Japanese automaker Subaru recently honored seventeen of its dealerships in the United States for their 25 years of marketing Subaru vehicles in the country. The celebration for the 25th anniversary of the seventeen dealerships was held at the Subaru National Business Conference in Las Vegas.

These dealerships are keys to the automaker’s expansion in the United States. With Asian automakers gaining momentum over American automakers in the country, Subaru is in a position to become a major threat to other automakers in the market. With the help of their dealerships, the Japanese carmaking firm is reaching out to more consumers.

Tim Colbeck, the vice president of sales for Subaru of America, congratulated the dealerships saying: “On behalf of Subaru of America, I'd like to congratulate our twenty-fifth anniversary dealers. We appreciate the commitment and investment that our dealers have made in the Subaru brand over the years, and we know that they will continue to lead the charge in enabling us to reach new levels of success.”

The seventeen dealerships recognized at the event have been marketing Subaru vehicles for more than two decades. The Japanese automaker is known for its use of boxer engines and all wheel drive powertrains. Boxer engines are flat engines with the pistons positioned horizontally and reciprocating in opposite directions. The name of the engine came from this arrangement as the pistons are said to akin to a boxer’s punching motions.

Aside from that, the Japanese automaker is also known for the use of all-wheel drive configurations. With the use of this technology, stability, handling and traction of their vehicles are known the world over. The Japanese firm uses this expertise in motorsports as they have entries in the World Rally Championship. For conventional drivers, the use of all-wheel drive system is very much welcomed by performance enthusiasts.

Reliability is also a trademark for Subaru. With auto parts such as Subaru mufflers, drivetrain components, transmission and other system components designed for a long life, Subaru vehicles have become known as reliable cars.

All these attributes are what the seventeen and other Subaru dealerships are using to attract consumers. Although not as popular as other Japanese carmakers such as Toyota and Honda, Subaru is slowly becoming a major force in the United States auto market with the help of the seventeen dealerships.

The Earthtimes reported that the seventeen Subaru dealerships celebrating their 25th anniversary are: Lamb Subaru, Prescott, Ariz.; Downtown Subaru, Oakland, Calif.; Schaller Subaru, Middletown, Conn.; Classic Subaru, Atlanta, Ga.; Subaru of Countryside, Countryside, Ill.; Tom Wood Subaru, Indianapolis, Ind.; Dwyer & Sons Subaru, Commerce Twp., Mich.; Clements Subaru, Rochester, Minn.; Jim Armstrong Subaru, Hickory, N.C.; Lynnes Subaru, Bloomfield, N.J.; Miller Subaru, Lumberton, N.J.; Stocker Subaru, State College, Penn.; LaRiche Subaru, Findlay, Ohio; Gentry Subaru, Ontario, Ore.; Hanson Subaru, Olympia, Wash.; Roy Robinson Subaru, Marysville, Wash.; and Dahl Subaru, La Crosse, Wis.

These dealerships have been with the company for a quarter of a century and with their efforts being appreciated by Subaru, it looks as if the relationship between automaker and auto dealers is going well.

These seventeen dealerships along with other Subaru dealerships will soon be marketing the newest models of Subaru vehicles. Included in the lineup of the Japanese automaker for the 2008 model year is the refined Legacy. The Subaru Outback will also be hitting showrooms soon. The legendary Subaru Impreza and its WRX have also been upgraded for the new model year.