Although the BRAT could fairly be called a truck, the plastic seats in the cargo bed allowed Subaru to classify the BRAT as a passenger car. North American and Canadian BRAT models featured carpeting, in addition to welded-in, rear-facing jump seats in the cargo area. The seats were a tariff-avoidance ploy, serving actually to circumvent a tariff known as the Chicken tax, as the plastic seats in the cargo bed allowed Subaru to classify the BRAT as a passenger car, rather than as a light truck. This significantly reduced the costs of importing BRATS to North America, as passenger cars were charged a 2.5% import tariff, while light trucks were charged a substantially higher 25% import tariff. They were discontinued after the 1986 model year.
