The Geo Metro

During the gas crunch of 2008, if you owned a 1998 Chevrolet or Geo Metro you were lucky indeed. This vintage car sported superior gas mileage with the likes of the later hybrids, Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. The July, 2009 issue of Car and Driver drew a comparison between the three cars and noted that the Metro and the Prius ran neck and neck for best overall fuel economy at 42 miles per gallon! Not bad for a car over ten years old.

The Geo Metro was an adaptation of the Suzuki Cultus design. It was first based on the Generation II Cultus and then on the Generation III, a design specifically developed for the North American market. Suzuki and General Motors offered the Metro as a joint venture in North America from 1989 through 2001. In the United States, the Metro carried the Geo nameplate from 1989 through 1997 and a Chevrolet nameplate from 1998 to 2001. Over those years it evolved through three generations of body styles and offered choices of a 3-door hatchback, a 4-door sedan, a 5-door hatchback or a 2-door convertible. The Generations II and III designs were produced at GM’s Technical Center in Warren Michigan. These American made vehicles still used the engines and drivetrains originated by Suzuki. Much of the production was out-sourced to Japan until 1990.

The engines for the Geo Metro were from the Suzuki G engine family. A single engine was available in the U.S. from 1989 through 1994 offering 55 horse power. Its gas mileage was 38 mpg city and 45 mpg highway, as measured per the 2007 revised EPA mileage standards. The modified 49 hp engine in the XFi offered 43 mpg. city and 51 mpg. highway as measured similarly.

In 1995, with the third generation Metro, came the advanced 1.3 L 14 engine with 70 horse power that had been used previously in the Suzuki Swift. LSi models produced from 1995 onward featured the 4-cylinder engine tuned to produce 79 horse power, with the 3-cylinder still used on base models and an option for non-LSi models in 1997. Beginning in 1993, the Canadian market offered the 1.3 L engine as an option in the 3-door GSi model, and as a standard in the sedan.

Because of its great gas milage, the Geo Metro is still fairly popular today.  Luckily it's easy to find Geo Metro parts to keep the car running and well maintained.

Seemingly ahead of its time, Solectria, a Massachusetts company, converted five hundred of the Generation I and II Geo Metros to electric cars. These Metro conversions were known as the Solectria Force and Solectria EV respectively. GM supplied the basic vehicles without engines, and the company fitted them out. The cars ran on a battery pack consisting of thirteen Group 27 Decca Dominator Sealed Gel Lead Acid modules.

All good things must come to an end and in April, 2001 General Motors announced that the Metro would not be in the 2002 lineup of Chevrolets. The only model still available at that time was the 4-door LSi sedan. The last Metro to come off the assembly line was a beautiful little red sedan.