We’ve all heard the tagline: “Love. It’s what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.”
It’s tender. It’s catchy. But also, it’s real.
“Subaru is more than an auto manufacturer. They’re not just providing a car; they’re supporting a customer’s lifestyle,” says Mark McCarthy, General Manager of Lithia Subaru of Great Falls. “They don’t pretend to care; they care.”
Subaru believes in making our world a better place, and the Subaru Love Promise represents the company’s commitment to love and respect its customers and to make a positive impact.
“It all starts right here in our community,” says McCarthy, “not just by our donations, but by our actions. That’s why we stay true to our Love Promise Community Commitment by partnering with a wide variety of community nonprofits and charities.”
Through Subaru Loves to Care, Lithia Subaru of Great Falls donates dozens of plush blankets to those in need. In June 2020, the company partnered with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to spread warmth, love, and hope to members of the community undergoing cancer treatment. Fifty blankets and fifty craft kits were gifted to patients at the Sletten Cancer Institute, and Lithia Subaru of Great Falls also donated fifty blankets to the Great Falls Rescue Mission.
What’s more, Subaru started a nationwide initiative called Subaru Feeds America in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lithia Subaru of Great Falls, in conjunction with the other six Subaru retailers in Montana, donated more than 246,000 meals to the Montana Food Bank Network. Many of the meals went to students who were no longer able to utilize their school’s lunch program.
“We didn’t change any of our other commitments. We just added another,” says McCarthy, noting that this is no small feat. “Subaru has been impacted same as everyone else—maybe more than the other major car manufacturers because we’re so tiny in comparison. But Subaru puts its money where its mouth is. It kinda makes you proud.”
Lithia Subaru of Great Falls steps up where it can to support the community. The company has long sponsored Cruisin’ the Drag, which unfortunately had to be postponed in 2020 due to social distancing guidelines; however, that didn’t stop the company from helping to coordinate an impromptu classic car parade—upwards of 250 drivers cruising down Central the way folks used to.
“It was a safe, socially distanced event that people could watch out their windows. It was a lot of fun,” says McCarthy.
He says that the company plans to reschedule the official Cruisin’ the Drag for later this year.
“If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times: being a Subaru retailer is different than being car dealer,” McCarthy beams. “I love my job.”
And as we all know, love is what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.
Lithia Subaru of Great Falls is located at 800 Central Avenue. For more information, visit lithiasubarugreatfalls.com or
call (406) 205-2161.