Subaru Outback

The first Subaru Legacy Outback was introduced in the United States in 1996. It was a Legacy wagon with all wheel drive (AWD), body-cladding, off-road tires and higher ground clearance. It is touted using their trademarked phrase "The World's First Sport Utility Wagon".

The phrase may be trademarked, but it is not entirely accurate. In 1979, American Motors Corp. (AMC) launched the AMC Eagle range, which had an identical philosophy.

Subaru of America executives created the Outback because the SUV craze had just started and the Forester was two years away, leaving dealers clamoring for a SUV-like product to sell in the meantime.

It turned out to be a success, with clever ads featuring "Crocodile Dundee" star Paul Hogan. An Outback Sport, based on the Subaru Impreza five-door hatchback was introduced in 1998.

Other companies followed suit with similar raised, four-wheel-drive station wagons as stop-gaps before their own SUVs were launched, or if they did not envisage introducing one. These included the Audi A6 Allroad, Volvo XC70, Alfa Romeo 156 CrossWagon and Holden Adventra.

The Outback was introduced to Japan in 1999 as the Subaru Legacy Lancaster. In 2000, Outback became its own model and added a sedan, as well as an available horizontal six-cylinder engine.

In 2003, with the début of the fourth-generation Legacy at the 60th Frankfurt Auto Show, the Outback name is now being used worldwide with the launch of the second-generation Outback wagon. H6-3.0 models were introduced at the 2004 Chicago Auto Show.