We Now Know What The Stars In The Subaru Logo Really Mean

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From a recent Subaru of America communication to its retailers, we found out what the stars in the 2022 Forester, Outback, and other new models logo represent.

What do the stars in the Subaru logo mean, and what do they represent? CEO and President of Subaru of America, Tom Doll, sent out a communication recently to its U.S. retailers. Doll asked them nicely to not act like typical car dealers who take advantage of customers and mark up vehicles above the Manufactures Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) during the new 2022 Forester, Outback, Crosstrek, and other model shortages.

Last month, Doll sent out a letter to its retailers asking them to "honor the Love Promise in all customer interactions." The letter from Doll says Subaru has received many customer's letters and emails "voraciously complaining about sales of Subaru models at prices above MSRP."


photo credit: Schumacher Subaru of West Palm Beach

What does this have to do with the Subaru logo?

The new 2022 Subaru Forester, Outback, and all models have six stars in the logo. Some say they reference the Pleiades star cluster in the Taurus constellation, which is said to be easy to spot in the night sky above Japan. Others say the large star symbolizes Fuji Heavy Industries, and the five smaller stars indicate the five companies that merged to form FHI. But who knows?

Subaru of America CEO Tom Doll closes his communication with his retailers by urging them to "please stay star full!" This isn’t a reference to the Pleiades star cluster, which many say the Japanese automaker gets its logo and name.


photo credit: Cross Creek Subaru

Who are the stars?

Now we know what the Subaru logo represents in 2022 and beyond. Doll tells his U.S. retailers that the stars in the logo represent those who are the real stars when they treat customers with respect and "honor the Love Promise in all customer interactions."

Subaru of America isn't your typical auto manufacturer that only cares about making profits. Subaru cares about its customers and wants to keep them as repeat customers. Some automakers like Hyundai and Kia are charging well above MSRP during the new model shortages. But those customers will regret their decision when they realize they paid too much.

Subaru isn't perfect

Subaru of America makes mistakes and has not always done the best thing for its customers. Overall, the brand puts its customers first and has their best interest in mind when they sell a new Forester, Outback, Crosstrek, and other new all-wheel-drive models.

The letter sent out by Doll reveals that not all Subaru retailers are playing by the same rules of the "Love Promise." The communication from Doll says Subaru of America has received many customer's letters and emails "voraciously complaining about sales of Subaru models at prices above MSRP."

Doll says markups well above MSRP go against the HEART (honest, empathy, appreciation, respect, trust) pillars which is the foundation of the Subaru brand.

We now know the stars in the Subaru logo represent the Subaru of America retailers who are star performers when they treat customers with respect and earn their loyalty. Tom Doll is the real star who understands customers have many car choices and they will go somewhere else if not treated well in the buying process.

You Might Also Like: 7 Things You Need To Know About Subaru Before You Even Consider Buying One

Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Photo credit: Schumacher Subaru

Submitted by Christian Amaral (not verified) on March 9, 2022 - 7:51AM

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Kudos to Mr. Doll and Subaru for treating customers fairly and respectfully at this crazy time. Sad though that Mr. Doll either doesn’t proofread or, at worst, completely misuses the word “voraciously”. I believe he meant “vociferously”.

Submitted by Eugene (not verified) on March 9, 2022 - 9:13AM

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This has to be a joke.. right? This has the feel of how English dubbing always ruins Japanese animes.

In all seriousness though, many of the Subaru retailer websites all claim what you wrote in your paragraph about the Pleiades star cluster so I'm going to just go with that.

Submitted by Brian (not verified) on March 9, 2022 - 9:14AM

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Really? This is nonsense click bait. Conjecture, speculation, etc. Nothing in this article speaks to the origin only the dealers should represent the stars.

Submitted by Pamela Cunningham (not verified) on March 9, 2022 - 9:39AM

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I purchased a 2014 Forrester November 2021 I am 72 years old but not wise on the sneaky and dishonest ways of car salesmen. Unfortunately when I sign papers it went very quickly so when they handed me papers I signed them without reading. I just believed what they said. My life fell apart a year previous and I explained it to them - informing them what I could afford but it was ignored. I mad several reports to the BBB and they felt I had a legitimate complaint i then found out they are not BBB approved. This is such a twist and turn experience that it cannot be put into text. This was the second car I purchased from them and I traded a 2014 Camry with only 68,000 miles and it passed all safety inspections.
It would mean a great deal to me if someone would take the time to call me and prove what you represent. I would be grateful if Someone would please hear me out on this.
Pamela Cunningham
(203-715-4455)
pcunningham1015@yahoo.com
Thank you for your time.

Pamela Cunningham

Submitted by Lee Taplinger (not verified) on March 9, 2022 - 9:57AM

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I only have one complaint about Subaru, well, maybe some sub-complaints as well. Their engineers produced crappy head gaskets model year after model year, then they produced a new improved head gasket that wasn't any better, then bought defective piston rings, then corporate claimed their oil-burning engines were fine until a class action suit changed their Loving minds.

Kudos for having the only factual information on this page. Reminds me of all the speculation around the 3.6R engine naming. The Japanese word for “Liter” begins with “R” — it’s that simple.

Submitted by Mike Mitskavich (not verified) on March 9, 2022 - 10:51AM

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I have found my interaction with Subaru of America and it's dealer most disgusting.
From when I first purchased my 2016 Crosstrek and was taken advantage of and coerced into buying an extended warranty to my last attempt at having a long standing problem with intermittent loss of power steering corrected.
Do yourself a favor and avoid Subaru.

Submitted by Kenneth R. Boisvert (not verified) on March 9, 2022 - 7:58PM

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So all of us, the Subaru owners and dealers, are"STARS" in this logo.
COOL...;=]]

Submitted by Steven Yanevok (not verified) on March 10, 2022 - 10:12AM

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This is truly idiotic clickbait. But hey, I fell for it, and it shows torquenews.com is desperately trying to stay relevant. It’s like a high school junior wrote it on the way to class.

Submitted by Steven Garcia (not verified) on March 12, 2022 - 1:27PM

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Say what you want, but when my Forrester was totaled by a pickup truck that didn't see me. I step out of my vehicle unhurt and the other driver went to the hospital. Subaru forever! ♥️

Submitted by Barbara Hoelscher (not verified) on March 16, 2022 - 2:00AM

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We bought a slightly used 2018 Subaru Forrester only after I researched throughly the Consumer Report for best car. I loved that there was no recalls, we get 37mpg, it's very comfortable, has the eye stop, practically maintenence free and all wheel drive. Thank you Fox News for steering us to this company. We will never buy any other car brand again. My only fear now is, we are a target for car theft considering the great reputation and increasing gas prices for our Forrester.

Submitted by Barbara Hoelscher (not verified) on March 16, 2022 - 2:02AM

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We bought a slightly used 2018 Subaru Forrester only after I researched throughly the Consumer Report for best car. I loved that there was no recalls, we get 37mpg, it's very comfortable, has the eye stop, practically maintenence free and all wheel drive. Thank you Fox News for steering us to this company. We will never buy any other car brand again. My only fear now is, we are a target for car theft considering the great reputation and increasing gas prices for our Forrester.