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I'm new around here, so maybe this has been discussed. Subaru for a long time was such a niche manufacturer. Of course, it's not like they're one of the biggest automakers today. But, they've certainly made huge strides in numbers of vehicles sold over the last decade. They've really established themselves. They've continually pushed into new demographic and geographic areas in the U.S. Again, not one of the biggest manufacturers, but there's a big sense of normalcy about seeing Subarus now. Someone at Subaru deserves a heck of a lot of credit.
I think when they brought the WRX to the United States was a big step. But I think it's still a niche brand that is popular with the tuner crowd and families that live in parts of the country with lots of snow who aren't determine to drive American trucks so basically the northeast and Colorado. I spent 28 years in New England and always saw lots on the road. I've been in Los Angeles for 10 years and pretty much only see WRX (usually STI) and now some BRZ bit don't really see wagons, base Impreza or Legacy at all. The occasional Forester but if you don't need all wheel drive you can get a comparable crossover with better mpg like CRV or RAV
The Bloomberg article pretty much explains it but to really understand you need to:
1) Talk to a Subaru owner (many of us are very passionate about our vehicles and are more than willing to share our experiences), and
2) Go and test drive one for yourself.
A Subaru will probably be my next car. I've had a Honda Accord forever; great car, reliable, drives great. But, I want small SUV (Forrester) or hatchback (Outback) to put my bike in so I don't have to use a rack (I drive a lot and sometimes far to various trails and parks to bike). Plus, since my car is a 2003, I want updated tech inside, since car tech has come a long way from when I got my Accord. I know some Subaru owners who all love their car. Plus, Subaru is very much up my quality-but-not-flashy alley. I would have progressed to the Honda CRV back when it was still more square shaped, and that's a very good small SUV, but I simply hate how it looks upon redesign. I wouldn't give up quality for looks if there was no other option. But, I much prefer the look of the Subarus and they're great quality from everything I've heard and read.
Not so much a "renaissance" but a progression, which is something most companies did during the same time period.
Some of it is value driven, equipment installed/price (Mrs. NBP has a 2010 Forester. She looked at those and the Ford Escape and the Subaru was very much the better deal), some of it is marketing, some of it is perceived quality.
A Subaru will probably be my next car. I've had a Honda Accord forever; great car, reliable, drives great. But, I want small SUV (Forrester) or hatchback (Outback) to put my bike in so I don't have to use a rack (I drive a lot and sometimes far to various trails and parks to bike). Plus, since my car is a 2003, I want updated tech inside, since car tech has come a long way from when I got my Accord. I know some Subaru owners who all love their car. Plus, Subaru is very much up my quality-but-not-flashy alley. I would have progressed to the Honda CRV back when it was still more square shaped, and that's a very good small SUV, but I simply hate how it looks upon redesign. I wouldn't give up quality for looks if there was no other option. But, I much prefer the look of the Subarus and they're great quality from everything I've heard and read.
I have a 2013 Outback and absolutely love it.
This is my first Subaru and if I had known how great they are, I would have bought one years ago.
We plan to buy two Subaru's here soon another Forester & we're not sure about what other model we want. We love our Forester my wife won't have another make after having a Subie. She LOVES the massive sunroof on the Forester! IMO, I believe that Subies are nitch vehicles we were from people buy them because of their lifestyle. People who love the outdoors like us.
Not everyone takes their Subie off-road but we do & we go some places that most will never go. Our 2001 has 280,000 on it & going VERY strong. I don't see many cars of ANY make going that long it's rare these days. Subie owners have almost a cult following like VW's owners do & for good reason.
Subaru knows their customers better than most companies because they have much more advanced market research and customer retention programs. This allows them to better target a small number of models and avoid too many mistakes that alienate existing customers or bring in non-repeat buyers.
If you look at their lineup, there have only been 2 vehicles in the past 15 years that haven't sold particularly well - the Tribeca and the Baja, neither of which were renewed. The Baja wasn't a huge investment since it was basically an outback with the hatch cut to a bed. The Tribeca was meant to retain customers that needed a bigger vehicle than current offerings, but it competed in a crowded class and didn't achieve economies of scale with the Saab/GM sibling going out of production. IE: it wasn't meant to be a pure Subaru product and couldn't cut it on it's own. Subaru subsequently upped the size of the Outback to near Tribeca size and has plans to offer a new 3-row crossover/SUV in the US.
The opposite of Subaru among Japanese brands is Acura. They have a very difficult time generating repeat customers and their models typically don't last for more than a generation or two. While Acura is still a fairly successful brand, they never managed to cultivate much of a following or gain a niche beyond buyers looking for a nicer Honda.
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We love our Forester my wife won't have another make after having a Subie. She LOVES the massive sunroof on the Forester! 
IMO, I believe that Subies are nitch vehicles we were from people buy them because of their lifestyle. People who love the outdoors like us. 
