In addition to the Port of Vancouver’s geographical advantage as a place to import Japanese automobiles, Subaru likes the climate. The rainy atmosphere is free of dust that could scratch the cars’ soft new finish.
A red 2015 Forester station wagon, recently arrived off the NYK auto carrier Dionysos Leader from Yokosuka, Japan, was declared to be the 1 millionth Subaru to cross the floating dock at the Port of Vancouver. For 22 years, Subarus have been a major part of the port’s business — last year alone, 69,378 of them were imported here.
Not all Subarus come through Vancouver. The company, a division of Fuiji Heavy Industries, builds some models at a soon-to-be-expanded plant in Indiana, and imports others at six U.S. ports.