Chicken Tax
The first production Tamiya Subaru Brat Radio Control (R/C) was introduced in 1983. The real life sized Subaru Brat, Short for 'Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter', known outside of Canada and the United States as the 284 in the United Kingdom, Brumby in Australia, and Shifter, MV, or Targa in other markets, is a light duty four-wheel drive coupe' utility, sold from 1978 to 1994. It was an export-only model, never being officially sold in Japan where is was made. The jump-seats found in the cargo area were instituted as a tariff-avoidance ploy, it allowed the Subaru to classify the Brat as a passenger vehicle. Tariff on passenger cars were only 2.5%, compared to 25% tariff on light trucks due to the Chicken Tax. They were discontinued after the 1986 model year.
WHAT WAS THE CHICKEN TAX? The Chicken Tax is a 25% tariff on light trucks imported to the U.S., imposed in retaliation for European Tariffs on American Chicken imports. The tariff was imposed in 1964 in an executive order issued by President Lyndon B. Johnson. That tariff is still on the books to this day.
Notable owners: President Ronald Reagan owned a 1978 Brat until 1998, which he kept at his ranch near Santa Barbara, California. The vehicle has since been restored and returned to the ranch, which is now owned by the Young America's foundation.
The Brat in these pictures are of the original 1983 lot. I find it interesting though that Tamiya never presented a 4-wheel-drive brat model to go along with the decal sheet they released with the kit.
Comments
hi-pe70
Wow! These rims are awesome!
Which company made them?
Regards Peter
Flash51
For the rims go to Ebay. Enter this script in the search space. 'Alloy wheel Tamiya Subaru brat ford f150 ranger XLT SRB Mitsubishi Pajero'. That should take right to them. Disclaimer, I'm not associated with the seller. Just providing an answer to your question. 4-Mar-2021. Have fun!
Nice job on your brat , really like the overall look ????
Nice rims. Nice color scheme. I like the roll bar lights! annnnnnnd where did you get the driver awesome switch-up!
Flash51
20-Mar-2021: Thank you for the complements on the Brat. Sorry I can't really help on the figurine. I spotted it in a Thrift Shop and she looked to be close to the correct size. don't even know who the character is. Wish I could be more help with that.
Want to leave a comment?