The Subaru Outback is a station wagon manufactured by Fuji Heavy Industries since 1995. Its original concept originated with Subaru of America, which was suffering from slumping sales in the mid-1990s partly due to a lack of an entry in the then-burgeoning sport utility vehicle market. Lacking the finances to design an all-new sport utility vehicle, Subaru decided to add body cladding and a suspension lift to their Legacy wagon. Christened the Legacy Outback, after the rugged areas of Australia, Australian actor Paul Hogan was the spokesman in the North American market, playing off the Australian name of the vehicle and portraying the vehicle as a capable and more efficient alternative to larger, truck-based SUVs.
All Outbacks sold worldwide are equipped with all wheel drive as standard equipment, the only drivetrain setup available.
Sales exceeded expectations, with Tim Mahoney, Senior Vice President of Subaru of America stating "[the Outback] saved our company."
Subaru introduced the Outback to Japan as the Legacy Grand Wagon–then renamed Legacy Lancaster in model year 1997. In 2004, the Outback name was adopted worldwide and moved to its own model line (except in Japan). All vehicles in the Outback line are derived from Subaru's Legacy, except the Outback Sport (aka Impreza Outback), which is derived from the Impreza hatchback.
Some credit Subaru for inventing the crossover genre with the Outback, while others point to it as the first in a resurgence of a class of vehicles that started with American Motors' Eagle wagon, launched in 1979.
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