The Subaru 360, or the Ladybug as it was known in Japan, was the first mass-produced Subaru vehicle. It was produced from 1958 to 1971, and may very well be the most adorable little vehicle you've ever seen.
The tininess of this Subaru can't be over-stated. The Subaru 360 was technically classified as a microcar and it weighed just 1,000 pounds! 1,000 pounds is a half a ton, or the median weight of a polar bear, or an 8-month old baby elephant, or this chocolate Santa. The average weight of a car is around 4,000 pounds, so that means the little Subaru weighed only a quarter as much as today's average car.
Today you probably can't find a car with a 350cc engine, but that's roughly what the Subaru 360 was working with. The 360 had a 356cc engine, which is the reason for the name of the vehicle.
The Ladybug was designed to be Japan's national car and was extremely popular overseas. Subaru offered Japan the 360 in a station wagon, sport model, convertible, and a two-door option all within a single generation. The success of the 360 in Japan was so great that the two-door model was imported to the U.S. 10,000 were sold, championed by a series of commercials that claimed that the Subaru 360 was "Cheap and Ugly".
It's true that the 360 wasn’t the flashiest or most attractive vehicle around at the time, but there is something endearing about it. It's like a puppy that looks so strange that it becomes beautiful.
An interesting fact about the little Subaru is that it was actually exempt from US safety regulations. It only had a top speed of 60 miles per hour and since it weighed just 1,000 pounds, normal regulations didn't apply. Subaru has definitely come a long way since the days of the Ladybug. Not only do today's Subaru vehicles meet safety regulations, they get top safety ratings!
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