Jon, like you, I really lament the loss of Suzuki in North America. They produce great, affordable vehicles for everywhere else in the world and that Jimny is a modern classic. I wish they would come back.
Thank you for the holiday treat of a triple road test! I was trying to think of better competitors to the Metro convertible than the Miata and Capri. I came up with the VW Rabbit (which still would have been about $2,000 more than the Metro) and the Yugo Cabrio (which would have been about $2K less than the Metro). I don't think there was really anything in its class. As far as the panel gaps, I'm pretty sure, since the convertible was a low-volume, regular Metro with the top cut off, that they came up with the cheapest solution possible...a fiberglass trunk lid. That explains the larger gaps on the trunk. Looking forward to more road tests in 2025!
3:45 - I've never been more nervous behind the wheel of a car than while driving one of these convertibles on the interstate among conversion vans and pickups 18-wheelers. Driving at 60-70 MPH was not confidence-inspiring. I stayed in the right lane until exiting. The novelty of the car quickly wore off. It's purely for running around beach towns and such.
Any vehicle of any design that has/had less than 100 horsepower was/is a life endangering experience on an open highway or freeway. Not enough poop to get out of the way of anything. Our 52 horsepower Chevy Chevette loaded with the wife and kids was the same.
WOW dancing down memory lane! LOL I had a 93 I think Metro, it's most notable feature was the inability to ever get a speeding ticket outside of a school zone if the A/C was turned on. It's about as close to being a factory built beater car as I have seen, not enough power to break anything but the drivers heart. Fond memories of days gone by. Happy New Year to ACeJ. 🎉
The Geo Tracker is one of my dream rigs. Ever since I was younger I have always wanted one. That short wheelbase is the perfect base for a custom wheeler. Back in high school my buddy had a Metro, we would take it up to the hills where people go rock climbing, and we would purposefully roll it down the hill. Car survived for years off of 1-cylinder with a caved in roof driving around town.
Happy Xmas Jon. I knew the Geo metro/Suzuki Swift quite well. Like many a Suzuki, this kind of vehicle was never designed to set the world on fire, or for that matter, destroy your bank account. At the time, Daihatsu were chasing the same market segment. For sure, the construction was quite flimsy, but they tended to just keep going well beyond their use by date. These days, the very idea of a cheap and basic little car that tends to work for most of the time, is fast becoming extinct.
I had a 1995 geo metro hatchback in 3 cylinders. 0-60 sometimes.. It would go over Snoqualmie Pass on I-90 pushing 45mph most of the time lower than that. It's the car I learned to drive stick in. At one point I found that one of the cylinders were disconnected at the sparkplugs. It was very easy to work on. I really liked that car but it was terrifying in Seattle being manual drive and all on those steep hills and the metal bracing on I-5 overpasses (I could feel the wheels slipping every time I drove over the bracings). It eventually totaled its self, I hit a small puddle on an onramp and it spun 1&1/2 times and hit a barricade. I was able to drive it home safely even then but fixing it wasn't worth it to the insurance company.
Yes. The initial impact of first look brought up the Pacer here as comparable, also. The front looked Saturn like. Got a lot of input from many for what it looked most like.
'91 Metro Convertible, Red, in my carport. Interior has held up well all considered. Nothing broken or missing. I did re-paint the plastic a few years back as 30 years of ultraviolet has taken its toll, but was only cosmetic. Replaced the seats (previous owner was much larger than the car was designed for). Converted the Auto to 5sp. Unsure if it has just over 300k or 400k: I've rolled the odometer twice. It had a rough life before me (college kid car, then a Coast Guard recruiter)so some dings, etc. Is it slow and wallowy, yep. Fun on rural Farm Roads? Absolutely.
I owned a Geo Storm, the fastback body style was gorgeous imo. Was one of the better shit boxes I've had in my life, ended up upgrading it a bit so it was such a joy to drive. Would get people complimenting asking what type of sports car it was. lol Then they find out its GEO.
Ok, this is a nice Boxing Day present! We got Japanese Suzuki Swifts {Metro), 1.3 4cyl std (no ragtop). But Suzuki gave us the giant killing, halo Swift 1.3 Gti Twin-Cam, fantastic race car. The Isuzu looks like the same generic Isuzu platform we got, as the cool Piazza. Last was the "Suzuki Grand Vitara" here, the basic Vitara was a swb 2dr. Thanks Jon. 🇦🇺
I would like to have the 1989 Suzuki Swift GTi with an automatic. At least it's a four cylinder engine. I will never want a three cylinder engine or a five cylinder engine. Ever.
@UncleJoeLITE The 1990-1994 Suzuki Swift GT only came with a manual transmission. The 1989 GTi did have an optional automatic. It might be hard to find but they did exist.
I had a 1996 Kia Sportage 4x4. It was a Body-on-frame little Truck. The Four wheel drive system was very much like the old International , where all4 wheels had power, and it was a chain drive. It was a tough little Trucklet. Quite capable off road. The 2.0 L had 130 HP. Pretty good. 🚗🙂
I am probably one of the few people in the US that owned two different GEO models. My first new car ever was a 1991 Geo Metro. Great gas mileage (like 50mpg), severely underpowered, very load interior. Horrible interior quality. There was no dial for windshield wipers - just several sets with buttons. The button would fly off across the cabin when changing windshield wiper spades. I traded it in for a Tempo (I was a real idiot) in my younger days. A few years later (~2000), we traded in our mini-van (Windstar, major transmission issues) for a Geo Tracker. The Tracker was a much better vehicle. Finish was decent, cabin not particularly load. Did no serious 4 wheel drive but it worked well the few times I used it - on the fly. My main complaint is that it was really too small for us and would have been better served by the Grand Vitara (the Suzuki 7-passenger version). I remember the power was good enough and the transmission (auto) was very smooth. Decent stereo too. Didn't have it long term. My wife (now ex) totaled it by being idiot. Safe enough - my kids were well secured, even those not in car seats. It was a fun vehicle.
@@theturtle2121 I thought about while sitting next to one on a bike with a 1.4L engine. At the time a one liter engine in America was considered so small (For a car, very big on a motorcycle) and technology hadn't gotten to the point of getting real power out of it. Though that's probably just as well, speed would have made those things absolute death traps.
Love your channel Jon. Will you do a video on the Honda/Nissan merger? Me and your listeners would love to hear your personal opinion about this merger.
At the time i bought my slightly used 1991 Metro 5 dr auto 10k was too much. I cross shopped the Metro with the Toyota Tercel, Dodge Colt, Hyundai Excel. The Dodge Shadow was more price competitive.
34:20 - This is why I cringe when I hear the "SUV" label applied to garbage like Chevy Trax or a bus like the VW Atlas. The SUV label should be reserved for actual off-road capable 4x4 vehicles like the Tracker. Sadly, there aren't many left. 4Runner, Bronco, Grand Cherokee...maybe 3-4 others. It's a very small class.
Geo Metro Convertible would be a great little runabout for living in Florida; not at all for Montana. It limited character limited its buyer. We kept wondering during this part of the video whether we were comparing it to cars of 1991 or to today. We found ourselves going back and forth between these two eras. Only in its price then compared to today's make it attractive. We recall many more and better options in 1991. Suzuki is like Mitsubishi in that little effort was made in design and quality. Both were attractive for only being fun in the moment and cheap. Have a happy holiday season. We're at home doing the same.
Suzuki and Isuzu small cars are kinda underrated compared to Toyota or Honda. Not as expensive or as popular, but very durable. The Vitara (Tracker)? Great SUV, even if prone to rust.
For a cheap car 10k to 13k car you could get a Plymouth Sundance/Dodge Shadow Plymouth Acclaim/Dodge Spirit were better cars for the money. The Dodge Omni?Plymouth Horizon were a better car for 1990. These Omni/Horzion came with a standard airbag 2.5L 4 100 hp 136 ft of torque Auto PS/PB A/C AM/FM Cassette Rear Wiper/defrost for 7295.00. The Plymouth Acclaim Dodge Spirit came standard with the same 2.5 I4 Automatic PS/PB A/C Tilt wheel bucket seats AM/FM Cassette Rear Defrost for 9995 to 10950 new and if you got the Bench seat you got a 295 credit still 1500 cheaper and way better cars.
Yes. But, as I recall the Omni/Horizon came with different engines. The first few years it had a VW engine. Then for a few years a Simca engine. And, lastly a not too reliable in house four. That was the problem with these cars. With unreliable engines, generally. That did not help these models longevity.
1,225 days sober today so I will have coffee thank you
Congrats! That's incredible!
Hope you have found a good reason to enjoy life. Best wishes.
CONGRATULATIONS‼️. Not easy, but can be done. Don’t turn back. Keep going.
🙏🙏
Jon, like you, I really lament the loss of Suzuki in North America. They produce great, affordable vehicles for everywhere else in the world and that Jimny is a modern classic. I wish they would come back.
Thank you for the holiday treat of a triple road test! I was trying to think of better competitors to the Metro convertible than the Miata and Capri. I came up with the VW Rabbit (which still would have been about $2,000 more than the Metro) and the Yugo Cabrio (which would have been about $2K less than the Metro). I don't think there was really anything in its class. As far as the panel gaps, I'm pretty sure, since the convertible was a low-volume, regular Metro with the top cut off, that they came up with the cheapest solution possible...a fiberglass trunk lid. That explains the larger gaps on the trunk. Looking forward to more road tests in 2025!
3:45 - I've never been more nervous behind the wheel of a car than while driving one of these convertibles on the interstate among conversion vans and pickups 18-wheelers. Driving at 60-70 MPH was not confidence-inspiring. I stayed in the right lane until exiting. The novelty of the car quickly wore off. It's purely for running around beach towns and such.
Any vehicle of any design that has/had less than 100 horsepower was/is a life endangering experience on an open highway or freeway. Not enough poop to get out of the way of anything. Our 52 horsepower Chevy Chevette loaded with the wife and kids was the same.
@robertallan4489 Agree. This was more unsettling because it was a soft top. It felt like driving a golf cart, but at highway speeds.
Merry Christmas Jon, love vids n car news this year.
WOW dancing down memory lane! LOL I had a 93 I think Metro, it's most notable feature was the inability to ever get a speeding ticket outside of a school zone if the A/C was turned on. It's about as close to being a factory built beater car as I have seen, not enough power to break anything but the drivers heart. Fond memories of days gone by. Happy New Year to ACeJ. 🎉
Lol! Happy New Year!
The Geo Tracker is one of my dream rigs. Ever since I was younger I have always wanted one. That short wheelbase is the perfect base for a custom wheeler. Back in high school my buddy had a Metro, we would take it up to the hills where people go rock climbing, and we would purposefully roll it down the hill. Car survived for years off of 1-cylinder with a caved in roof driving around town.
Happy Xmas Jon. I knew the Geo metro/Suzuki Swift quite well. Like many a Suzuki, this kind of vehicle was never designed to set the world on fire, or for that matter, destroy your bank account. At the time, Daihatsu were chasing the same market segment. For sure, the construction was quite flimsy, but they tended to just keep going well beyond their use by date. These days, the very idea of a cheap and basic little car that tends to work for most of the time, is fast becoming extinct.
Engined transportation is like shelter and food. Gone are the days of fun. Now all too expensive to do anything fun with.
@@robertallan4489 Absolutely.
Know what you mean. Had a Plymouth Horizon and it felt like a car. Friend had a Metro and I felt you could pick it up with 2 people.
I had a 1995 geo metro hatchback in 3 cylinders. 0-60 sometimes.. It would go over Snoqualmie Pass on I-90 pushing 45mph most of the time lower than that. It's the car I learned to drive stick in. At one point I found that one of the cylinders were disconnected at the sparkplugs. It was very easy to work on. I really liked that car but it was terrifying in Seattle being manual drive and all on those steep hills and the metal bracing on I-5 overpasses (I could feel the wheels slipping every time I drove over the bracings). It eventually totaled its self, I hit a small puddle on an onramp and it spun 1&1/2 times and hit a barricade. I was able to drive it home safely even then but fixing it wasn't worth it to the insurance company.
Geo Storm wagon the 90's version of the AMC Pacer.
Yes. The initial impact of first look brought up the Pacer here as comparable, also. The front looked Saturn like. Got a lot of input from many for what it looked most like.
'91 Metro Convertible, Red, in my carport. Interior has held up well all considered. Nothing broken or missing. I did re-paint the plastic a few years back as 30 years of ultraviolet has taken its toll, but was only cosmetic. Replaced the seats (previous owner was much larger than the car was designed for). Converted the Auto to 5sp. Unsure if it has just over 300k or 400k: I've rolled the odometer twice. It had a rough life before me (college kid car, then a Coast Guard recruiter)so some dings, etc. Is it slow and wallowy, yep. Fun on rural Farm Roads? Absolutely.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
I owned a Geo Storm, the fastback body style was gorgeous imo. Was one of the better shit boxes I've had in my life, ended up upgrading it a bit so it was such a joy to drive. Would get people complimenting asking what type of sports car it was. lol Then they find out its GEO.
Ok, this is a nice Boxing Day present! We got Japanese Suzuki Swifts {Metro), 1.3 4cyl std (no ragtop). But Suzuki gave us the giant killing, halo Swift 1.3 Gti Twin-Cam, fantastic race car. The Isuzu looks like the same generic Isuzu platform we got, as the cool Piazza. Last was the "Suzuki Grand Vitara" here, the basic Vitara was a swb 2dr. Thanks Jon. 🇦🇺
I would like to have the 1989 Suzuki Swift GTi with an automatic. At least it's a four cylinder engine. I will never want a three cylinder engine or a five cylinder engine. Ever.
@johnnymason2460 Sorry my friend, they only came as a 5spd afaik. Very cool cars.
@UncleJoeLITE The 1990-1994 Suzuki Swift GT only came with a manual transmission. The 1989 GTi did have an optional automatic. It might be hard to find but they did exist.
@johnnymason2460 Thanks, I didn't know that.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I had a 1996 Kia Sportage 4x4. It was a Body-on-frame little Truck. The Four wheel drive system was very much like the old International , where all4 wheels had power, and it was a chain drive.
It was a tough little Trucklet. Quite capable off road.
The 2.0 L had 130 HP.
Pretty good.
🚗🙂
I am probably one of the few people in the US that owned two different GEO models. My first new car ever was a 1991 Geo Metro. Great gas mileage (like 50mpg), severely underpowered, very load interior. Horrible interior quality. There was no dial for windshield wipers - just several sets with buttons. The button would fly off across the cabin when changing windshield wiper spades. I traded it in for a Tempo (I was a real idiot) in my younger days. A few years later (~2000), we traded in our mini-van (Windstar, major transmission issues) for a Geo Tracker. The Tracker was a much better vehicle. Finish was decent, cabin not particularly load. Did no serious 4 wheel drive but it worked well the few times I used it - on the fly. My main complaint is that it was really too small for us and would have been better served by the Grand Vitara (the Suzuki 7-passenger version). I remember the power was good enough and the transmission (auto) was very smooth. Decent stereo too. Didn't have it long term. My wife (now ex) totaled it by being idiot. Safe enough - my kids were well secured, even those not in car seats. It was a fun vehicle.
Thanks for sharing the memories!
I can't believe the Geo Metro had 55 HP. My 1929 Ford Model A Speedster with a B engine has more. 😄
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Buddy!
The geo metro also has one less cylinder… and it’s only 1L in size😂 think about that the next time you look at a 1L bottle
@@theturtle2121 I thought about while sitting next to one on a bike with a 1.4L engine. At the time a one liter engine in America was considered so small (For a car, very big on a motorcycle) and technology hadn't gotten to the point of getting real power out of it. Though that's probably just as well, speed would have made those things absolute death traps.
Love your channel Jon. Will you do a video on the Honda/Nissan merger? Me and your listeners would love to hear your personal opinion about this merger.
At the time i bought my slightly used 1991 Metro 5 dr auto 10k was too much. I cross shopped the Metro with the Toyota Tercel, Dodge Colt, Hyundai Excel. The Dodge Shadow was more price competitive.
Can you do the Plymouth Acclaim/Dodge Spirit?
There is a Retro Review on the 1989 Spirit/Acclaim sedans. I enjoyed the video and I'm sure you will too, Jon.
I did one a long time ago of the Spirit RT. I should do a more basic one.
34:20 - This is why I cringe when I hear the "SUV" label applied to garbage like Chevy Trax or a bus like the VW Atlas. The SUV label should be reserved for actual off-road capable 4x4 vehicles like the Tracker. Sadly, there aren't many left. 4Runner, Bronco, Grand Cherokee...maybe 3-4 others. It's a very small class.
Geo Metro Convertible would be a great little runabout for living in Florida; not at all for Montana. It limited character limited its buyer. We kept wondering during this part of the video whether we were comparing it to cars of 1991 or to today. We found ourselves going back and forth between these two eras. Only in its price then compared to today's make it attractive. We recall many more and better options in 1991. Suzuki is like Mitsubishi in that little effort was made in design and quality. Both were attractive for only being fun in the moment and cheap. Have a happy holiday season. We're at home doing the same.
Suzuki and Isuzu small cars are kinda underrated compared to Toyota or Honda. Not as expensive or as popular, but very durable. The Vitara (Tracker)? Great SUV, even if prone to rust.
For a cheap car 10k to 13k car you could get a Plymouth Sundance/Dodge Shadow Plymouth Acclaim/Dodge Spirit were better cars for the money. The Dodge Omni?Plymouth Horizon were a better car for 1990. These Omni/Horzion came with a standard airbag 2.5L 4 100 hp 136 ft of torque Auto PS/PB A/C AM/FM Cassette Rear Wiper/defrost for 7295.00. The Plymouth Acclaim Dodge Spirit came standard with the same 2.5 I4 Automatic PS/PB A/C Tilt wheel bucket seats AM/FM Cassette Rear Defrost for 9995 to 10950 new and if you got the Bench seat you got a 295 credit still 1500 cheaper and way better cars.
Yes. But, as I recall the Omni/Horizon came with different engines. The first few years it had a VW engine. Then for a few years a Simca engine. And, lastly a not too reliable in house four. That was the problem with these cars. With unreliable engines, generally. That did not help these models longevity.
Hmmm a 2 door Jon? Theres the Bronco the Jeep Wrangler..
No Geo prizm? Loved the video John, anyway
I'll probably do one of them separately, later. I considered adding another video to this, but it got pretty long as it was.
Chevy Trax is a crossover not an SUV.