Overview & Reviews

As the market for import automotive brands became dramatically larger in the late 1980s, the Detroit automobile companies created their own import-style sales divisions. In 1989 General Motors introduced its Geo division, which became the most successful of these attempts before the division was discontinued in 1998.

Geo re-badged various GM cars made for world markets. Its most notable success came with the Geo Prizm, a version of the Toyota Corolla then being built cooperatively in a California assembly plant by Toyota and GM. The Geo Metro compact car began life as the Suzuki Swift, while the Geo Tracker sport-utility vehicle was derived from the Suzuki Sidekick. The Geo Spectrum sedan was an Isuzu I-Mark and the Geo Storm coupe was an Isuzu Impulse.

The experiment ended because the Geo division was unable to establish a stronger identity than the brands from which its products were taken. Moreover, GM quickly realized that Geo was simply funneling its brand loyalists into the import brands of other companies.

User Reviews:

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  Best first car for a kid! - 1997 Geo Prizm
  By Quackingpenguin - March 23 - 7:35 pm

  This was an amazing little car. I bought it in 2005 because i was sick of not having a car at school. In the 2 and a half years I drove it I put about 75,000 miles on it with out any big issues. I hit a deer and did much less damage to the car then I had expected, and it was CHEAP and EASY to fix. My dad liked this car because we could do a lot of the work ourselves. The only down side was it was hard to find replacement parts for like the body of it. It turned 200,000 miles and that is the only reason I sold it. I bet it has another 100,000 left in it!

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  Best car Ive ever owned - 1992 Geo Metro
  By Bob Hardison - March 19 - 9:25 pm

  I bought my Geo Metro new in Oct. 1991 as a 1992 model. I have a little over 208,000 miles on it, and it has never been overhauled and does not use any oil between changes at 3000 miles. The only repairs needed since purchase is the starter at 148,000 miles, and the front struts at Sears at about 100,000 mi with a lifetime warranty, and a replacement (no charge) at 201,000 mi. I still get average 33 mpg in town, and 47 mpg on a trip. Ive replaced front wheel brakes myself twice (about $20.00). I will never sell or trade this car and I love driving it better than my new Nissan Altima, and I do drive it more. My Geo is a 5 speed manual. I replace the timing belt myself about every 60K miles.

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  Little Beast - 1993 Geo Metro
  By Mike - March 14 - 12:57 pm

  Honestly, this is the most powerful stock car I have seen yet. People laugh at them, but they are full of guts. After some slight modifications, I could easily take many other stock vehicles on a straight stretch. With my 17" low profile tires, it handled turns very well at high rates of speed. I love cars such as this that are very fast and powerful, yet get great gas mileage. I never had any problems with it, regular oil changes and 1 tie rod end was replaced. It is a very reliable car.

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  Dependable - 1996 Geo Prizm
  By Jane Newman - March 13 - 12:24 pm

  Had it 10 years, it is 13 years old. Very few repairs, most of them recently. Great gas mileage, easy to handle, ride is smooth.

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  A good car - 1994 Geo Metro
  By luckins - March 8 - 6:47 pm

  This was an excellent car that rarely gave me any trouble and was reasonably easy and cheap to repair. The only reason why I traded it in was that it was getting to that age where it needed a lot of maintenance. But for many, many years, it never gave me any trouble whatsoever. The gas mileage was better than some hybrid cars. There were no real issues with this car except that it didnt come with any airbags.

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  Geo Metro - 1994 Geo Metro
  By willy - March 4 - 10:09 pm

  I bought my first Geo used in 1998. Still on the road today 2008 120,000 miles, Of course the car is made cheap, door latches need to be replaced. The car broke the orignal timing belt in 2007. It is not an interference engine, didnt eat the valves. Very happy.

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  97 Geo in Florida. - 1997 Geo Tracker
  By Richard Smythe - February 23 - 12:11 pm

  I originally bought my 97 Geo Tracker LSI 4dr Wagon from a local auto recycler a little over 1 year ago. I replaced the fuel pump, tires and battery and have driven 12,345 miles since. The car had 111,567 miles on it when I started driving it. I like most of the cars features except for the constant headlights feature (I actually consider it dangerous because only the headlamps come on without the running lamps. I have several times driven without all the lights on). I feel the car is underpowered. I would trade a little gas mileage for more get up and go! I usually get 30-35 MPG. I love the car otherwise. The side opening rear door is great. I have had no breakdowns.

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  I loved this car - 1996 Geo Prizm
  By boo18 - February 7 - 4:50 pm

  This was my most favorite car. I only had to replace the tires and the battery. It had great gas mileage and was super dependable. It started up on the coldest days of winter without a problem. So sad that I lost it to a car accident, I was planning on keeping that car for another 100,000 miles

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  Who needs hybrid? - 60mpg, 250k miles - 1994 Geo Metro
  By roger - February 4 - 10:35 am

  Owned it since day-one. It started out ONLY getting 50 mpg, but as the engine broke in, it went up to 60-62 and has held there to this day. 250k miles. No smoke. Change oil every 5k, brakepads every 75k, belts at 100k. It has always started and gotten me to anywhere. Drive from Washington DC to Miami for 20 gallons of gas at 75mph. Lived on a mountain, no need for chains. It LOVES snow. Better in snow than my 4x4. Who needs a hybrid - build these again!

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  Very Reliable - 1993 Geo Metro
  By Stratten - February 2 - 7:20 pm

  I have had my 93 Geo for 5 years now and have put in only 500 dollars in repairs. 200 for a blown fuse (only cost 11 bucks or something for the fuse the rest was labour) and 300 for a leaking water pump. The previous owner had put mag wheels on (which made the car look a lot nicer than the tiny stock wheels) which made the speedometer inaccurate. The car is fairly slow, but with an after-market exhaust it was still fun to drive. The car has never left me stranded and has been going strong for a long time. I have been trying to sell for 2 years now but just cant bring myself to do it. Finally, i do need an upgrade, but I will always miss my first car.