The Subaru Legacy is a mid-size car built by Japanese automobile manufacturer Subaru since 1989. Part of the original design goals for the Legacy model was to provide Subaru a vehicle in which they could compete in the lucrative North American midsize market against competitors Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Mazda6, and Nissan Altima. Higher performance variants of the Legacy are offered as competitive alternatives to compact executive cars such as the Audi A4, Alfa Romeo 159 and BMW 3 Series. The Legacy also serves as Subaru's flagship car. In 1996, a variant of the Legacy with heightened suspension called the Legacy Outback was introduced to compete in the burgeoning sport-utility vehicle class and proved to be a sales success for Subaru. The Outback line was split into its own model in 2000, known as the Subaru Outback. It is unique in its class for offering all wheel drive as a standard feature, and Subaru's traditional boxer engine. The Legacy bears the name Liberty in Australia out of deference to Legacy Australia, an organisation dedicated to caring for the families of military service veterans. As of 2008, 3.6 million Legacies have been built since its 1989 introduction.