Harvey H. Lamm Biography: Subaru of America Cofounder

Subaru of America’s first car was a hard sell. The tiny Subaru 360 reached the United States in 1968, drew harsh criticism and struggled to find buyers. Yet the independent importer Harvey H. Lamm cofounded went on to build a substantial American business around economical cars and four-wheel-drive wagons. U.S. sales reached 183,242 vehicles in 1986.

That growth did not preserve the importer’s independence. Sales fell late in the decade, and Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries took full ownership in August 1990. Lamm resigned as chairman and chief executive soon afterward. His career, however, continued in other automobile-related businesses.

A Quick Look at the Life of Harvey H. Lamm

Biography Summary

Harvey H. Lamm cofounded Subaru of America with Malcolm Bricklin in 1968 and later led the independently owned importer as it developed a U.S. market for Japanese-built Subaru vehicles. His career also included investment management, vehicle-title technology, corporate board service and a compressed-natural-gas fueling venture after his Subaru tenure ended in 1990.

Profile

Full Name: Harvey H. Lamm

Birth Year: 1936, as listed by Harvard Business School

Birthplace: Pennsylvania, as listed by Harvard Business School

Education: Degrees from Pennsylvania State University and Drexel University

Best Known For: Cofounding Subaru of America and helping build the company’s U.S. distribution and marketing business

Major Roles: Subaru of America executive vice president and national sales manager, later president, chief operating officer, chief executive and chairman; Vintek Corporation director and CEO; GSI Commerce director; VNG.co cofounder

Recognition: Included in Harvard Business School’s Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century profiles

From a Philadelphia Furniture Business to a New Partnership

Lamm entered the automobile business from a different trade. His father was a furniture salesman in Philadelphia, and Lamm later recalled working in the family furniture business. He also earned degrees from Pennsylvania State University and Drexel University.

In a 1988 Inc. interview, Lamm recalled befriending Malcolm Bricklin when they lived in the same Philadelphia apartment building. They played golf and discussed starting a business together. In Lamm’s telling, Bricklin returned from Japan in 1967 with a Fuji Heavy Industries product brochure and an interest in scooters. Lamm proposed looking at the company’s cars instead.

Asked how much he knew about the automobile industry before the venture, Lamm’s answer was brief: “Not a thing.”

Founding an Independent Subaru Importer

On February 15, 1968, Lamm and Bricklin incorporated Subaru of America in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Preparations had begun the previous year. The new company held exclusive rights to import vehicles manufactured by Fuji Heavy Industries in Japan for the American market.

Bricklin was initially president, while Lamm served as executive vice president and national sales manager. Subaru of America established a franchise network of 13 regional distributors.

Unlike the manufacturer-owned American sales operations of many other Japanese carmakers, Subaru of America was an independent U.S. business importing and marketing Japanese-made vehicles. Its relationship with Fuji Heavy Industries would change substantially over the following two decades.

The Subaru 360: An Unpromising First Car

The Subaru 360 arrived in May 1968 as the importer’s first American model. At roughly $1,300, with about 25 horsepower, the microcar was inexpensive and unusually small. It drew severe criticism, including a negative safety assessment from Consumer Reports, and sales were weak.

The new importer needed products with broader appeal. In the early 1970s, the front-wheel-drive Subaru FF-1 offered a more practical choice for American buyers, particularly in regions with winter weather.

Automotive reporting credits Lamm with recognizing the FF-1’s appeal to snow-belt customers. Subaru then expanded its offerings with the larger Leone family, sold under the DL and GL names. Fuji Heavy Industries designed and built the cars; Lamm’s work centered on which vehicles to bring to the United States and how to market them.

Continuing After Bricklin and Building Subaru’s Four-Wheel-Drive Identity

Bricklin departed Subaru’s leadership in the early 1970s. Lamm stayed, eventually becoming the importer’s chief executive and chairman. Subaru of America went public in 1972 to support its continuing operations, moving from a privately owned venture to a publicly traded company.

A defining product shift followed in the mid-1970s with Subaru’s four-wheel-drive passenger-car wagon. For drivers in snowy regions, the vehicle combined passenger-car practicality with extra traction. Subaru’s association with the U.S. Ski Team, dating to 1976, reinforced its appeal to outdoor-oriented customers.

The company’s sales reflected that expansion: 22,980 U.S. vehicles in 1974, 80,826 in 1977 and 142,968 in 1980. The one-millionth cumulative U.S. Subaru sale followed in 1983. By 1980, optional four-wheel drive was offered across Subaru’s American lineup, although it was not standard on every model.

Market conditions also favored economical imported cars after the 1973 oil embargo. Subaru’s differentiation, however, came not just from economy but from the four-wheel-drive identity its American importer had helped establish.

Expanding the Range Beyond Practical Wagons

Subaru’s American team also pushed beyond practical wagons. In a 1985 Car and Driver feature, Lamm discussed the Subaru XT coupe. The magazine reported that he and his U.S. colleagues had persuaded Fuji Heavy Industries to build a more sporting model for American customers.

“We want to build civilized dream cars, gentlemen’s sports cars,” Lamm said. His words described the practical, sporting image he wanted for the XT, not a documented measure of its commercial success.

In 1986, Subaru’s U.S. sales reached a high of 183,242 vehicles. That October, the company moved its headquarters from Pennsauken to Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A 1988 Inc. interview identified Lamm as president and chief operating officer and put the company’s revenue at approximately $1.8 billion.

Fuji Heavy Industries and Isuzu Motors also developed a joint manufacturing operation in Lafayette, Indiana. The factory began assembling vehicles in September 1989. The plant was a project of the manufacturers, not an undertaking attributed personally to Lamm.

Declining Sales and the 1990 Fuji Heavy Industries Buyout

Subaru’s U.S. sales fell to about 136,000 vehicles in 1989. Contemporary reporting identified a weakened dollar, an aging model range and competitors’ four-wheel-drive products among the pressures. The relationship between the independently owned American importer and its Japanese manufacturer had also become an issue.

In May 1990, Subaru of America agreed to a takeover valued at roughly $400 million. Fuji Heavy Industries already held approximately 49.6% of its shares. Lamm supported the agreement publicly, saying it “makes eminent sense for our shareholders, Subaru dealers and employees.” The statement expressed his position on the deal, not a demonstrated benefit to those groups.

Fuji Heavy Industries completed its acquisition on August 31, 1990. Lamm resigned soon afterward. Takeshi Higurashi succeeded him as chairman, and Masaharu Masumitsu became chief executive. The independent American importer had passed entirely into the manufacturer’s ownership. Lamm’s personal reasons for leaving are not documented.

From Automobile Distribution to Vehicle-Finance Technology

After leaving Subaru, Lamm managed investments from 1990 to 1996. In 1996, he became a director and chief executive of Vintek Corporation, a privately held Philadelphia company providing automated vehicle-title management and risk- and cost-management tools for lenders.

It was a different part of the automotive industry. Where Subaru of America marketed and distributed cars, Vintek provided technology and administrative services to businesses financing them.

Lamm joined GSI Commerce’s board in April 1998. He was still listed as a director in March 2005, but a 2006 proxy statement identified him as a former director. His GSI board service therefore ended in 2005; the end date of his Vintek role is not established.

A Later Venture in Natural-Gas Fueling

His later work included retail vehicle fueling. Lamm and Bob Annunziata cofounded VNG.co, which proposed a network of compressed-natural-gas stations. A company statement included in a 2012 U.S. Senate hearing record outlined that retail concept. It was VNG’s written submission, not oral testimony delivered by Lamm.

In September 2014, Philadelphia’s first retail compressed-natural-gas pump opened at a BP station on Fox Street in East Falls. Reporting on the opening named Lamm and Annunziata as founders. The Philadelphia station was a documented local result; VNG’s proposed nationwide network was an ambition, not an established completed rollout.

In July 2018, a VNG company release quoted Lamm advocating favorable regulatory treatment for light-duty natural-gas vehicles.

Harvey H. Lamm’s Place in Subaru’s American History

Lamm’s contribution to Subaru was in establishing and leading an American importing business, identifying products for U.S. buyers and helping shape the brand’s four-wheel-drive identity. He was there for the 360’s difficult reception, the sales growth that followed and the eventual transfer of the company to its Japanese manufacturer.

The 1990 buyout ended the independence of the importer Lamm helped found, but not his work in the automotive sector. Vehicle-finance technology and natural-gas fueling became later chapters in a career that had begun far from the car business.

Timeline

These milestones trace the major documented changes in Lamm’s career and the U.S. Subaru business he helped establish.

1967

Lamm later recalled discussing Fuji Heavy Industries cars with Malcolm Bricklin after Bricklin’s trip to Japan. Preparatory U.S. importer activity also began in this period.

February 15, 1968

Lamm and Bricklin formally incorporated Subaru of America in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

May 1968

The Subaru 360 arrived as the company’s first U.S. model.

Early 1970s–1972

Bricklin departed the company’s leadership in the early 1970s. Subaru of America went public in 1972 while Lamm continued in its management.

Mid-1970s

Four-wheel-drive Subaru passenger-car wagons entered the U.S. market, helping establish the brand’s snow-country and outdoor positioning.

1976

Subaru’s association with the U.S. Ski Team reinforced its four-wheel-drive marketing identity.

1980–1983

U.S. annual sales reached 142,968 in 1980; the importer reached its one-millionth cumulative U.S. vehicle sale in 1983.

1985–1986

Lamm discussed the XT sports coupe’s U.S. positioning in 1985. Subaru U.S. sales peaked at 183,242 vehicles in 1986.

August–September 1990

Fuji Heavy Industries completed its full takeover of Subaru of America on August 31, and Lamm subsequently resigned as chairman and chief executive.

1990–1996

Lamm managed investments after leaving Subaru.

1996–1998

Lamm became a director and CEO of Vintek in 1996 and joined the GSI Commerce board in April 1998.

2005

His documented service as a GSI Commerce director concluded during the year.

2012

A VNG.co written submission to a U.S. Senate hearing identified Lamm and Bob Annunziata as founders of its retail natural-gas fueling venture.

2014

A VNG-linked retail compressed-natural-gas pump opened at a BP station in Philadelphia’s East Falls neighborhood.

2018

A company release quoted Lamm advocating favorable regulations for light-duty natural-gas vehicles.

FAQs

Question: Did Harvey H. Lamm found Subaru of America as an employee of the Japanese manufacturer?

Answer: No. Lamm and Malcolm Bricklin cofounded Subaru of America as an independently owned American importing business in 1968. It held exclusive U.S. rights to vehicles built by Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries, which completed its acquisition of the importer in 1990.

Question: Did Harvey H. Lamm invent Subaru’s four-wheel-drive technology?

Answer: No invention of the drivetrain is documented as Lamm’s work. His established role was in American distribution and product positioning, including helping the company market Subaru’s four-wheel-drive passenger cars. Fuji Heavy Industries designed and manufactured the vehicles.

Question: Why did Harvey H. Lamm leave Subaru of America in 1990?

Answer: Lamm resigned as chairman and chief executive soon after Fuji Heavy Industries completed its acquisition of the company on August 31, 1990. Declining U.S. sales and changing ownership are documented circumstances, but his private reasons for resigning have not been established.

Question: What businesses did Harvey H. Lamm work with after Subaru?

Answer: He managed investments from 1990 to 1996, then served as a director and CEO of automotive-title technology company Vintek. He also served on GSI Commerce’s board until 2005 and later cofounded VNG.co, a retail compressed-natural-gas fueling venture.

Interviews

Harvey Lamm on Starting Subaru of America — Inc. (1988)

In this firsthand interview, Lamm recalls his background in the family furniture business and the discussions with Malcolm Bricklin that preceded Subaru of America. The available online excerpt includes his account of the Fuji product brochure and his lack of previous automotive-industry experience. It offers an unusually direct view of how Lamm described the company’s beginnings.

View the interview

Harvey Lamm Discusses the Subaru XT — Car and Driver (1985)

This contemporary automotive feature includes Lamm’s comments on the intended audience for the Subaru XT coupe. It explains how he and his U.S. colleagues advocated a more sporting model while retaining everyday usefulness. The discussion adds perspective on the importer’s product strategy in the mid-1980s.