Beginning in 1985, Basic Motors brought above Suzuki Cultuses and offered them in this article with Chevrolet Sprint badges, which Us citizens purchased in astonishingly massive quantities (looking at the crash in gasoline prices close to that time). When the time arrived for The Basic to start a different brand name advertising rebadged Japanese machines— Geo— the 2nd-technology Cultus turned the Geo Metro. Sporting a gas-sipping a few-cylinder motor, the Metro mostly bought to penny-pinchers interested only in low-priced commuting… but GM decided to make a enjoyable convertible version, anyway. Here’s one of all those cars, eventually retired around Denver at age 30.
The 1991 Metro hierarchy started out with the El Cheapo base and XFi designs, at $6,795 (about $13,810 currently), then moved up to the superior-geared up LSi. The LSi hatchback coupe value $7,795 ($15,840 in 2021), though the LSi convertible stood at the prime of the Metro pyramid at $9,740 ($19,795 now). Imagine it or not, Ford managed to undercut the 1991 Metro with its Mazda-developed Festiva, priced at $6,620 in its most affordable form.
You could obtain a Suzuki-badged edition of this car or truck, recognized as the Swift, and the Swift GT had a screaming 4-cylinder motor. 1995 and afterwards Metros also had the selection of a four-banger, but a 1.-liter three-cylinder was the only motor accessible in the 1991 Geo Metro. If you desired to get shut to 60 highway miles for each gallon, the Metro XFi experienced a specially-tuned 1. that shipped, although it despatched a mere 49 horsepower to the front wheels (the past new motor vehicle accessible in the United States with below 50 horsepower— like freeway-authorized EVs— was the 1993 Metro XFi, by the way). The motor in today’s Junkyard Gem was rated at 55 horses.
A five-velocity handbook transmission was regular machines in every 1991 Metro, however a totally miserable 3-velocity slushbox could be experienced for $465 added (about $945 nowadays). Due to the fact most Metro potential buyers desired gas economic climate very first and foremost, automated Metros are uncommon (while I have managed to come across 1 in a boneyard).
How several complete miles? The five-digit odometer means we are going to hardly ever know.
The 1991 Metro convertible arrived from Japan, but all the others offered below that 12 months were being designed in Canada. Today, that plant builds the Chevy Equinox.
A new convertible for less than 10 grand was a steal in 1991, when a new Mercury Capri convertible price tag $12,588. The Mazda Miata price tag $13,800, Volkswagen’s Golfing Cabriolet started out at $16,175, the Ford Mustang convertible went for $16,222, the Chrysler LeBaron convertible cost $16,399, and so on. Essentially, that Miata appears to be like like the best exciting-per-greenback deal of the full ragtop bunch for 1991.
Surprisingly, 1991 Metro buyers could get air conditioning (for 670 bucks, or all around $1,360 clams nowadays), but I’ve never ever observed an early Metro with refrigerated air. This one does have the factory AM/FM/cassette Delco radio, at any level.
The Metro became a Chevrolet with the dismantling of the Geo brand name immediately after 1997, and gross sales ongoing through 2001.
How significantly? No way!