How Subarus Came to Be Seen as Cars for LesbiansThe reputation isn't just a stereotype—it's the result of a calculated, highly progressive ad campaign launched 20 years ago.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/06/how-subarus-came-to-be-seen-as-cars-for-lesbians/488042/
QuoteHow do you advertise a car that journalists describe as "sturdy, if drab"?
That was the question faced by Subaru of America executives in the 1990s. After the company's attempts to reinvigorate sales—by releasing its first luxury car and hiring a hip ad agency to introduce it to the public—failed, it changed its approach. Rather than fight larger car companies over the same demographic of white, 18- to 35-year-olds living in the suburbs, executives decided to market their cars to niche groups—such as outdoorsy types who liked that Subarus could handle dirt roads.