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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  Pld reliable - 1992 Geo Prizm
  By wade - February 1 - 4:02 pm

  I bought this car as a winter beater in Minnesota and its become a daily driver all year. 210k on it and uses no oil. 33mpg hwy. One of the few to start at work in recent below zero weather! All options still working! Bright red and starting to rust but Ill drive this til the doors fall off!

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  Almost a quarter million miles - 1991 Geo Prizm
  By chuck - January 31 - 1:05 pm

  Bought this car used from sister in law in 2002. Have put very little maintenance into it but it seems like the engine will run forever, never fails even in cold desmoines winters. Great gas mileage, only thing is need to replace exhaust pipes cat converter, just cant seem to justify getting a newer car when this keeps going and going, I love my geo!

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  1997 Geo Metro - 1997 Geo Metro
  By grace4ever - January 7 - 7:28 am

  Best car I ever owned. Very reliable, gas efficient and easy to maintain. Never had any major repairs - car just kept going. Chevy made a big mistake when they decided to discontinue them.

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  GREAT LITTLE CAR - 1990 Geo Prizm
  By greatlittlecar - December 30 - 5:21 pm

  When I married my wife 11 years ago, she owned a 1990 geo prism. We later learned it had been previously wrecked. About two years ago (2005) I was rear-ended in it. The insurance company totaled it out, but we bought it back and repaired it. The only problem I have with this car is that it will not die. It now has over 306,000 miles on it and still runs great. I change oil every 10,000 and use the cheapest I can buy. I have did this since 100,000. I would like a new car but see no reason to get rid of our Geo.

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  163,000 miles and still counting - 1995 Geo Prizm
  By RowdyHowdy - December 28 - 9:26 pm

  We bought it new in 1995. It has been used primarily for commuting to work. The only unscheduled repair was to replace the starter. The interior fabric has held up very well to years of use. The exterior has held up well with minimal rust. Weve had the timing belt replaced twice and changed the 4 speed auto trans fluid and filter a couple of times. Ive done the oil and filter changes at 3500 to 4000 miles and the 1.8 engine uses no oil between changes. This has been an incredible car and we just cant force ourselves to get rid of it even though we have more cars than drivers. It gets amazing gas mileage in our mostly rural driving @ 35 to 42 MPG!

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  Love my tracker - 1997 Geo Tracker
  By Love the Tracker - December 24 - 6:28 am

  The Geo Tracker was my first new car and I still own it. Ive only had to change the Battery and tires so far in 10 years of owning it. Great, reliable and fun SUV.

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  Great - 1996 Geo Prizm
  By kclguy - December 8 - 12:27 pm

  Bought it w/35,000 miles @ 11 years old from orig. owners. It has had 0 problems and is used every day. It is fully loaded so you dont feel like you are driving a econo-box.

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  A great reliable car - 1993 Geo Prizm
  By great car - November 30 - 8:43 am

  I purchased my Prizm (1.8L 5speed) with 79,000 miles on it. Im writing this review because it finally died. I have 244,500 miles on it and the engine still runs like new. Transmission just went out so going to retire this car. This car has never had anything but expected things needed to it (brakes, starter, etc.). This many miles and everything was still working, power windows, locks, sunroof, the air conditon. I would recommend this car to anybody.

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  My Geo - 1996 Geo Metro
  By walter thompson - November 27 - 7:42 pm

  My Geo Metro is fun and a good car to drive if you have a low budget like I do.

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  Inexpensive Transportation - 1993 Geo Prizm
  By BrownEyedBrad - November 25 - 11:24 pm

  This car has been extremely reliable and enjoyable to drive since I bought it. Ive driven almost 15k miles in the past year and a half and its required little maintenance considering the cars age. For a 1993, it has not shown its age in terms of styling and reliability. The exhaust system and rocker panels, however, have succumbed to rust and require more money to repair (along with a failing speedometer and shock absorbers) than I care to have to spend and am replacing it. Ive named him Zippy because it truly is a zippy little car with great features for such a low price tag, especially for a 1993!