Trump may be waving around tariffs like a goof, but the import duties are nothing new, and neither are loopholes around them
But tariffs against the automotive industry, and creative ways around them, have been present longer than most people toiling at this outlet have been alive. Back in the mid-‘60s, President Lyndon B. Johnson slapped a 25% tax on imported products ranging from potato starch to brandy. While those items eventually had their tariff lifted, one piece of merchandise included in the decree (namely, light trucks) was left on the books, and has been there ever since.
This partially explains why just about every single pickup with an open cargo bed sold on this side of the pond is assembled on this continent.
Whatever amount of capitalization one places on the vehicle, there was no getting around the fact this was a pickup truck assembled outside of North America, and therefore subject to tariffs—that is, until some enterprising individual inside Subaru realized that if a pair of jump seats were bolted into the open cargo area, it would technically be a passenger car, a style of machine subject to a far less punitive 2.5% tariff.
The ruse was clear – but it worked. Until the 1986 model year, after which the model was redesigned and dropped from the North American market, the Subaru Brat was equipped with a pair of rear-facing seats, complete with plastic grab handles and “safety” belts. We put quotes around that word since there was nothing safe at all about this setup, particularly since the ride height of these things effectively meant the passenger’s heads served as a roll bar if the truck went bottom-up in a crash.
Sign up for our newsletter Blind-Spot Monitor and follow our social channels on X, Tiktok and LinkedIn to stay up to date on the latest automotive news, reviews, car culture, and vehicle shopping advice.