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Time to read 11 min
Before we can effectively discuss the future, it is always respectful to speak about the past. Over the past several decades, every modernized automotive manufacturer has jumped into the small, midsize, or full-size truck, mini van or utility vehicle space. As we know, many of them have both benefited and revolutionized the industry by making firm decisions about traveling in that lane along with the successful lines of vehicles that they already have in their product catalog. Back in the 1950s, trucks began to drift into the lifestyles of people who were not using the vehicle as a tool - like farmers, laborers, carpenters, mechanics, or any other profession who depended on their transportation to haul more than people and be durable enough to take some punishment. Consumers and early enthusiasts were investing in the pickup truck for its unique style potential and the rugged personality it gives the driver. This popularity forced the automakers to curb their thinking and offer models that had lines and esthetically pleasing features like the sedans of the time without changing the overall structure and retaining the standard cargo bed. Chevrolet introduced both sleeker truck and car-like models called the El Camino, the Fleetside, while Dodge offered the Sweptline and Ford released the Ranchero to deliver an alternative to the consumer market and kill two birds with one stone. Quickly thereafter, trucks with "crew cabs", basically a four-door truck, were introduced to the market while other foreign manufacturers like Toyota, and Datsun jumped aboard the gravy train to take some of the business share. Around the mid 1960s, even the British joined the race, but shrunk down their ideas in the form of a small pickup with the introduction of the Austin Mini Pickup modeled after the original 1959 Mini, which set the tone for things to come.
As the small truck market in Asia began to accelerate, the US "chicken tax" (originally imposed in 1964, but developed into a 25 percent tariff on light trucks) gave American automakers an advantage in the market (until some light trucks importers later worked around the tariff with creativity and engineered loopholes). Other acts were established to support fuel-economy and environmental concerns, but seeds for the small to midsize truck movement were already planted and beginning to sprout in the hearts of consumers. If you were alive or are old enough to remember back this far, between the mid 1970s and early 1980s, the small truck market was booming and you could see the number of models appearing on the roadways at a growing rate. To many of us that grew up with larger pickups, station wagons, and vans all around us, this growth spurt was both exciting and strange all the same time. There was an invasion of smaller trucks from Japanese companies that included Mazda with their B1600, the B1800 and the Ford collaborative vehicle the Courier, Isuzu with the Faster, and Mitsubishi offering the Mighty Max. The U.S. market also had some solid competitors on the table such as Chevrolet's S-10 and Ford's Ranger series which were blending into the landscape quickly and bringing the newly categorized compact truck into the large circle of commercial familiarity that every American consumer wanted. We were entering a time and space where the need for durability, convenience, fuel economy, style, and uniqueness were a constant component within every consumer's conversation when discussing their automotive needs. As many of us know, our favorite automaker would inject its first contribution into the American market with a very unique offering to prompt a different feeling within its already dedicated and individualist community.
In 1977, Subaru was hard pressed to compete as the small truck revolution was in full swing across North America due to the contributions from Mazda, Toyota, Nissan, and a few U.S. manufacturers. Fully noticed by Subaru America's then President, a special request to develop a response to address this issue. A "Bi-Drive (a part-time all-wheel-drive) Recreational All-Terrain Transporter", moved into production for only the North American market. Boiling the long description down to the creative acronym "BRAT", Subaru rolled out a compact pickup truck based on the popular Leone station wagon. After conquering the restrictions of the previously mentioned "chicken tax" by brilliantly adding outdoor carpet and two seats to the cargo bed to effectively recategorize and classify the vehicle as a passenger car instead of a truck, Subaru's first official truck hit the U.S. market with no obstacles. The Subaru BRAT was sold in other markets including Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and Latin America under other names such as the Brumby, Targa, Shifter, 284, and MV, but was never offered to Japanese consumers due to fear that sales efforts would perform poorly. The Subaru BRAT's release in 1978 gave consumers a horizontally opposed boxer-four, the 1.6-liter EA71 engine that produced only 67 hp/81 lb-ft of torque which drove a four-speed manual transmission. In these early years, between its unique engineering, overall look, truck bed carpet and unconventional rear facing seats, the BRAT would be acknowledge by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as a qualified "Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle" that delivered both a daily drive and weekend fun to its most loyal fans.
By the beginning of 1981, Subaru gave the BRAT a slight upgrade, offering the driver the bigger 1.8-liter H-4 engine which increased its power output to 73 hp/94 lb-ft with the addition of a dual-range transfer case. As the little BRAT matured, by 1983 it steadily began to build muscle with the addition of a turbocharged engine and a boost to 95 hp/123 lb-ft of torque while also sporting an impressive three-speed automatic transmission featuring a convenient push-button activated four-wheel drive system. Moreover, this reclassified "passenger vehicle" was also a capable off-road performer when compared to its competitors at Toyota and Nissan. The BRAT gave this earlier drivers a three modes of attack for challenging situations including conventional front-wheel drive, or a high or low setting to engage a torque multiplier to effectively handle off-road obstacles, while also offering manually adjustable ride height to give the BRAT a full inch of additional lift totaling 9.9 inches of ground clearance - something you could not get from a Toyota Corolla. With additional features like a full size spare tire stored under the hood, on top of the motor in the engine bay (which was often negatively affected by heat - causing cracking), a hidden, singular off-road light at the front of the vehicle, and an optional camper shell for the rear bed to convert this early Subie overlander into an overnight explorer, the BRAT may have been a pioneer and predecessor to future models not yet in concept at Subaru engineering. Only time would tell. Sadly, U.S. sales ended by 1987, but the Subaru BRAT lived on in the remaining marketplaces until 1994 resulting in no conversations for a new truck replacement for years to come. The classic BRAT is still a popular and sought after model by enthusiasts and collectors alike.
When the calendar flipped to the year 2002, Subaru had already been close to a decade since the last of its fun-loving BRAT platform had been pushed out into the public outside the U.S. marketplace. Debuts of some of their most iconic, pioneering offerings had taken center stage in the U.S. market which creatively and effectively repositioned the consumers gaze onto a new frontier of driving, lifestyle, safety, and dependability that would define the company development and marketing efforts for years to come. Platforms including the Subaru Legacy in 1994, the Subaru Outback in 1995, the Forester in 1998, and the Impreza redesigned WRX in 2002 had stepped into the spotlight leaving the unique little BRAT in the halls of Subaru historic royalty without a successor. In that time frame their was literally no talk of a full-bodied, more robust replacement for the compact off-roader with commuter sensibilities until the Japanese car maker led one more show horse into the ring by introducing their new Subaru Baja, a newly conceived, larger BRAT-type truck that was a creative morphing of the brand's popular and most recently released Forester SUV. The Baja was a design combination caught between the crew cab truck and the conventional SUV, but with two rear seats firmly protected with interior comfort and cover, and an incredibly short, 41.5 inch truck-style bed that was far smaller than any competing model in its class. Unlike the past years when the market was becoming filled with small, compact trucks that had potentially impressive competition with the entrance of the Subaru BRAT in 1978, at the incoming of 2002, the market had a fully engaged small, midsize, full-size, and heavy duty selection within the marketplace that was a very lucrative property for most of the major car manufacturers. Features such as the "Switchback" rear cabin wall pass-through and the bed extender which were to address the lack of bed length did not seem as practical and/or inventive for this already quickly changing battlefield.
Even though its DNA, loaded with more modern look and style options, was figurative handed down by older brother BRAT, the overall appeal offered by the Subaru Baja was somewhat unique but not as innovative as some would have hoped, but this vehicle did give the faithful follower a outlet for weekend adventure, just like its beloved siblings the Forester, and Outback, that the standard pickup truck of the time could not deliver with the same level of comfort and convenience. Subaru's newly introduced Baja was equipped with full-time all-wheel drive with, of course, a much larger power plant than a BRAT owner could have imagined owning. The Baja's powerful, horizontally opposed four-cylinder EJ25 2.5-liter engine produced an impressive 165 hp/166 lb-ft of torque along with a choice of the five-speed manual transmission or the four-speed automatic. The first release Baja's equipped with manual transmissions engaged its power through a permanent all-wheel drive system channeled through a center differential. By the second year, the Subaru Baja Turbo edition was designed with a hood scoop which flowed air to a top-mounted intercooler along with upgrades to provide needed boost and performance. The Turbo Baja got an amplification of pony strength to 210 hp/235 lb-ft of torque, but with the addition of variable valve timing, the Turbo could reach peak torque at approximately 400 rpm lower than the engine inside the standard edition. Again, the more mature Baja offered the driver a few options with a useful roof rack and the cabin pass-through feature allowing longer and more challenging cargo to be stowed, but the towing capacity was much lower than any of its competitors. A hopeful overland enthusiast may have been attracted to the powerful output, the BRAT-like uniqueness, and the semi-car-meet-truck profile, but if the driver dreamed of a fully loaded, boat or trailer hauling vehicle that offered passenger comfort, impressive off-road capabilities, and towing muscle, most enthusiast at the time were disappointed with the limitations of the Subaru Baja. It seemed like a true offering, "The Subaru Truck" was not in the cards for our favorite car maker.
Even though the Baja was given the J.D. Powers APEAL (Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study) Award in 2003 and 2004, and Consumer Report's "highest score for reliability in the pickup truck category" in 2006, the platform did not gain the wide appeal that it potentially could have earned with further development and engineering. After original sales projections proved to be much higher than Subaru's actual return of investment, the automaker was forced to discontinue their second attempt at a pickup truck solution in April of 2006. Since that time, enthusiasts have continued to ponder, "Will Subaru try again?". Since that fateful year of 2006, there has been much speculation about a new version on the horizon and even a few fantasy concept designs spread throughout every corner of the internet. Many die-hard Subaru enthusiasts have dreamed about a new, innovative, truck platform to be released by the brand. Many feel that an announcement like that would be one of the most exciting nuggets of news to come out of the Japanese company's engineering sector for decades. There is no doubt that Subaru has injected the market with some amazing innovations that have been pioneering steps in performance, the advancement of motorsports, the redirection of consumer investment towards all-wheel-drive capable vehicles, and the constant improvement of safety and stability for all vehicles under multiple genres. Now, when the vintage, almost cultish classic Subaru Brat is remembered, it undoubtedly stands alone as a somewhat innovative, unique, and pioneering game changer which entered a world of standards, practices, and normalcy casting an odd alternative vision into the air that captured the hearts of a dedicated few. It entered doing the job that most doubted it could accomplish at the time, but most agree was an amazing accomplishment of effort even until this day. Then, unintentionally positioned as a the symbolic second coming for faithful truck-loving Subie enthusiasts, the Subaru Baja was the untrained, unplayed nervous rookie who was pushed into onto the field with unrealistic expectations as the game went into sudden death overtime. It offered some power, and unique moves, but its performance was too little too late. As Subaru keeps extending its lineup of vehicles and retains a reputation for impressive off-road capability and maintains a dedicated user base who would welcome an innovative alternative to the exploding midsize truck market, this may be a perfect time to incorporate a mixture of their combined technologies to develop a competitive, rugged, and capable truck design that will become another game changing product that could potentially shift the minds of another generation. As of today, there is no distant signal of development seen by the curious and focused faithful, but as we know too well, our community will never cease to hope that they know that it takes three strikes before you are officially out.
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Bryon Turcotte - Marketing Writer/Analyst
Turcotte has worked as a writer, journalist, and digital content developer for 30 years. He began his career in music journalism in 1995 then worked for several years as both a staff writer, managing editor, and a freelancer for both regional and national music publications. Over the next three decades his contributions extended beyond the music industry as he served within the realms of higher education, science and technology, manufacturing, and finance. He has been serving as a content developer and writer on the Subimods Marketing team since August 2023.
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