In the late 80s, General Motors introduced the new brand, Geo. These are a lineup of small cars, and GM didn’t build them. Interestingly, GM tied up with Toyota, Isuzu, and Suzuki to import cars to the United States. It’s their move to counter the rising competition arising from imported small cars. Under the Geo name, the brand lasted not more than 9 years. Also, it was a marque of compact cars under the Chevrolet division. Most models were rebadged later as Chevrolet and Geo simply vanished. By 1992, GM added Asuna, Geo’s counterpart in Canadian markets. Used Geo Engine still have traction today.
A couple of years before the introduction of Geo, Chevrolet dealt with the subcompact car division. First, came the Suzuki Chevrolet Sprint. Then, Isuzu built the Chevrolet Spectrum happened. Finally, Toyota built the Chevrolet Noah happened. Its Canadian counterpart is the Pontiac Firefly, again a rebadged Chevy car. But Chevrolet didn’t sell just sub-compact cars. They had everything from sedans to trucks to SUVs to sports cars. Hence, GM needed Geo to strategically market subcompact cars to first-time car owners. However, they didn’t give separate dealerships to Geo. Geo cars sold next to Chevy models throughout the U.S. They ensured no more than four Geo models existed at the same time. From launch to discontinuation, they hold on to the max 4 ever.
During the launch in 1989, GM revealed four models – Geo Metro, Geo Prizm, Geo Tracker, and Geo Spectrum. The Metro replaced the Chevy’s Sprint, with its name derived from the 1987 Chevrolet Sprint Metro. Then, the Prizm replaced the Chevy Noah. Also, Tracker is based on Suzuki Sidekick. Finally, the Tracker is a simple continuation of Chevy Spectrum till the end of 1989. But, Geo Storm, based on the Isuzu Impulse, replaced the Geo Spectrum in as early as 1990. Among the quadruplets, Metro enjoyed the most popularity.
Strangely, GM promoted it as an imported or Japanese-built car. Even more so, people considered anything made in Japan to be of better quality. Also, they marketed it along the lines of its fuel economy of 58 miles per gallon. The vehicle was agile, quick, and mainly low-priced. Operating in 1 L and 1.3 L variants the engines compensated for the relative lack of power (55 hp – 70 hp) with its improved fuel economy. With its lightweight, Geo Metro accelerates pretty quickly. It’s 0 to 60 is almost 15 seconds, which is a good low-priced division. The top speed is 99 mph, coming off the powerful engine. Nevertheless, no expert recommended hitting top speeds with tiny cars back then. First-generation metros offered many different hatchbacks.
Since 1990, people can also buy a convertible. Losing another 50 pounds, the convertible did a 0 to 60 mph in just 13.2 seconds. Second-generation metros came in four-door sedan models rather than the 5 door hatchback. Finally, Chevy’s own Daewoo replaced the Metro car one and for all. Another car in the lineup is the Prizm, derived again from the Toyota Corolla. It offered both 5 5-door hatchback as well as the 4-door sedan. With huge engines, offering 1.4 L four-cylinder, it pumped 130 hp of power. In the second gen, engine capacity increased to 1.8 L, pumping much higher horsepower and torque.
Geo Tracker served as a mini-SUV, also an identical twin to the Suzuki Sidekick. It’s a body-on-frame vehicle, optionable with 4-wheel drive. It had a convertible option between two and four-wheel drive. Hence, it made Tracker, a direct competitor to Primer. With Samurai proving unsafe, Suzuki’s image was tarnished nationwide. American Suzuki filed for bankruptcy and ended U.S. Auto sales. This didn’t end up for the identical twin, Geo Tracker either. In 1998, the second generation Tracker was rebadged as the Suzuki Vitera, as opposed to the Sidekick. Besides SUVs, Geo also featured the large-sized sedan, the Geo Storm. Based on Isuzu’s impulse, it was relatively short-lived in the U.S.A. Storm was seen as a quick, slick, and inexpensive sedan. Moreover, it brought respectable performance for a low-priced compact car. It still puzzles many car enthusiasts why General Motors would end the Geo lineup and mainly, Storm.
For starters, these are engines coming from top carmakers such as Suzuki, Isuzu, and Toyota. General Motors didn’t make the Geo line of cars. They sourced from a trio of Japanese carmakers – Suzuki, Isuzu, and Toyota. Hence, the Geo cars were launched and discontinued with ease. There was not a lot of commitment, except marketing strategically for certain price points. The Geo lineup continued as Chevrolet’s lineup in the later days. The same cars are rebadged and branded otherwise in other countries. The cars are of many other brands, carrying different make and model labels in other countries in the first place.
To General Motors, it was as simple as taking the Geo banner out of the same Chevrolet dealership store. Nevertheless, there is a following and fan base for Geo’s lineup of cars as well. Geo was a household name and it was often heard in the media back then. These are engines made for speed and agile maneuvering. This sleek and robust design brings along tons of thousands of quicker and smoother miles. Geo engines fit a huge variety of vehicles and their maintenance is unbelievably low.
Purchased quality inspected, used Geo engine at Turbo Autoparts. We handpick the best-used car parts to add to our inventory. We clean up, test, repair, and refurbish before putting up goods for sale. Also, Turbo Autoparts Company offers free shipping to commercial addresses. It charges the standard shipping fee for residential addresses and lifts gate services. Moreover, you get up to 5 years of warranty and 15-day cashback offers with us. We proudly present to you the engines of every model in the Geo lineup. Besides Geo, our mammoth collection covers all makes and models. Besides engines, we also sell transmissions and other car parts.
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