Fuji Rabbit

Last updated
Fuji S-1
Fuji Touring 150 - Side View.jpg
Fuji Touring 150 - side view
ManufacturerFuji-Sangyo
now Subaru Corporation [1]
Also calledFuji Rabbit scooter
Production1946—1968
AssemblyOtakita Plant, Ōta, Gunma, Japan
Predecessor Powell Streamliner [2]
Class Scooter
Engine 135 cm3 (8.2 cu in) 4-stroke, SV
air-cooled, vertical single-cylinder [2]
Bore / stroke 55 mm × 57 mm (2.2 in × 2.2 in) [2]
Power 2 PS (1.5 kW; 2.0 hp) at 3000 rpm [2]
Frame type Ladder tube [2]
Wheelbase 1,115 mm (43.9 in) [2]
DimensionsL: 1,547 mm (60.9 in)
W: 545 mm (21.5 in)
H: 940 mm (37 in) [2]
Weight75 kg (165 lb) [2]  (dry)
Fuel capacity5.6 L (1.2 imp gal; 1.5 US gal) [2]
Fuel consumption35 km/L (99 mpgimp; 82 mpgUS) [2]

The Fuji Rabbit is a motor scooter produced in Japan by Fuji Heavy Industries (now Subaru Corporation) from 1946 through 1968. The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (in Japanese) rates the Fuji Rabbit S-1 model introduced in 1946 as one of their 240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology. [2]

Contents

Production

Fuji Rabbit 150, showing a Shoshinsha beginner's mark Fuji Touring 150 01.jpg
Fuji Rabbit 150, showing a Shoshinsha beginner's mark
Fuji Rabbit Junior in Chile Fuji Rabbit Junior Parque Arauco 2009 (3).jpg
Fuji Rabbit Junior in Chile

Production of the initial model, the S-1, began in 1946, some six months before the Vespa went into production. [3] It was largely inspired by scooters used by American servicemen during and after World War II, benefiting from engineering efforts from the scooter built by the Powell Manufacturing Company. [4] [5] [2] As the first motor scooter manufactured in Japan, it was enormously successful and revolutionized the post-war vehicle industry. [2] Eventually the Fuji Rabbit scooters evolved into some of the most technologically sophisticated scooters of their era, featuring electric starters, automatic transmissions and pneumatic suspension systems. The Fuji Rabbit scooters were the first Japanese made scooters capable of reaching speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). The Rabbit's primary competitor was the Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon, which started production around the same time. Motor scooters were so important to the post-war vehicle industry that In May 1948 both a Silver Pigeon and a Rabbit were presented to the Emperor of Japan. [1] Starting in 1954 the Rabbit also faced competition from the Honda Juno.

As the Japanese economy expanded, the demand for scooters decreased in favor of more comfortable four wheel transport, called kei cars , and Fuji followed suit and diversified into automobiles in 1958 with the introduction of the Subaru 360. The last Fuji scooter rolled off the production line in June 1968.

Although not very well known outside Japan, the Fuji Rabbit has earned itself a place in Japanese pop culture as a symbol of nostalgia. Fuji Rabbits have been featured in Japanese animated series such as Paranoia Agent , and are a favourite amongst collectors of scooters and motorcycles in Japan.

North America

In North America, the Fuji Rabbit is best known for starting Malcolm Bricklin's motor vehicle career. (Bricklin was later responsible for importing the Subaru 360 and the Yugo hatchback, as well as producing his own car, among other things.)

The main importer for North America was the American Rabbit Corporation.

Related Research Articles

Soichiro Honda Japanese businessman

Soichiro Honda was a Japanese engineer and industrialist. In 1948, he established Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and oversaw its expansion from a wooden shack manufacturing bicycle motors to a multinational automobile and motorcycle manufacturer.

Suzuki Japanese multinational corporation

Suzuki Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, four-wheel drive vehicles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines. In 2016, Suzuki was the eleventh biggest automaker by production worldwide. Suzuki has over 45,000 employees and has 35 production facilities in 23 countries, and 133 distributors in 192 countries. The worldwide sales volume of automobiles is the world's tenth largest, while domestic sales volume is the third largest in the country.

Subaru 360 Motor vehicle

The Subaru 360 is a rear-engined, two-door city car manufactured and marketed from 1958 to 1971 by Subaru. As the company's first automobile, production reached 392,000 over its 12-year model run.

The Toyota Group is a group of companies that have supplier, vendor and investment relationships with Toyota Industries and Toyota Motor vehicle manufacturing facilities. It is similar to a keiretsu in that no particular entity has outright control over the entire group, although unlike most keiretsu it does not contain a major bank.

Malcolm Bricklin American businessman

Malcolm N. Bricklin is an American businessman, widely known for an unorthodox career spanning more than six decades with numerous prominent failures and successes — primarily manufacturing or importing automobiles to the United States, ultimately starting over thirty companies.

Subaru of America, Inc., based in Camden, New Jersey, is the United States-based distributor of Subaru's brand vehicles, a subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. The company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers throughout the United States.

Lists of automobile-related articles Wikipedia list article

Lists of automobile-related articles cover a wide range of topics related to cars. The lists are organized by manufacturer, region, sport, technology and so on.

Subaru 1000 Motor vehicle

The Subaru 1000 was the first front wheel drive Subaru produced by Fuji Heavy Industries that was in the Japanese government "compact car" classification starting in 1966. Previous Subaru models such as the Subaru 360 and the Sambar had been rear-engined, rear wheel drive kei cars.

Powell Manufacturing Company (PMC) was a company based in southern California, widely known for its line of motor scooters that peaked in popularity in the late 1940s. From September 1954 to March 1957, Powell manufactured "Sport Wagon" pickup trucks and station wagons.

Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon

The Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon is a series of scooters made in Japan by Mitsubishi between 1946 and 1963. The first was the C-10, based on a scooter imported from the United States by Koujiro Maruyama, which began production at the Nagoya Machinery Works of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Along with the Mizushima three-wheeler pickup truck it represented Mitsubishi's first contributions to the Japanese post-war personal transport boom. The Silver Pigeon's primary competitor was the Fuji Rabbit. Motor scooters were so important to the post-war vehicle industry that In May 1948 both a Silver Pigeon and a Rabbit were presented to the Emperor of Japan. The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan(in Japanese) lists the Silver Pigeon C-10 model introduced in 1946 as one of their 240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology.

Yamaha DT

The Yamaha DT is a series of motorcycles and mopeds produced by the Yamaha Motor Corporation. Models in the DT series feature an engine displacement of 50 to 400 cc. The first DT model, the DT-1, was released in 1968 and quickly sold through its initial 12,000 production run.

Subaru 1500 Motor vehicle

The first vehicle built by the automotive division of Fuji Heavy Industries was called the Subaru 1500, with the development code-name of P1. The prototype used a monocoque body structure and adopting the "ponton" style appearance, with an independent front wishbone suspension and a rear leaf spring suspension with three plates and a live rear axle.

Scooter (motorcycle) Low-speed motorcycle

A scooter or motor scooter is a motorcycle with a step-through frame and a platform for the rider's feet. Elements of scooter design were present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and scooters have been made since at least 1914. Scooter development continued in Europe and the United States between the World Wars.

Subaru Japanese automobile manufacturing company

Subaru (スバル) is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Subaru Corporation, the twenty-first largest automaker by production worldwide in 2017.

Yamaha YA-1

The Yamaha YA-1 is the first motorcycle produced by the Yamaha Motor Company. It was made from 1955 to 1958. This was also the first vehicle in Japan to have a primary kick start system. The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan(in Japanese), includes the 1955 Yamaha 125YA-1 as one of their 240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology.

Automotive industry in Japan Overview of the automotive industry of Japan

The automotive industry in Japan is one of the most prominent and largest industries in the world. Japan has been in the top three of the countries with most cars manufactured since the 1960s, surpassing Germany. The automotive industry in Japan rapidly increased from the 1970s to the 1990s and in the 1980s and 1990s, overtook the U.S. as the production leader with up to 13 million cars per year manufactured and significant exports. After massive ramp-up by China in the 2000s and fluctuating U.S. output, Japan is currently the third largest automotive producer in the world with an annual production of 9.9 million automobiles in 2012. Japanese investments helped grow the auto industry in many countries throughout the last few decades.

Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc.

Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. (SIA) is an automobile assembly plant in Lafayette, Indiana, which began as Subaru-Isuzu Automotive, Inc., a joint venture between Subaru Corporation and Isuzu Motors Ltd. Today, the plant is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation which produces the Ascent, Impreza, Legacy and Outback models. As Subaru's only manufacturing facility outside of Asia, SIA produces about half of all Subaru vehicles sold in North America.

Shinroku Momose

Shinroku Momose was a Japanese aircraft/automotive engineer.
He is famous for the development of the Subaru 360, the Subaru Sambar and the Subaru 1000 series.

Tan Chong Motor

Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad, also known as the TCMH Group or simply Tan Chong Motor (TCM) is a Malaysia-based multinational corporation that is active in automobile assembly, manufacturing, distribution and sales, but is best known as the franchise holder of Nissan vehicles in Malaysia. The company was founded in 1957 by two Malaysian entrepreneurs, Tan Yuet Foh and Tan Kim Hor, with ambitions of importing and selling Datsun cars from Japan. Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad was incorporated on 14 October 1972, and in 1974, the company was listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.

References

  1. 1 2 "Silver Pigeon (Motor Scooter)". 240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology. Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. Retrieved 12 August 2013. The Silver Pigeon and the Rabbit motor scooter manufactured by Fuji-Sangyo (now Fuji Heavy Industries Inc.) dominated the vehicle industry, and both became convenient means of transportation for ordinary people, who had lacked adequate transportation.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Rabbit Motor Scooter". 240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology. Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. Retrieved 11 August 2013. This scooter was manufactured right after World War II, using the U.S. Army airborne troops' Powell motor scooter as its model.
  3. "Fuji Rabbit Scooters History". Fujirabbit.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  4. "Frame History". Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
  5. "1968 Fuji Rabbit".