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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  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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  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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  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.

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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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  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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  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!