When a massive container ship with the word "Evergreen" on its side got stuck in the Suez Canal, a Subaru dealership with the same name in Maine took the opportunity to have some fun with the ordeal.
"I feel pretty bad about all the problems our vessel caused, but what really steeps my tea is the paint job," managing owner Doug Weisz said in a satirical post on the website of Evergreen Subaru. "Last year, thinking we could create the world's biggest billboard, I told them to paint 'Subaru' next to 'Evergreen.' Instead, they painted it below. As a result of that mistake, no one can read 'Subaru' because the letters are below the waterline when the ship is fully loaded. We're missing so much free publicity."
The stuck ship, which is nearly a quarter-mile long, was freed last week and sailed on its way after blocking the canal for six days. Evergreen Subaru jokingly claimed it needs such a big ship because it's starting its own factory in response to booming sales. Truthfully, the dealership is in the midst of converting a former Best Buy into what it says will be Maine's largest Subaru store.
"Subaru has become so popular in the last 10 years that the company can't build enough cars to keep up with our ability to sell them," General Manager Chris Dunn said.
"So, we decided to vertically integrate the supply chain. We buy parts all over the world and then we build our own Subarus. That's why we're moving into a huge new facility, to accommodate the unrelenting demand."
