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Ubiquitous Subaru an Icon of the Northwest: From Old to New, Bellingham Drivers Have a Soft Spot for These Vehicles

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 03:03 CDT

By Michelle Theriault, The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Wash.

Apr. 2--If Bellingham were a car, it'd be a 1999 forest green Subaru Outback with a bumper sticker or two. So says Logan Parsons, a Western Washington University student.

"I see a lot of them. It just seems like the Bellingham car. They're everywhere," she says.

In fact, ask just about anybody in town about Bellingham and any Subaru model and you'll get a knowing chuckle. Subarus, like fleece jackets or coffee mugs, are an iconic in-joke that seems to reflect the essence of the City of Subdued Excitement.

For that reason, Bellingham just might be the buckle of the Subaru Belt.

It's a region that stretches through Northwest urban centers and college towns, where mountains are close and the idea of driving a behemoth gas-guzzler has little appeal. The Northwest is one of Subaru's top-selling regions, says Dominick Infante, public relations manager for the company.

In Bellingham, they've hit their marketing target dead on: outdoorsy, politically left-of-center folks who don't want to drive an SUV, but want to make it up to the ski area, says Bengt Halvorson, a Portland-based writer who covers the auto industry for The Car Connection, Forbes and The Oregonian. He's written extensively about Subaru and its marketing niche.

And residents here are buying, according to 2005 marketing data from Cross-Sell Reports.

The Subaru Outback is the No. 1 seller in the SUV category - it's considered an SUV, not a wagon - for all new SUVs in Whatcom County. In comparison, it's ranked No. 7 in Skagit County.

And the Forester is the No. 5 seller for all cars - selling just behind staples like Honda Civics and Accords.

In Skagit County, it's No. 14.

While the Subaru phenomenon is apparent in all reaches of the county - from a Blaine park to a Glacier-area trailhead - its epicenter seems to be Bellingham.

Most cars stay in Bellingham: of the 24 Subarus purchased here in December, 20 were registered to those living in the city.

"Outback, Legacy and Forester are the most sought after cars by far," says John Ostricker, general manager of the Dewey Griffin dealership in Bellingham, which sells Buick, GMC, Pontiac and Subaru. "TRAINS OF THEM" Subaru owners say having one is more about utility than image.

"Driving up the road to Mount Baker, there's usually trains of them," says Christie Zeidner, a Bellingham resident who works at the mountain. Zeidner's own Subaru - a 1999 burgundy Outback Legacy Wagon with Hawaii plates - fits right in.

For Zeidner, the appeal came in a car that she heard would "last forever."

Her first Subaru, a 1980s Loyale wagon, has more than 200,000 miles on it. She hears it's still running.

And sometimes, parking in Subaru-land means not being able to pick out your own car.

Bellingham retiree Hazel Hynes pulled her white Subaru Outback into the Community Food Co-op on a recent afternoon. There were two others just like it parked nearby.

In fact, there are so many cars that look like her own downtown and in Fairhaven that "sometimes you try to get in the wrong car," she says.

Subarus and Bellingham go together because they're "not ostentatious" and fit the mindset of "not driving big gas-guzzlers," says Hynes.

There's a sociological tidbit to be gleaned from the phenomenon, says Kelsey Cartwright, another Western Washington University student. She and Parsons say there seems to be two classes of Subarus in Bellingham: the college model, and the adult model.

The college model is often a rusted 1990s wagon covered in bumper stickers that tell of the driver's fondness for river kayaks, favorite snowboard companies and political sentiments.

The adult model is newer and shinier with nary a bumper sticker, but may be equipped to haul a black Lab, an infant, or both. To see the college model, cruise the Happy Valley neighborhood, they say. For the other model, see the parking lots of Haggen grocery stores.

Visitors also have picked up on the city's love affair with Subarus.

Jim Motavalli, the Portland-based editor of E: The Environmental Magazine made a recent trip to Bellingham and noticed the phenomenon. "They were parked on every side street."

He's not sure why Outbacks are so popular in these parts - other cars get better gas mileage.

"My guess is that the word 'Outback' appeals to environmentalists, and that they can get four-wheel drive without having it come in the form of a hated SUV."

The green-friendly image Subaru cultivates isn't controversy free.

In 2004, the company reclassified its Subaru Outback sedans and wagons as light trucks by raising them a few inches. That meant they were able to avoid stringent EPA fuel economy and air pollution standards for passenger cars.

The move drew the ire of environmental groups. But the backlash of Subaru's core market of green-leaning outdoors enthusiasts never really materialized.

"Subaru came back with some quick, clever damage control," says Halvorson, by putting the message out that other companies were doing the same thing. HITTING ITS MARK The company started carving out its place in the 1970s and 1980s, when they were one of the only carmakers to offer 4-wheel drive in a passenger car. After an early 1990s sales slump, Subaru shifted its marketing to target wealthier buyers who wanted all-wheel drive, Halvorson says.

The Subaru Outback was born, a vehicle aimed at attracting affluent buyers without losing a rugged image.

"It was a strategic move by Subaru. They said, 'This is what I see our target demographic being. Let's pitch a car straight to them,' " Halvorson says.

Now, Subaru's Web site boasts, "You could say Subaru is the official vehicle of the outdoors" and shows a happy, windbreaker-clad family emerging from a trailhead and smiling at an Outback wagon. It looks an awful lot like a Sunday at the Pine and Cedar Lakes trail.

If it weren't an illustration, they might be heading down to Mallard Ice Cream on Railroad Avenue for an ice cream cone - where, chances are, they'd end up parking next to another Subaru.

Reach Michelle Theriault at 756-2803 or michelle.theriault@bellinghamherald.com.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Wash.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Bellingham Herald, Wash.

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