THOSE of us lucky enough to drive the powerful Subaru Impreza WRX rally-bred sports saloons may be surprised about the ancestry of their wheels.
The Subaru car story starts in 1958, when the parent company Fuji Heavy Industries rolled out its first mass-produced car - the 360.
Far from being a super-fast sports saloon, the Subaru 360 was a people's car which looked extremely strange - almost a caricature of a VW Beetle.
Nicknamed the ladybug it turned out to be one of Japan's most popular cars and among the smallest cars in the world to attract a significant following.
It was, in essence a step up from the bubble car, having four wheels with room for four passengers and it enjoyed a long production run with 392,000 units produced from 1958 to 1971.
The 360 - named after the size of the 356cc engine - sparked off a small car craze with competitors including the Mitsubishi 360 in 1961, the Daihatsu Fellowe in 1966 and the Suzuki Fronte in 1967 .
The little 360 may have been short on power under the bonnet but it could certainly accelerate emotions. Some loved it and others hurled abuse. Its whole being was governed by Japanese micro-car legislation and it is one of those few cars that look apologetic for being there at all.
Perhaps one of the most amusing descriptions it has received is a cross between a Dinky Toy and a jelly bean.
Its two-stroke water-coooled two-cylinder engine was mounted transversely in the rear and early models had only three speeds and mechanical brakes.
There was also an even stranger looking estate and a commercial version with flop-down rear windows.
On a bad day you were looking at around 56mph max speed. But on a good day with a tail wind the little 360 could attain the dizzy limits of 62mph with a little coaxing.
The 360 may have done well in Japan but the rest of the world was not so convinced. For a start its rear-hinged doors were rapidly becoming unfashionable with consumer experts remarking they could fall back in the wind.
Unlike the Impreza of today the little 360 was very laid back when it came to acceleration with a 37 second 0-50mph 'sprint.' It was thirsty too, with owners only expecting to attain between 25-35mpg.
There were no imports to the UK in those days but nearly 10,000 were exported to the US, with an original price of $1,297. But disaster struck in 1969 when Consumer Reports magazine branded it unacceptable because of safety concerns and lack of power.
Because the car weighed under 1,000 pounds, it was exempt from normal safety standards, but it was reported that it fared badly in a test crash against a large American car. Hardly surprising in my view.
Sales soon collapsed, and there were rumours of of 360s being tossed overboard from ships or being shredded to pieces.
It was also reported that many sat on dealers' lots for two or three years without being purchased. One desperate dealer was even offering six brand new ones for just $2,000.
Despite this, Subaru gained much popularity in the United States with its later models.
Today you can still see 360s starring in Japanese series such as Pokemon and there is also a growing preservation movement.