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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  The Ride of your Life - 1994 Geo Prizm
  By Lemursmom - January 7 - 2:00 am

  This car was amazing. I say was, because someone was kind enough to total it for me right before Christmas. After 10 years & 180,000 miles, it was still nearly perfect. The only repairs during that time were a fuel filter & a few rotors. You could hardly hear the engime run. I had planned on the car & I going out together but it wasnt in the card. Its the best car for the $$ out there. Foreign technology for a domestic price. You dont get the resale value of a Toyota but you dont pay the price either. Im getting a 2001 tomorrow, identical to my 1994.

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  Excellent Value - 1997 Geo Prizm
  By Bryan Olson - December 30 - 2:00 am

  Overall- 4 stars out of 5, considering its class. There are a few things its surprising to see in this cars class, chiefly the tremendous upholstery work. I was very impressed with that, as well as the trunk space, and the lively response I get from the 5-speed manual. Improvements are listed below, but overall it has been a pleasant experience.

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  If only they still made them! - 1992 Geo Storm
  By JoshStorm92 - December 19 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Storm in May 03 with 60K on it. I wasnt looking for a Storm at all, I bought the Storm mainly because it was in such excellent condition, Im glad I bought it. The only thing I have had to do to the car is wash it, wax it, put gas in it, and change the oil. The car has alot of road noise at high speed, nothing some more sound deadening wouldnt fix. Great on gas, handling is nimble. Makes driving from point A to B something to look foward to.

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  Bulletproof reliability - 1996 Geo Prizm
  By pwcrl - December 11 - 2:00 am

  Bought the car with 30,000 miles. Has 150,000 on it now. Drive it hard and all I have to do is regular maintenance. 5 speed tranny shifts real nice, super gas mileage, not to bad power wise for such a little motor.

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  Braves the Storm - 1993 Geo Storm
  By Storm Watcher - December 8 - 2:00 am

  I am the second owner of my car and it now has over 200K miles on it. All I have done is replace tires and oil and spark plugs. The clutch went out once. That was the biggest maintenance bill for the car. It runs great to this day and I plan on putting another 200K on it before I retire the vehicle. It runs as good as the day I bought it. It has been the most cost effective purchase I have ever made.

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  faithful little car - 1994 Geo Metro
  By berg - December 6 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car new 10 yrs ago as my first vehicle. Ive had some repairs in the last year or two, but overall it has been a great little car and been reliable. Its not the most comfortable during long distances but it is cheap on gas and its small size makes it excellent to drive around town. Its beginning to rust some, but honestly, I hate to get rid of it.

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  One awesome little car - 1996 Geo Metro
  By cailoisa - December 3 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Geo with 40,000 miles on it. I have put 20,000 more on it since. It has required nothing but standard maintenance. All part replacements are remarkably cheap. No matter what kind of driving I am in, I always get AT LEAST 32 miles per gallon, but I usually get more. Its so easy to drive, and a snap to park and make sharp turns such as u-turns.

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  Reliable work car - 1992 Geo Metro
  By F. Mauritz - November 29 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Geo when it had 35,000 miles, it now has 215,000 miles and is still running strong. I have replaced the water pump once, but nothing else mechanical. The fuel economy is awesome at nearly 60 mgp on the highway. A Geo Metro driver has to be willing to tolerate slow acceleration from the three cylinder engine. It gets no respect from SUV drivers or trucks and driving a GEO can be a bit nerve wracking in heavy stop-and-go traffic. Forget about running the air conditioner in stop-and-go traffic -- too much power drain.

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  Great car - 1993 Geo Tracker
  By harlow - November 13 - 2:00 am

  I have not had any problems with this vehicle. I think it is fun to drive and it is great off road. It is a great looking vehicle pink color, white hard top roof, aluminum wheels

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  Our other car is a Ford... - 1992 Geo Prizm
  By Still smiling - November 13 - 2:00 am

  This is the only reliable car we have ever owned. We survived owning 2 Chevettes, a Jetta, a Lumina, a Cavalier, a Plymouth Voyager and currently a Ford Windstar. Every one of them had some major defect or annoyance that cost a ton of money to repair. This Prizm owes us nothing.