Subaru

The Japanese company that makes the cars and trucks imported by Subaru of America has agreed to invest $20 million in Subaru in return for a greater voice in running the Cherry Hill importer. Subaru said Fuji Heavy Industries has agreed to buy 50,000 shares of Subaru's non-voting preferred stock for $20 million, an amount equal to nearly 10 percent of Subaru's net worth. Subaru has reported losses totaling $88 million in its last two fiscal years. Subaru, at its Feb. 24 board meeting, will give Fuji two more seats on the company's board of directors.

To kick off a week of festivities early this month, promoters of Aspen's annual "Winternational" ski races lit a huge bonfire in Wagner Park at the foot of Ajax Mountain. On the steep slopes above the town, eerie red ribbons of light soon appeared as hundreds of skiers began a torchlight parade down the snow-covered trails. A display of fireworks erupted over the former mining town. At the finale of the fireworks, a pyrotechnic set-piece proclaimed "Subaru/Aspen" across the mountain.

The high cost of buyer-incentive programs at Subaru of America Inc. resulted in third-quarter losses of $23.5 million. For the nine months that ended July 31, the Cherry Hill importer of Subaru vehicles reported losses of $31.7 million, which it said were caused largely by a program of rebates and advertising instituted this year to boost lagging sales. Sales were down 9 percent for the third quarter from the year before, and for the first nine months of the fiscal year. The program is designed to allow Subaru distributors to offer rebates averaging $2,000 per car. SUBARU OF AMERICA INC. (OTC)

Subaru of America Inc. earnings were off sharply in the second quarter, thanks to the cost of car-buyer incentives and the weakening of the dollar against the Japanese yen. The Cherry Hill-based company, which markets Subaru cars in the United States, also reported a decrease in earnings for the first six months of fiscal 1987. According to Syd Havely, Subaru's national corporate affairs manager, the earnings drop was greater in the second quarter than in the first because the incentives didn't go into effect until the second period.

With work crews completing the finishing touches, Subaru of America Inc. has set the formal opening of its $18 million headquarters in Cherry Hill for October. Earlier this summer, the company moved 450 employees from a nearby industrial park to the new seven-story building on Route 70. The move was a long-awaited solution to the growing company's problem of increasingly cramped quarters. For 16 years, Subaru occupied a converted warehouse at the Airport Industrial Park in Pennsauken, about a mile away from the new headquarters.

Subaru of America, which lost $30 million in 1987, yesterday said it made a small profit in its latest quarter, but not enough to preserve the company's common-stock dividend. Subaru suspended its quarterly cash dividend of 9.5 cents a share to "replenish our cash position," said spokesman Syd Havely. The Cherry Hill-based distributor of Subaru automobiles and trucks last paid a dividend on Dec. 31. "We expect the 1988 automotive market to be very competitive and characterized by aggressive marketing programs," said company chairman Harvey Lamm.

Subaru of America Inc., the U.S. importer of Subaru cars, appears to be continuing its fiscal renaissance, reporting yesterday that it was tacking $5.5 million in second-quarter earnings onto the $10 million it made in the first quarter. These tidings follow several lean years during which the company lost a total of $80 million. Subaru attributed its improved results to the higher profit margins of its newest model, the Legacy compact, and reduced advertising and expenses for sales incentives.

The Japanese yen's increased strength against the dollar, which increased costs of the cars it imports, and expensive incentives offered to sell cars left Subaru of America Inc. with a loss for the second quarter in a row. The Cherry Hill-based importer and distributor of cars made by Fuji Heavy Industries of Japan had predicted a loss for the quarter. The $15 million in red ink was an improvement from a $50 million loss in the previous quarter. SUBARU OF AMERICA (OTC) 4 QTR. '87 4 QTR. '86 PCT. END 10/31 END 10/31 CHG. Sales (millions)

Until recently, no one has ever accused Fuji Heavy Industries of building a sexy Subaru. That changed late in 1984, with the debut of the sporty XT. It changed even more this January, when Subaru introduced the Three-Door Hatchback. The aerodynamic Three-Door Hatchback is what good, clean automotive styling is all about. From this motorist's vantage point, it is the most aesthetic Subaru ever made. If there is one design nit to be picked with this handsome coupe, it is that its 13-inch wheels and tires are a tad too small to be precisely proportionate to its body.

Subaru of America Inc., the Cherry Hill auto distributor, yesterday said it would cut its 1,080-person payroll by up to 10 percent. Some employees have been notified in recent weeks that they will be fired effective Dec. 28, spokesman Richard Marshall said. More reductions will follow, he said. The cuts will be made in Cherry Hill, Pennsauken and at regional offices across the nation. About 60 percent of the company's employees are in New Jersey. Subaru, which lost $42.4 million last year, was bought in August by Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the Japanese company that makes Subaru's cars and that had owned 49 percent of Subaru's stock.

In the Region New 747s ready to be rolled out Boeing said Tuesday that it was on track to deliver the first of its new 747s that would haul paying passengers early this year. The company, with facilities in Delaware County, said flight testing on the new 747-8 Intercontinental was due to wrap up in five to seven days. The first customer is German airline Lufthansa. Boeing Co. has been making 747s for more than 40 years but is now undergoing a major overhaul. The new version includes changes to 70 percent of the plane.

LAS VEGAS - The "Dougherty Gang" brothers - accused of robbing a bank, shooting at a police officer and outrunning authorities in multiple states with their sister last summer - pleaded guilty yesterday to charges in Colorado, where the three were apprehended. Ryan and Dylan Dougherty will be sentenced in April, along with their sister, Lee Grace, who entered a guilty plea last week. The Doughertys' crime spree stirred up nationwide interest because of the siblings' youth - all are in their 20s. The brothers were carpenters, Lee Grace an exotic dancer.

WHILE HIS classmates were easing back into the college lifestyle after the holiday break, Jason Dolla spent Wednesday night leading the construction of the city's only ski resort. "This took quite a bit of planning," said Dolla, who hopes his hard work will help propel him into the job market this spring. "Talking to people in the [winter sports] industry has really helped me get my name out there. " Dolla, president of the Temple University Snowboarding Club, organized the annual Bell Tower Rail Jam, held yesterday underneath the chimes for which it was named.

While his classmates were easing back into the college lifestyle after the holiday break, Jason Dolla spent Wednesday night leading the construction of the city's only ski resort. "This took quite a bit of planning," said Dolla, who hopes his hard work will help propel him into the job market this spring. "Talking to people in the [winter sports] industry has really helped me get my name out there. " Dolla, the president of the Temple University Snowboarding Club, organized the annual Bell Tower Rail Jam, held Thursday underneath the chimes it was named for. The competition drew 25 skiers and snowboarders to Temple's campus, some making the trek down from the Pocono Mountains.

PUEBLO, Colo. - A woman caught with her two brothers after a nationwide manhunt told Colorado authorities she "deserved to get shot" after pointing a gun at a police chief at the end of the siblings' run from the law, according to a court document. Lee Grace Dougherty, along with Dylan Dougherty Stanley and Ryan Edward Dougherty, are being held in Pueblo County, Colo., with bail set at $1.25 million each. They made their first court appearance Thursday by video from jail, and none made any statement during the brief hearing.

As a top executive at Subaru of America Inc. , Thomas J. Doll has traveled to Japan on business many times to meet with his colleagues in Tokyo. The earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeast coast of Japan on March 11 didn't cause him to change plans to fly out from Newark two days later. However, after landing in Tokyo and learning that the State Department was advising U.S. citizens to avoid travel to Japan, Doll wound up cutting this visit short and returning to Cherry Hill.

Cherry Hill-based Subaru of America Inc. today said its September sales of 21,432 vehicles represents a 47 percent increase over September 2009. The results reflect a near doubling of sales of the Subaru Outback sport utility wagon. Year-to-date sales of 193,614 units, compared to 158,421 units sold by this time in 2009, represents a 22-percent gain, the company said. Subaru has about 2 percent of the U.S. market share. Subaru of America is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan.

LaSalle Hotel Properties jumped into Philadelphia's Center City hotel market with two purchases Wednesday, while selling its only Atlantic City-area property. The Bethesda, Md., real estate investment trust bought the Westin Philadelphia from HEI Hotels & Resorts for $145 million. The 294-room Westin at 99 S. 17th St. is part of the two-tower Liberty Place office, retail, and residential complex. LaSalle also bought the Embassy Suites Philadelphia - Center City hotel from HEI for $79 million.

A Lancaster County man has been ordered to stand trial in the early-morning April 11 hit-and-run that critically injured a Temple University law student walking home in Center City. Municipal Court Judge Jimmie Moore ruled Tuesday that Nicholas Hasselback should be tried on the more serious first-degree felony aggravated assault after Hasselback's passenger and friend said he thrice warned him about his speed and then his failure to stop after hitting Tony Foltz. Assistant District Attorney Lynne O'Brien said Hasselback, 22, of Ephrata, will be formally arraigned on the assault and related charges on June 29. Hasselback remains free after friends posted 10 percent of his $500,000 bail, but he may not leave Lancaster County without court approval and is prohibited from driving.

The bloodbath in Detroit hasn't trickled over to Subaru of America Inc., with headquarters in Cherry Hill, which posted a slight increase in car sales for 2008 and gained its highest market share ever. Sales for 2009 are down only 2 percent, according to its latest year-to-date figures. Partly, that is a lucky function of being a small, niche automaker without a Big Three industrial base to sustain after car sales dropped off a cliff. Partly, it is a virtue of having seen the handwriting on the wall before the cliff dive.