Subaru. My salvation from the school director – Auto Motor Klassiek – a magazine about vintage cars

My principal looked at me, shaking his head, when I entered his room after school. His eyes showed despair in ten volumes. This was the eleventh time that I had to report it for stubborn and stubborn behavior, and the person in front of me was certainly not happy. A conversation with a cup of coffee was now overdue. It was bad, this could have gone in the wrong direction in preparation for my final exams. I really had to come up with something now and give a good description of my character. I suddenly compared myself to Subaru, a brand that had a loyal customer base for my principal.

The sky instead of these disappeared very quickly. Initially, the director’s anger turned into surprise. Moments later, the striking school principal burst into a wild and funny laugh, which was so infectious that I could no longer keep a straight face. The director repeated my words again. “I’m like Subaru, how do you get there again man?” The director’s laugh was suddenly followed by a heavy cough, but the ice was broken again. Although I always got along well with the director, now I felt some relief.

So the director drove a Subaru. It had a hardtop version from the second Leone Series. That was a car from 1983. I’ve always had a soft spot for the Japanese specialty brand, which also built four-wheel drive family cars very early in the 1970s. The boxer engines and special design gave extra character to the Japanese manufacturer’s products. . For example, windowless doors were a trademark. My principal was one of the few in the area who drove a Japanese-made car. It was 1986 and in that year Subaru sold 4,303 cars in the Netherlands for an annual total of 560,000 units.

Especially at that time, I thought Subaru was unique. Models showed courage and individuality. The school director’s 1800 GLF was a vehicle that received sympathy. However many people did not step up to Subaru. The Japanese brand was very stubborn about that and I thought that was great. Subaru presented a different kind of thinking, without giving up his own philosophy. And above all: without losing originality. I realized that, although of course it was going too far to compare myself to Subaru.

The director and I talked for a while. He enjoyed listening to my stories about cars. At that time, my father was also in the school’s parent council, he was also a person who went away. We also talked about it for a while. At that time my parents drove a Volkswagen Golf C Diesel. But when I told them that they had driven Citroën for many years, the director recognized it. My parents’ Citroën history didn’t surprise him. I thought it fit my father’s character well, he also called those historical choices entertaining. And above all: the choices that a person made themselves and were not decided by someone else. “I don’t sit in a car to make someone else happy, I drive a Subaru because I think that brand is special. And it’s good that you don’t see them that much.”

For a moment I thought I was on the same page as the school principal. I was ready to tell him about the real Subaru dealership that my small town had during the 1970s. And that’s how I got to know about vintage Subarus. But at that moment the director took the last sip of coffee. He immediately helped me out of the dream afterwards. The teacher in him came back, and emphatically reminded me of my responsibility and my work to focus on the class and especially the teachers. He had already told me that twenty times, and he repeated it again. “And now go home, come back tomorrow with new courage.”

Towards the beautiful summer of 1986, I received my diploma, passed the MAVO exam with ease and the wonderful school period in Alkmaar came to a close. It meant a lot to me to leave my old school, I received the diploma with mixed feelings. The school director took my hand and winked at me. His parting words were special. “We had a great time. But behave in Alkmaar. I will miss you, Subaru!”