Geo Metro
| Geo Metro | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer |
Suzuki CAMI Automotive General Motors |
| Production | 1989–2001 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class |
Supermini Subcompact B-segment |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor |
Chevrolet Chevette Chevrolet Sprint/Sprint Metro |
| Successor | Chevrolet Aveo |
| Second generation | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Also called | Geo Metro (1995–1997) Chevrolet Metro (1998–2001) Pontiac Firefly Suzuki Swift |
| Production | 1994–2001 |
| Model years | 1995–2001 |
| Assembly | Canada: Ingersoll, Ontario |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 3-door hatchback 4-door sedan |
| Layout | Transverse front-engine, front-wheel drive |
| Platform | M platform |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1.0 L LP2 I3 (gasoline) 1.3 L L72 I4 (gasoline) 1.3 L LY8 I4 (gasoline) |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual 3-speed MX17 automatic |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 93.1 in (2,365 mm) |
| Length | 149.4 in (3,795 mm) (hatchback) 164.0 in (4,166 mm) (sedan) |
| Width | 62.6 in (1,590 mm) |
| Height | 54.7 in (1,389 mm) (hatchback) 55.4 in (1,407 mm) (sedan) |
The Geo Metro was a marketing and manufacturing variation of the Suzuki Cultus available in North America from 1989 through 2001 as a joint effort of General Motors (GM) and Suzuki. In the US, the Metro carried a Geo nameplate from 1989 through 1997, and a Chevrolet nameplate from 1998 to 2001. It evolved with the Cultus and its siblings over 13 years, three generations and four body styles: three-door hatchback, four-door sedan, five-door hatchback and two-door convertible—and was ultimately replaced in the General Motors lineup by a family of vehicles based on the Daewoo Kalos.
From 1985 through 1989, Cultus-derived models sold in North America—under the nameplates Suzuki Forsa, Suzuki Swift, Chevrolet Sprint, Geo Metro and Pontiac Firefly—were sourced from Suzuki's facilities in Japan. Beginning in 1990, all North American M-cars were produced at CAMI Automotive, a 50–50 joint venture between General Motors and Suzuki in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, although Japanese production continued to source Canada bound sedan models. CAMI never reached its intended Metro/Firefly/Swift capacity. While at its peak, Canadian Swift/Metro/Firefly production reached more than 100,000 vehicles a year, the number fell to just 32,000 in 2000. In response to the waning popularity of smaller automobiles in the North American markets, Chevrolet/Geo sold only 55,600 Metros in 1997, off from 88,700 the year before. In a 2004 Autoweek article, Osamu Suzuki, chairman of Suzuki, called CAMI "a fishbone in my throat" because of its low production.
Beginning in late 2003 as a model year 2004 car, the Daewoo Kalos, marketed variously as the Chevrolet Aveo, Pontiac Wave and Suzuki Swift+, effectively replaced the Metro/Firefly, although the Aveo is more of a Daewoo Lanos replacement as opposed to the Metro, the same time when Daewoo closed majority of its dealerships outside South Korea in 2002.
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Wikipedia