ASK a British driver to name his favourite Subaru and he is likely to say the Impreza turbo, the road-going rally car that has become something of a cult hit for the PlayStation generation.

Ask the same question of a driver in the US and the answer will probably be very different. Over there, the most popular Scooby - to give the marque its FHM nickname - is a toss up between the Legacy Outback and the Forester, two cars that are radically different to the Impreza.

Never have perceptions of the same manufacturer been so radically different depending on which part of the world you live in.

The trick Subaru must now pull off is to convince Americans that some of its cars are exciting and Europeans that it is more than a one-trick turbo-charged pony.

In Japan, the word Subaru means unite.

The company is actually named after a cluster of six stars - part of the Taurus constellation - that, according to Greek mythology, represent the six daughters of Atlas.

As with so many auto companies, Subaru began as an aircraft manufacturer - The Aircraft Research Laboratory - in 1917.

In 1931 the group was reorganised and renamed the Nakajima Aircraft Company. The war saw all efforts diverted into the creation of combat aircraft with the result that the infamous Japanese Zero fighter was a Nakajima design.

After the war, the company was again restarted, this time as a manufacturer of motor scooters known as Fuji Sangyo.

Post-war modernisation saw Fuji split up and then amalgamated once more into Fuji Heavy Industries, the parent company that survives to this day.

Shortly afterwards, Subaru adopted the cluster of stars logo that has appeared on every car it has produced. The first product of the new company, the P-1, or Subaru 1500, became the first Japanese-made vehicle to have a unitary body, something that is taken for granted these days.

The company was something of a slow burner in Europe.

While early entrants to the British market such as Datsun (Nissan) forged strong links with local importers and built up a strong dealer network during the 1970s, Subaru adopted a far more cautious approach.

It was not until the group signed with an ambitious Birmingham-based importer - International Motors - that sales really began to take off.

Led by ebullient businessman Ed Swatman, the IM Group had high hopes for Subaru. Its cars were well built and reliable. Crucially, they all used four-wheel drive (the first Subaru 4WD car emerged as long ago as 1972), something that made the company a good fit with IM's other major portfolio, Isuzu.

Swatman also recognised the importance of motorsport in building a brand image. He encouraged a rally outfit, first in the British Championship and then on the world stage.

The Subaru combination of turbo-charged engines and nimble all-wheel drive chassis proved a potent cocktail, especially in the hands of the young Scots driver Colin McRae. When the Japanese company became seriously interested in contesting the world championship - first with the Legacy and then the smaller Impreza - McRae was chosen as the man to lead the attack.

Meanwhile, in the US, Subaru had gone in the opposite direction - shunning sport in favour of utilitarianism.

Both approaches have been successful.

In 2002, Fuji Heavy Industries posted earnings of $252m on worldwide sales of $11.3bn. About 90 per cent of that came from Subaru.

For all their rallying success, Subaru cars remain the plain Janes of the motoring world, so last year Kyoji Takenaka, chief executive officer of Fuji Heavy Industries, hired a new stylist.

Andreas Zapatinas' previous role was at Alfa Romeo, where he presided over a range of beautifully penned models that rescued the Italian marque from near disaster.

Luckily for him, Subaru remains in rude health. But the need for better-looking vehicles is just as pressing.

Zapatinas went to work without delay. He had a hand in the re-styled Forester (rounder, bolder and more attractive) and has teams working on an SUV (sport utility vehicle) and a stunning sportscar that will do much to lift Subaru's image. By 2007, he has orders to double the group's line-up of models.

Fuji Heavy Industries is prepared to bite the bullet now in order to reap the rewards later. Spending is up, while operating profit margins are down - at least for now. By 2007 the company expects to be selling 760,000 cars a year - a third more than in 2001.

This expansion will be closely watched in the offices of General Motors, the world's biggest motor company, and a major Fuji Heavy Industries' shareholder.

So far, the GM investment (it became the largest shareholder in 1999) has resulted in fairly modest co-operation. Saab sells a poorly face-lifted Impreza in the US (where it is called the 9-2) and there is talk of a new 4WD vehicle using Subaru know-how.

Subaru, for its part, has sold a re-badged Opel minivan as the Traviq back home in Japan.

Last year, Takenaka declared he wanted to see greater co-operation.

"The honeymoon is over," he said. "Now we must start acting like spouses."

If Subaru can successfully marry GM's style to its other qualities - that target of 760,000 sales a year may start to look very conservative indeed