Some of you lot have told Jalopnik that branding doesn’t matter, but let’s face it, branding really does matter, because loyalty matters. From the salt you put on your eggs in the morning to the car you drive every day, your purchase tells that brand it’s doing something right. It’s why some movie franchises have more than 10 sequels even if the last 9 films were terrible. It’s why companies constantly find themselves sleeping with data giants.
This weekend’s question was inspired by a trend I saw popping up on social media over the last few days, where individuals are asked if they had to watch movies for 24 hours, and all of the films had to feature the work of one actor, who would they pick? I would choose John Malkovich, who has been in a ton of brilliant movies across the spectrum that would certainly keep any decent cinephile entertained. He’s just a great actor. How can you argue with that?
Getting to today’s question, though, I’ve modified it a bit for our purposes. Assuming the brand is still in existence for that long, if you could only drive cars from one automaker for the rest of your life, which brand are you choosing?
I choose you, Subaru
One company initially came to my mind for this week’s question, and it’s in the running for what will replace my Mercedes CLS when its time comes. I reckon I still have a few more years until I have to worry about that, but I would willingly pledge my life’s driving experiences to Subaru. The vehicles Subaru offers have long been on my list as hopefuls to own, doubling as decently fun on both the road and in the dirt, which has long been an attractive attribute to me. This is where my Mercedes tends to fail, even if I did once use it to go on an outdoor dirt biking adventure in the mountains. It managed, but a Subaru would have been much better.
It helps that Subaru has, for the longest time, continually sold a sedan with a manual transmission, with the current offering being the WRX. Sure, its lineup is mostly crossovers, but the Japanese brand has stayed true to its heritage, something many automakers constantly fumble. Subaru also makes vehicles that are near-indestructible. I’ve encountered many in the wild with well over 300,000 miles, beaten and bruised but still running. For bonus points, it certainly doesn’t hurt that Subaru does the whole doggy adoption display at basically every auto show in the nation.
Here’s where you readers come in. It’s time to buck up and pick a brand to drive you into the sunset that is the end of life. I thought about asking you to keep it to brands that exist now, but if you have strong feelings about a past manufacturer, so be it. I’m curious how you would keep defunct cars running for the next handful of decades, but as crafty folks that continue to endure the hobby, you find a way. You always find a way.
