All of those Geo’s were a really fascinating early nod to globalization. The bodies were often assembled by Chevy, but were copies of designs from Japan and none of them had American engines in them. Some of the parts were American, but most weren’t. The Tracker (which was the car I always wanted) was basically a rebranded Suzuki Sidekick.

I had a Geo Spectrum and that was an Isuzu based on the Gemini-I. That was a great little car. When gas prices were like $1 a gallon I could go like 400+ miles for less than $10 bucks. I did a lot of just driving around and exploring as entertainment because it was cheap and fun. I just googled and my little 5 speed got like 40mpg. 30 years later and that’s still slightly better than my hybrid is now!

I think it had 160k miles when I sold it and I saw it around town years later still going. Crank windows and no AC. It did have a tape deck though. Must have been a premium model lol.

I had a 1980 Chevy Chevette before that and it only lasted like 6 months before it threw a rod on the highway and blew out the engine. That car was peak American (this is why people are buying Japanese) pile of crap. The gas pedal was the size of a Trisquit because that probably saved 5 cents a car on the assembly line.