This is one of my favorite Motorweek reviews, and its probably one of the most accurate. As a owner of a Geo Metro convertible, every single poke they make at the car makes me laugh hysterically. One positive note is a full set of golf clubs fit in the trunk, try that in a Miata!
@@barnabyjones6995 my mother has a particular affinity for these cars and when I was a kid I remember 4 guys picking this car up and turning it around so they could jump it.
Ive owned 2 of these Awesome little car!! Went through the worst of snow storms like a little tank and through the extreme heat in the summer with the coldest A/C Ive ever had in any car. My eyeballs would freeze lol. I miss them both
Christopher Hernandez wouldn't that pretty much be like the Ford Fiesta and Chevy spark sedans? I know the spark can still even be ordered with a manual transmission even
there are still tons of these zipping around Miami Beach. I saw a yellow one and an Easter egg teal-colored one today. the little 3 cylinder Japanese Suzuki built engines run forever. I saw one doing 85 mph down I-95 with a big wooden windup key attached to the back bumper period it was cute as fuck!. there is a pest control company here that has a fleet of old Geo metros with Mouse ears and whiskers on them.
I had a new 1991 Pontiac Firefly convertible. They were not sold in the US. Almost exactly the same as the Geo Metro. No airbag. It went 93mph with the top up, and 87mph with the top down. I never drive at those speeds anyway except to try top end out once a year. I kept it for many years and it never needed one thing replaced. Not the brakes, only the tires. I could plow snow in that thing! One wintery morning at -31F it was the only car on the street that started, and kept me warm! No rattles, no shakes, just a small vehicle that went any legal speed. Mine was the automatic. It also worked perfectly. I will admit that passing on a two lane road was a true adventure in driving, but it never let me down. I sold it at 83 000 miles, and the next owner kept it until about 130K At that time the rust weevils sent the driver's seat to the ground and it was junked. I miss it and would buy another if I had the chance.
I have a red 1991 Geo Metro LSi manual convertible just turned 100,000 miles which I bought 5 years ago from an elderly man in Tillsonburg, ON. This car is originally from Florida and is mint inside and out. He belonged to a Harley Davidson Bike Club and stuck a Harley muffler on it so it has a cute little 'putt' to it. Switched it over to synthetic 5W30 and get about 58mpg. Replaced the 4 hoses under the hood for $20 CAD. $20/mo to insure. I love that it's so DIY friendly and inexpensive to maintain! Always stored inside never seen Winter and very little rain. Can't wait for Spring!
@World Coming Down 5779 : Fortunately, my area has not been affected by flood waters. I do have a boat, though, so I think I'll keep the Geo as my fun car!
A friend of mine rolled his hard top Geo Metro. He pushed the roof back out and continued to use it. Back in the 90's you saw a bunch of these now they are pretty rare. Cheap cars get abused and destroyed quickly.
I love this little car I'm going to buy a white 91 off my friend with a freshly built engine and tranny. Gotta love the lack of electronics for that drop top. UPDATE: It's been a little over a year. Its my DD, and a great alternative to my retired Fox Pony. I still have the Mustang don't worry. But its for special occasions thanks to the Geo taking over its duties
These cars are great at what they were designed to do...I have owned Lotus, AMG, MPower cars...and two Geos...still have a 97...it has stood the test of time as it is great at what it is designed to do...
I still see lots of these little Suzuki built Geo Metro convertible zipping around Miami. they are cheap to fix and last a long time. the Miata was a more substantial and more expensive car but have become somewhat rare because they tend to get molested and hooked up by teenagers. no one hooks up a Metro convertible however there is one that drives this South Beach strip that has a giant wooden wined up key on the back. it's adorable!
Jake from State Farm I Have No Problem With Mine And Mines An Automatic So There! You Guys Are Really That Insecure To Have A Problem With 55 Horsepower!! Come On Now!
Richard Kaltenbach -- 1) I never trashed the three cylinder. 2) Pretending as though anyone in this thread ever did exposes your own insecurities pertaining to your vehicle.
The 2nd metro I just inherited (2000 Chevy metro) got 68 mpg on a road trip years back. I've daily driven a 93 xfi for 14 years 266,000 now. Most reliable easy to work on car ever.. Problem is finding certain parts. So fun to drive, basically a street legal go cart.
The metro is perfect for big cities, perfect little runabout for the average Jane or Joe who don’t have a lot to spend, reliable and amazing fuel sipper! :-)
It *is* a cute little car, though I expect a great woe would befall anyone involved in a crash. Every so often I'll see a hardtop Geo Metro. I've never seen one of these, and had no idea they made a convertible version.
i am 22 years old and one of my neighbors had this car in her garage for over 20 years, miles were less than a thousand (so I remembered maybe.), and just sat there in the garage, my mom discovered it and the lady said she would sell it for $5,000. Too expensive said no, well one day she came up and told me she has to sell it. Lowered the price to $2,000, mom bought it for 2 reasons for me. My first car and my high school graduation gift. In Midland Texas and Houston, I was told by my mother and brother this car got so much attention even someone offered up a deal. My 1990 Geo Metro Lsi convertible Is roomy, somewhat comfortable, looks nice, does not go fast, only downside it just decided to quit on me one day. Thought the battery was done for, got a new battery, installed it, radio still wont turn on, headlights wont work, no beeping noises when you insert the key, nor does the car turn. It's sad... and now it's sitting outside in the sunlight for the entire summer now winter and I am sitting here wondering when will my car get fixed and how do I fix it. I can't read a car schematics...
Aww! I miss my Geo so much! It was a little red two door hatchback. It was the first car I bought for myself back in 1990 I drove like a mad woman for years. I'd buy again in a heartbeat!
Thanks to all the great guys and gals at Motorweek for showing these cool old reviews. If possible, do you have a review of the 1985 Buick LeSabre or Oldsmobile Delta 88? They were the first of the GM B-bodies to get dumped and It would be nice to see how good (or bad) the last of them were.
Pontiac 1000 drivers found that they could get to places faster if they put their car in neutral and let the world's rotation bring their destination to them. Note: this trick only works if you're going westward.
This retro review made me think about other econobox convertibles from the 1990s: Chevy Cavalier, Pontiac Sunbird (later Sunfire), the Dodge Shadow. We'll probably never see anything like those again.
I had a non convertible model that I rented for a business trip. On that trip I crossed over a mountain range and got hit with a heavy snow. It made it. You just had to be patient with it.
We are the 2nd owners of a 93 convertible. It had 2,000 miles on it when we bought it. Strange but it had to be insured as a sports car. 2 doors, 2 seats and a convertible = sports car. We brought it home in a snow storm. Later that night on a icy snow covered parking lot. I taught my wife how to drive a standard shift GEO. In a half hour she had it down. Never wanted to drive standard in her life. Until she saw this car. It sits now until gas gets up to $4.00 a gallon. I mean it's a sports car it should be expensive to fill it up right? Oh It gets right at 47mpg on average and has about 89000 miles on it.
My brother found one of these for $700 in 2001 and used it for a work car. His construction worker buddies laughed at him, but he said it was actually kind of fun.
I had a neighbor that has one of these in the exact same color as this one! It very rarely got driven because it had a leak in the top and usually had a tarp over it, but I do remember riding in it once.
What an exhaust note though that little 3 cylinder makes, sounds almost like a big roary V6 which is what it essentially is as far as the kind of balance it has to an extent LOL.
I always thought these looked great in the Mystic Magenta paint color with the white top. I never was able to find one but found a Tracker in the same color setup instead!
He smells their breath to make sure they are/are not drinking on the job.................No wait, he wants to know which Democratic candidate they prefer in the 2020 election, needs a clipboard for that. 🙂
I Saw 2 Metro convertibles today in traffic. When was zipping down A1A the other one was doing 90 on the MacArthur Causeway here in Miami. One was red the other was that weird Easter egg colored green. I usually see the yellow ones the most. They were really well-made and very reliable cars actually built by Suzuki but they cost too much for General Motors so they killed the metro and replaced it with the Daewoo built Chevrolet Aveo. There are still 20 plus year old metros driving around but not so many Chevy Aveo is.
I always liked these. There used to be an Easter Peep Yellow one around town that, I assume, belonged to one of the librarians because that's usually where I saw it. They kept selling this generation of Metro/Swift/Cultus in China through 2012ish as the Changan-Suzuki Lingyang. It received upgraded interior and exterior styling along the way and the finished result looked surprisingly well integrated and modern. I think it would be way cool to fit those Lingyang parts to one of these convertibles.
one of my favorite cars i had 2 of them wish i had them today great little cars never broke very reliable they need to come out with something like this today a cheap little reliable convertible maybe the chevy spark
Back then they should of used the 2.3L DOHC QUAD 4 H.O. which had around 200 HP, this thing would do 0-60 around 6secs! Quad 4 with a turbo would churn 250HP like the Areotech testing car.
Back in the mid-1990's I was working at a U.S. auto dealership and was in charge of reconditioning the used cars that the customers traded in on new cars. One day, a beat to hell 1980's 4-cylinder Honda was pulled into my bay for some recon work and I asked the driver to start it up for me, the only problem was it was already running! The tiny 4-cylinder was so smooth, well balanced and quiet I couldn't even tell it was running! I opened the hood to make sure it was indeed running, it was. And that was with over 100-K on it! Why couldn't we Americans design a small engine like the Japanese engineered by the 1980's? And they wonder why Americans buy so many imports?
1) what does this have to do with a Geo Metro? 2) tiny engine makes the noise of tiny thing, film at 11 3) American engines get an undeserved bad rap. American engines were the standard of reliability up to the 70's, then mandated emission stuff just absolutely ruined them as they struggled to cut emissions to new standards with a large V8 up against tiny Japanese 4s that didn't even need anything to meet emissions. By the late 80's/early 90's, American cars got the emission stuff figured out and many 90's American cars go on and on. There is a C5 Corvette with 770k miles, Chevy and Ford trucks with a million miles, etc. The other thing is that American cars tended to be the cheapest or loosest with financing for a given class, so people that could barely afford the car weren't willing to pay any extra to keep it serviced and in good shape and an under-serviced car will of course degrade quickly. Meanwhile, Honda buyers who were seeking reliability above all else spared no expense maintaining their Hondas and lo-and-behold they held up. Excluding bad apple drivetrains here and there, get a 90's Ford or Chevy against a 90's Honda with the same level of maintenance and they'll both last for hundreds of thousands of miles.
@@nunyabusiness896 True. Not to mention that US distances require big engines. But I do agree on the point that there could have been a bit more Geo alternatives for simple city everyday driving sold in the US. Ford and GM have sold million of small-engine cars in Europe and Asia in the past few decades (Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Spark, Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Trax, etc.) but those cars do not fit the US market in most cases. The general rule of thumb is, the bigger the engine the more miles it will last....in Europe, cars with 100,000 KM (60k miles) are considered at the end of their lifespan when under 2.0L (70-80% of those on the road). In the US, there's plenty with 150-200k miles on them with minimal maintenance done to them.
@@MrMenefrego1 No it fkn doesn,'t, re/tard. I already exhaustively (more than I should've) explained why you're wrong. Honda is a garbage brand and only id/iots champion them. Your one-off example is baseless nonsense.
With the top down, you could now hear the roar of that tiny 3-cylinder engine even better! I once had to drive a Geo Metro as a loaner. What a horrendous car! The engine was already at 3,500 RPM at just 60 MPH. Having a conversation in that little nightmare box going just 55 MPH was impossible. That little car was starting to get loud and uncomfortable at just 50MPH. Who at GM approved this little nightmare for production?! It's one thing to build econoboxes, and quite another to build rolling deathtraps!
55hp from a 1.0 3-cylinder actually doesn't sound that bad for 1991. The current base model VW up! has a 1.0 3-cylinder engine with only 60hp, and they sell plenty of those things for city driving.
A friend of mine drove one of these 130 miles a day commuting to anf from work. He out 150,000 miles on it in 3 years and sold it was 183,000 miles when he was done with it. He never had an issue with the car and got ridiculous gas mileage but feared for his life when he tried to go faster than 75mph.
The base hatchback cost $13,925 when adjusted for inflation (2017). The convertible cost $20,189, 45% more than the hatch. Not exactly the value it appears to be in 1991.
Jackmerius Tacktheritrix / you forgot to state that we made more too. I made 45,000 dollars a year, equivalent to 81,000 today. Today I make 75,000. Big difference, and everything went up except our wages, so next time you state what you did, don't forget wages. We made much more then.
I don't think they could have done much with the suspension without overhauling a lot of other stuff. But switching to 14" tires and increasing brake size would have helped with stopping. At the time ABS would have likely priced it out of the market. Definitely needed an increase to the larger engine once the 55 MPH limit ended.
I'd honestly love to own one of these things, and do an engine swap with something like a hiybusa motor, also some brake upgrades, and maybe a radio upgrade to something with built in Bluetooth.
Geo was a great bang for the buck. I had a Tracker and that little thing went everywhere I took it, rode better than my old Jeep Wrangler, ran better than My Wrangler, had an easier to remove top and was overall a much more reliable truck than the Jeep and It gave me excellent gas mileage. I averaged 25 MPG
i had to pay $2500 for a beat up 1998 Sentra.....but the market where I live is one of the worst.....but it is the manual transmission version and has no rust, besides surface from failing paint. (to be fair, I did not buy it...but traded my Mustang I got for $2500 for it, the seller of the Sentra also wanted $2500....my Mustang needed about $5000 of work to be able to legally drive on the road, so that's why I traded it)
but your 2010 Corolla is boring and has no soul or personality. Driving a deathtrap makes life exciting. Safety leads to complacency, and gradual death.
@@fortheloveofnoise It is boring, but that's what I have my Mustang for, to occasionally break the monotony. As far as safety leading to complacency, there is nothing wrong with vehicle safety. It is insane to say otherwise. So you have fun with that.
7MPower They sold both in the US. The Geo Metro/Chevy Sprint had the 1L 3 cylinder and the Swift had a 4 cylinder with the GT getting a whole 100hp. I had the 4 door Chevy Sprint version with the 3 cylinder, drove it through a flooded roadway that killed a Mazda pick up and the Mazda driver couldn't believe I drove around him.
7MPower GM wanted to sell more small cars in the US without spending money on development. So, they sold Suzukis, Isuzus and rebadged Carollas under the Geo name.
If you wanna get real technical, it's a Suzuki Cultus. Depending on where you are in the world, this was sold as a Suzuki Swift, a Geo Metro, a Chevrolet Sprint, a Pontiac Firefly, or a Subaru Justy. Hell, the 5-door hatchback variant is still built and sold in Pakistan.
Geo was sold by GM, usually at Chevrolet dealers. They were made by Suzuki, Isuzu, Daewoo, and even Toyota (the Geo Prism was a re-badged Toyota Corolla). Very decent cars, mostly, because they weren't built by Chevy. Very underappreciated in their day -- excellent value for the money for the early '90s.
My 16yo son was driving with me the other day and we actually passed one of these. He freaked out laughing at that car. Then laughed again when I told him all about its story.
I had no idea that the Metro ever was sold with the drop top option. I've never seen one in before this video. My Dad had the basic Metro hatchback. It was pretty basic transportation but extremely reliable and the gas mileage was excellent. It had the 3-cylinder powerhouse as well. The only time it was an issue is when taking an onramp to access the Interstate. It was a struggle to get it up to speed with any kind of urgency. Once you got it cruising at Interstate speeds, it was no problem. I wonder if any of these Metro convertibles have survived the intervening years.
Ooooooh! no oil pressure and battery meter gauges! Oh, and dang! In my close to a half-century age I have yet to ever ride or drive a convertible. It's on my list of things to do before I take the never waking up sleep.
I would kill to own a Geo Metro roadster, assuming it had a manual and was in good shape. I the only thing I would do to it would maybe give it an all-wheel-drive system out of a similarly-sized Kei car.
For some reason I've always loved and wanted one of these little things.
same
A lot of those Suzuki G1.0 engines have gone a half million miles or more!
Good_Dawg I had owned a 91 convertible for about 10 years and still running it! So far it did not gave me any mechanical troubles like my other cars.
SAAAAME.
@@windpower4jp : That's encouraging! I want to take mine across Canada to BC when I retire. I hope we're both around in a couple of years for that!
This is one of my favorite Motorweek reviews, and its probably one of the most accurate. As a owner of a Geo Metro convertible, every single poke they make at the car makes me laugh hysterically. One positive note is a full set of golf clubs fit in the trunk, try that in a Miata!
"C'mon Ned move this thing!"
"I can't, it's a Geo!"
Just pick it up and move it.
@@barnabyjones6995 my mother has a particular affinity for these cars and when I was a kid I remember 4 guys picking this car up and turning it around so they could jump it.
I had a '90 5-spd., the clutch burned out about 6 blocks from my house, I pushed it home MYSELF.
Ive owned 2 of these Awesome little car!! Went through the worst of snow storms like a little tank and through the extreme heat in the summer with the coldest A/C Ive ever had in any car. My eyeballs would freeze lol. I miss them both
Travis. Is that you? Lol
Your Metros or your eyes? :)
@@swlancaster1964😂 underrated comment
Manufactures need to revive the Econo box cars.
Christopher Hernandez wouldn't that pretty much be like the Ford Fiesta and Chevy spark sedans? I know the spark can still even be ordered with a manual transmission even
Ford Fiesta, Chevy Spark (do they still make the Sonic?), Kia Rio. The list goes on.
You do realize that that is a suzuki up there right?
They are popular in india. Our country is full of econo boxes
I agree, but sadly crash safety has killed the genre.
there are still tons of these zipping around Miami Beach. I saw a yellow one and an Easter egg teal-colored one today. the little 3 cylinder Japanese Suzuki built engines run forever. I saw one doing 85 mph down I-95 with a big wooden windup key attached to the back bumper period it was cute as fuck!. there is a pest control company here that has a fleet of old Geo metros with Mouse ears and whiskers on them.
Lol must have been a steep hill.
@@Thindoublechin In Florida?
Truly Nolen?
wow thats a cute idea about the mouse metros
I had a new 1991 Pontiac Firefly convertible. They were not sold in the US. Almost exactly the same as the Geo Metro. No airbag. It went 93mph with the top up, and 87mph with the top down. I never drive at those speeds anyway except to try top end out once a year. I kept it for many years and it never needed one thing replaced. Not the brakes, only the tires. I could plow snow in that thing! One wintery morning at -31F it was the only car on the street that started, and kept me warm! No rattles, no shakes, just a small vehicle that went any legal speed. Mine was the automatic. It also worked perfectly. I will admit that passing on a two lane road was a true adventure in driving, but it never let me down. I sold it at 83 000 miles, and the next owner kept it until about 130K At that time the rust weevils sent the driver's seat to the ground and it was junked. I miss it and would buy another if I had the chance.
I have a red 1991 Geo Metro LSi manual convertible just turned 100,000 miles which I bought 5 years ago from an elderly man in Tillsonburg, ON. This car is originally from Florida and is mint inside and out. He belonged to a Harley Davidson Bike Club and stuck a Harley muffler on it so it has a cute little 'putt' to it. Switched it over to synthetic 5W30 and get about 58mpg. Replaced the 4 hoses under the hood for $20 CAD. $20/mo to insure. I love that it's so DIY friendly and inexpensive to maintain! Always stored inside never seen Winter and very little rain. Can't wait for Spring!
@World Coming Down 5779 : Fortunately, my area has not been affected by flood waters. I do have a boat, though, so I think I'll keep the Geo as my fun car!
Please make a CZcams video of you and your Metro. It is a historical artifact and needs permanent documentation. Thanks.
show off the Metro, that thing is lokey fire
A friend of mine rolled his hard top Geo Metro. He pushed the roof back out and continued to use it. Back in the 90's you saw a bunch of these now they are pretty rare. Cheap cars get abused and destroyed quickly.
0-60 in..... eventually
They reduced it down to 0-5mph to improve times.
It's meant to be a fun economy car. For people that want good commute mpg while having a drop top. Try to find a car like this made today.
Crew -----------> He's gonna run the 0-60 time, while he's doing that does anyone want to walk to the deli to grab a bacon egg & cheese sandwich?
Janet Jackson, Escapade playing on the radio at 3:50!
Thanks, I was really wondering what song was playing!!
Aye
lmaooo
I love this little car I'm going to buy a white 91 off my friend with a freshly built engine and tranny. Gotta love the lack of electronics for that drop top.
UPDATE: It's been a little over a year.
Its my DD, and a great alternative to my retired Fox Pony.
I still have the Mustang don't worry. But its for special occasions thanks to the Geo taking over its duties
Geo metro reviews be like:
*it's a car. It has 4 wheels. It will get to highway speeds eventually maybe.*
Makes a Miata look manly.
These cars are great at what they were designed to do...I have owned Lotus, AMG, MPower cars...and two Geos...still have a 97...it has stood the test of time as it is great at what it is designed to do...
wouldn't mind seeing one of these with a Hayabusa engine
I had a 1992 one in red. I bought it new for about $8200. It died after 15 years and 192000 miles. The unibody cracked from rust.
I have a 1998 Nissan Sentra manual transmission.....no rust...move yo the South where there is no snow and no rust
I still see lots of these little Suzuki built Geo Metro convertible zipping around Miami. they are cheap to fix and last a long time. the Miata was a more substantial and more expensive car but have become somewhat rare because they tend to get molested and hooked up by teenagers. no one hooks up a Metro convertible however there is one that drives this South Beach strip that has a giant wooden wined up key on the back. it's adorable!
I have a 93 Geo Metro Teal convertible LSI I love the 3 cyc. 50 MPG. I rather drive it than my Corvette. It gets way more smiles and thumbs up.
Only 55 HP?? Wow.
At least the little 3 banger sounds V6-ish.
it sounds like half of a v6
NotBen101 -- Agreed.
Jake from State Farm I Have No Problem With Mine And Mines An Automatic So There!
You Guys Are Really That Insecure To Have A Problem With 55 Horsepower!! Come On Now!
Richard Kaltenbach -- 1) I never trashed the three cylinder.
2) Pretending as though anyone in this thread ever did exposes your own insecurities pertaining to your vehicle.
@Jake from State Farm I was going to say the same thing! Sounds nice actually!
The 2nd metro I just inherited (2000 Chevy metro) got 68 mpg on a road trip years back. I've daily driven a 93 xfi for 14 years 266,000 now. Most reliable easy to work on car ever.. Problem is finding certain parts. So fun to drive, basically a street legal go cart.
One of the best cars ever released!!!
One of the most reliable, or easy to repair
Not a fan of convertibles but whenever I used to see a convertible Metro on the road it made me smile!
I love this show! John Davis is such a great host. Tone, inflection, someone you want to listen to
Yeah, and he had some hair back then too.
Much Better Than That Doug DeMuro! Uggh!
The metro is perfect for big cities, perfect little runabout for the average Jane or Joe who don’t have a lot to spend, reliable and amazing fuel sipper! :-)
It *is* a cute little car, though I expect a great woe would befall anyone involved in a crash.
Every so often I'll see a hardtop Geo Metro. I've never seen one of these, and had no idea they made a convertible version.
The convertables were all built in Japan 1991-94.
i am 22 years old and one of my neighbors had this car in her garage for over 20 years, miles were less than a thousand (so I remembered maybe.), and just sat there in the garage, my mom discovered it and the lady said she would sell it for $5,000. Too expensive said no, well one day she came up and told me she has to sell it. Lowered the price to $2,000, mom bought it for 2 reasons for me.
My first car and my high school graduation gift.
In Midland Texas and Houston, I was told by my mother and brother this car got so much attention even someone offered up a deal.
My 1990 Geo Metro Lsi convertible Is roomy, somewhat comfortable, looks nice, does not go fast, only downside it just decided to quit on me one day.
Thought the battery was done for, got a new battery, installed it, radio still wont turn on, headlights wont work, no beeping noises when you insert the key, nor does the car turn.
It's sad... and now it's sitting outside in the sunlight for the entire summer now winter and I am sitting here wondering when will my car get fixed and how do I fix it.
I can't read a car schematics...
Aww! I miss my Geo so much! It was a little red two door hatchback. It was the first car I bought for myself back in 1990 I drove like a mad woman for years. I'd buy again in a heartbeat!
I can confirm the convertible has more trunk space than the hatchback
Made by Suzuki, so it wasn't a typical crappy small car from GM. It would actually *not* fall apart after 36,001 miles.
Thanks to all the great guys and gals at Motorweek for showing these cool old reviews. If possible, do you have a review of the 1985 Buick LeSabre or Oldsmobile Delta 88? They were the first of the GM B-bodies to get dumped and It would be nice to see how good (or bad) the last of them were.
Still faster than the pontiac 1000.
A turtle was faster than the Pontiac 1000! 🙃
Pontiac 1000 drivers found that they could get to places faster if they put their car in neutral and let the world's rotation bring their destination to them. Note: this trick only works if you're going westward.
neat little econo box....
This retro review made me think about other econobox convertibles from the 1990s: Chevy Cavalier, Pontiac Sunbird (later Sunfire), the Dodge Shadow. We'll probably never see anything like those again.
I had a non convertible model that I rented for a business trip. On that trip I crossed over a mountain range and got hit with a heavy snow. It made it. You just had to be patient with it.
We are the 2nd owners of a 93 convertible. It had 2,000 miles on it when we bought it. Strange but it had to be insured as a sports car. 2 doors, 2 seats and a convertible = sports car. We brought it home in a snow storm. Later that night on a icy snow covered parking lot. I taught my wife how to drive a standard shift GEO. In a half hour she had it down. Never wanted to drive standard in her life. Until she saw this car.
It sits now until gas gets up to $4.00 a gallon. I mean it's a sports car it should be expensive to fill it up right? Oh It gets right at 47mpg on average and has about 89000 miles on it.
had a 90 ragtop loved it. wonderful Lil run about convertible. miss it
My brother found one of these for $700 in 2001 and used it for a work car. His construction worker buddies laughed at him, but he said it was actually kind of fun.
A geo metro was my first car with that wonderful 5 speed manual
He was working hard to come up with positives there! Always great reviews!
See the HVAC controls at 3:44? Beats all the electronic crap today.
Holy body roll but hey it was a cheap car built to be sold cheap and get great MPG.
InternetDude Get Some Suzuki Swift GT Sway Bars In There!
This thing would still beat my '86 Bonneville V6 in the quarter mile. Wow.
I had a neighbor that has one of these in the exact same color as this one! It very rarely got driven because it had a leak in the top and usually had a tarp over it, but I do remember riding in it once.
What an exhaust note though that little 3 cylinder makes, sounds almost like a big roary V6 which is what it essentially is as far as the kind of balance it has to an extent LOL.
I always thought these looked great in the Mystic Magenta paint color with the white top. I never was able to find one but found a Tracker in the same color setup instead!
I totally want this car.
No mention of volt-meter? Gawd I love these reviews.
I love how after each instrumented test, somebody has to come running over with the clipboard 😃
He smells their breath to make sure they are/are not drinking on the job.................No wait, he wants to know which Democratic candidate they prefer in the 2020 election, needs a clipboard for that. 🙂
I Saw 2 Metro convertibles today in traffic. When was zipping down A1A the other one was doing 90 on the MacArthur Causeway here in Miami. One was red the other was that weird Easter egg colored green. I usually see the yellow ones the most. They were really well-made and very reliable cars actually built by Suzuki but they cost too much for General Motors so they killed the metro and replaced it with the Daewoo built Chevrolet Aveo. There are still 20 plus year old metros driving around but not so many Chevy Aveo is.
OK we get it how many times are you going to post the same shit in a slightly different way
That 3 cylinder sounds like a triumph 3 cylinder motorcycle
"buzzy motor" - understatement of the 90s
3:53 Rocking some Janet Jackson. Noice.
Burt Sampson lol at your name and avatar. Classic!
I always liked these. There used to be an Easter Peep Yellow one around town that, I assume, belonged to one of the librarians because that's usually where I saw it.
They kept selling this generation of Metro/Swift/Cultus in China through 2012ish as the Changan-Suzuki Lingyang. It received upgraded interior and exterior styling along the way and the finished result looked surprisingly well integrated and modern. I think it would be way cool to fit those Lingyang parts to one of these convertibles.
Had one of these 20 something years ago trying to do over 55 with that little 3 cylinder.
It Don't Take Much To Do Over 70-75. And Piss Off The CHP.
You Probably Forgot Where The Gas Pedal Was, lol.
beautiful classic now.
I have one! It still runs me to work
one of my favorite cars i had 2 of them wish i had them today great little cars never broke very reliable they need to come out with something like this today a cheap little reliable convertible maybe the chevy spark
i had the same car in 1992.
Called mine the twatmobile!
Back then they should of used the 2.3L DOHC QUAD 4 H.O. which had around 200 HP, this thing would do 0-60 around 6secs! Quad 4 with a turbo would churn 250HP like the Areotech testing car.
OMG I always wanted one of these growing up. My dad said it was too small for his liking. 😢
Back in the mid-1990's I was working at a U.S. auto dealership and was in charge of reconditioning the used cars that the customers traded in on new cars. One day, a beat to hell 1980's 4-cylinder Honda was pulled into my bay for some recon work and I asked the driver to start it up for me, the only problem was it was already running! The tiny 4-cylinder was so smooth, well balanced and quiet I couldn't even tell it was running! I opened the hood to make sure it was indeed running, it was. And that was with over 100-K on it! Why couldn't we Americans design a small engine like the Japanese engineered by the 1980's? And they wonder why Americans buy so many imports?
1) what does this have to do with a Geo Metro?
2) tiny engine makes the noise of tiny thing, film at 11
3) American engines get an undeserved bad rap. American engines were the standard of reliability up to the 70's, then mandated emission stuff just absolutely ruined them as they struggled to cut emissions to new standards with a large V8 up against tiny Japanese 4s that didn't even need anything to meet emissions. By the late 80's/early 90's, American cars got the emission stuff figured out and many 90's American cars go on and on. There is a C5 Corvette with 770k miles, Chevy and Ford trucks with a million miles, etc. The other thing is that American cars tended to be the cheapest or loosest with financing for a given class, so people that could barely afford the car weren't willing to pay any extra to keep it serviced and in good shape and an under-serviced car will of course degrade quickly. Meanwhile, Honda buyers who were seeking reliability above all else spared no expense maintaining their Hondas and lo-and-behold they held up. Excluding bad apple drivetrains here and there, get a 90's Ford or Chevy against a 90's Honda with the same level of maintenance and they'll both last for hundreds of thousands of miles.
@@nunyabusiness896 True. Not to mention that US distances require big engines. But I do agree on the point that there could have been a bit more Geo alternatives for simple city everyday driving sold in the US. Ford and GM have sold million of small-engine cars in Europe and Asia in the past few decades (Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Spark, Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Trax, etc.) but those cars do not fit the US market in most cases. The general rule of thumb is, the bigger the engine the more miles it will last....in Europe, cars with 100,000 KM (60k miles) are considered at the end of their lifespan when under 2.0L (70-80% of those on the road). In the US, there's plenty with 150-200k miles on them with minimal maintenance done to them.
@@nunyabusiness896 It concerns the U.S. auto industry, get the connection, genius?
@@MrMenefrego1 No it fkn doesn,'t, re/tard. I already exhaustively (more than I should've) explained why you're wrong. Honda is a garbage brand and only id/iots champion them. Your one-off example is baseless nonsense.
@@nunyabusiness896 You sure told me! haha! Calm down, Sally; it's not your fault your always wrong.
Firefly top tip! They soak up railway crossings better when airborne 🤙🤙
With the top down, you could now hear the roar of that tiny 3-cylinder engine even better!
I once had to drive a Geo Metro as a loaner. What a horrendous car! The engine was already at 3,500 RPM at just 60 MPH. Having a conversation in that little nightmare box going just 55 MPH was impossible. That little car was starting to get loud and uncomfortable at just 50MPH. Who at GM approved this little nightmare for production?! It's one thing to build econoboxes, and quite another to build rolling deathtraps!
Nothing like a 40 year old dude with pilot sunglasses and a glorious mustache driving a tiny little convertible.
If gas hits $8 a gallon again you'd drive it.
55hp from a 1.0 3-cylinder actually doesn't sound that bad for 1991. The current base model VW up! has a 1.0 3-cylinder engine with only 60hp, and they sell plenty of those things for city driving.
Wish they sold those in yhe U.S. We no longer get micro cars
What about a Ford Aerostar review?
There's isn't a full review, but MotorWeek | Retro Review: '85 Mini Van Comparo features the Aerostar.
That would be neat
I just bought one like that. It’s very fun to drive and it’s not expensive in gaz.
A friend of mine drove one of these 130 miles a day commuting to anf from work. He out 150,000 miles on it in 3 years and sold it was 183,000 miles when he was done with it. He never had an issue with the car and got ridiculous gas mileage but feared for his life when he tried to go faster than 75mph.
The base hatchback cost $13,925 when adjusted for inflation (2017). The convertible cost $20,189, 45% more than the hatch. Not exactly the value it appears to be in 1991.
Jackmerius Tacktheritrix / you forgot to state that we made more too. I made 45,000 dollars a year, equivalent to 81,000 today. Today I make 75,000. Big difference, and everything went up except our wages, so next time you state what you did, don't forget wages. We made much more then.
That's not too much cheaper than today's entry level Miata
This is a car that should be updated and re-released. 1.2 liter 4 cyl, better breaks & shspension. New materials.
Bring on that 44 MPG !
I don't think they could have done much with the suspension without overhauling a lot of other stuff. But switching to 14" tires and increasing brake size would have helped with stopping. At the time ABS would have likely priced it out of the market. Definitely needed an increase to the larger engine once the 55 MPH limit ended.
I'd honestly love to own one of these things, and do an engine swap with something like a hiybusa motor, also some brake upgrades, and maybe a radio upgrade to something with built in Bluetooth.
Admit it, you really want to do an LS swap.
@@christopherconard2831 na man LS swaps have been a little over done.
I’d LOVE to buy a Metro convertible in good condition
Geo was a great bang for the buck. I had a Tracker and that little thing went everywhere I took it, rode better than my old Jeep Wrangler, ran better than My Wrangler, had an easier to remove top and was overall a much more reliable truck than the Jeep and It gave me excellent gas mileage. I averaged 25 MPG
Those cars were soo good on gas!
This car was on sale in india (known as the maruti suzuki esteem) with a 1.3L engine. Was a pretty quick car for its time
I guarantee someone has somehow done an LS swap with one of these
My mom almost bought one of these back when they were new 😂
46mpg:) I'll take one as a daily beater! I can already see everyone laughing at it when my "toy" car is in the garage (the GTR!) haha
Just buy first gen Honda Insight, it'll better.
Those geo convertibles are a gem these days. Extremely difficult to find and when you do manage to find one. The owner wants like $3,000 for it. 😔
i had to pay $2500 for a beat up 1998 Sentra.....but the market where I live is one of the worst.....but it is the manual transmission version and has no rust, besides surface from failing paint.
(to be fair, I did not buy it...but traded my Mustang I got for $2500 for it, the seller of the Sentra also wanted $2500....my Mustang needed about $5000 of work to be able to legally drive on the road, so that's why I traded it)
Cute little cars!
Such a cute car
Put wide tires on it and use it as a golf cart.
Its Japanese version is called the swift and has sold 6 million to date . Its the best Japanese small hatch today.
I was in Middle school when this mofel was introduced
That motor was originally made for water irrigation pumps in Japan
3:49 Janet Jackson - Escapade on radio.
haha I just noticed, total nostalgia.
Safe ass car right here
Shows how far we've come. My 2010 Corolla isn't a death trap, has almost 3 times the power, more room and gets about the same mpg (38 average).
And Neither Is The Geo Metro!
but your 2010 Corolla is boring and has no soul or personality. Driving a deathtrap makes life exciting. Safety leads to complacency, and gradual death.
@@fortheloveofnoise It is boring, but that's what I have my Mustang for, to occasionally break the monotony. As far as safety leading to complacency, there is nothing wrong with vehicle safety. It is insane to say otherwise. So you have fun with that.
lmao 2:55 the lambada comment.. so retro indeed
Dude, at 1:55, that thing launches in beast mode!
My first car at 16 was a 94 Metro hatch. 1.0L with a 5spd...oh yea I'm 6'6"😂
Why is it called a Geo Metro in the US? It's just a Suzuki Swift.
7MPower They sold both in the US. The Geo Metro/Chevy Sprint had the 1L 3 cylinder and the Swift had a 4 cylinder with the GT getting a whole 100hp. I had the 4 door Chevy Sprint version with the 3 cylinder, drove it through a flooded roadway that killed a Mazda pick up and the Mazda driver couldn't believe I drove around him.
7MPower GM wanted to sell more small cars in the US without spending money on development. So, they sold Suzukis, Isuzus and rebadged Carollas under the Geo name.
If you wanna get real technical, it's a Suzuki Cultus. Depending on where you are in the world, this was sold as a Suzuki Swift, a Geo Metro, a Chevrolet Sprint, a Pontiac Firefly, or a Subaru Justy. Hell, the 5-door hatchback variant is still built and sold in Pakistan.
Back then General Motors created a new division called Geo. The cars were sold through Chevy dealerships.
Geo was sold by GM, usually at Chevrolet dealers. They were made by Suzuki, Isuzu, Daewoo, and even Toyota (the Geo Prism was a re-badged Toyota Corolla). Very decent cars, mostly, because they weren't built by Chevy. Very underappreciated in their day -- excellent value for the money for the early '90s.
One of the least expensive convertibles you could buy back in '91!!!!!
still can
ive always wanted an earlier body style 2 door hatch
My 16yo son was driving with me the other day and we actually passed one of these. He freaked out laughing at that car. Then laughed again when I told him all about its story.
Why Was He Laughing At That Car? I Don't Get That!
I'D LAUGH AT HIM! HE SEEMS GAY!
I had no idea that the Metro ever was sold with the drop top option. I've never seen one in before this video. My Dad had the basic Metro hatchback. It was pretty basic transportation but extremely reliable and the gas mileage was excellent. It had the 3-cylinder powerhouse as well. The only time it was an issue is when taking an onramp to access the Interstate. It was a struggle to get it up to speed with any kind of urgency. Once you got it cruising at Interstate speeds, it was no problem. I wonder if any of these Metro convertibles have survived the intervening years.
Robert Karma I have a 93 and it runs great little rusty underneath as in gigantic hole in the floor lol but I have fun driving it around
I would love to road trip that car
Ooooooh! no oil pressure and battery meter gauges! Oh, and dang! In my close to a half-century age I have yet to ever ride or drive a convertible. It's on my list of things to do before I take the never waking up sleep.
I would kill to own a Geo Metro roadster, assuming it had a manual and was in good shape. I the only thing I would do to it would maybe give it an all-wheel-drive system out of a similarly-sized Kei car.
Same one as the one i had i miss it
Top da galáxia só carrões da hora 👍👍👍🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷
👏👏👏👏🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷