boxer_4
03/28/2020 at 20:21 |
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Pretty sure my 03 has Fuji heavy on those placards (what’s the actual name for those?)
I’ll go check when I get my next beer
chaozbandit
> Boxer_4
03/28/2020 at 20:25 |
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On the topic of cool placards, this is off the Legacy RS-RA
Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
> Boxer_4
03/28/2020 at 20:25 |
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What do the US-built cars say?
BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
> Boxer_4
03/28/2020 at 20:30 |
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For as much of a Subie fanboy as I am, I did not know Fuji changed their name...
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Boxer_4
> PowderHound
03/28/2020 at 20:43 |
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Not sure what the actual name is for those.
03 should still be a metal placard/tag on the top left-hand strut tower for the primary tag . I don’t believe there is a watermark on the metal tags .
I do believe the rivets themselves say “Subaru” on them though.
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PowderHound
> Boxer_4
03/28/2020 at 21:09 |
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I never noticed the Subaru rivets, my car also apparently has more Japanese at the bottom that the one you posted doesn’t
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Boxer_4
> Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
03/28/2020 at 21:13 |
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This is the placard from a 2019 Legacy. It appears that there is no watermark of any kind on these placards, and on other US built models that I am finding.
There have always been discrepancies between the Japan built and US build cars when it comes to little details like this - in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s the US built cars switched to using a door mounted sticker for the VIN placard with the GVWR info while the Japan built cars kept the metal placard for this info riveted to the left-hand b-pillar. Both still used a metal placard for the engine and transmission info during that time .
Darkbrador
> Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
03/30/2020 at 09:36 |
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“ Proudly made in’ Murica”
jimz
> Boxer_4
03/30/2020 at 09:38 |
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they didn’t change the WMI portion of the VIN, though; Japan built cars still begine “JF1/JF2.”
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Boxer_4
> jimz
03/30/2020 at 10:34 |
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True! Suzuki already has “ JS”, so keeping “JF” was basically mandatory.
I likely overlooked that in my post because i t wasn’t new information to me, however I never noticed the watermark before.