Geo

Geo was the creation of General Motors in 1989 as the car market underwent a state of flux – Japanese car makers launched luxury car brands such as Lexus (Toyota) and Infiniti (Nissan) while the major US car makers looked to recover ground in the compact, SUV and mid-sized sectors. The original marketing slogan was, “Get to Know a Geo” but the consumer trend was towards larger vehicles and the SUV market was just beginning to start its takeoff in the North American market.

Most models were manufactured in the US though production also took place in Canada and under joint-agreements with Isuzu, Toyota and Suzuki, in Japan. The 1990’s saw declining sales of compact cars and the range was transferred to Chevrolet’s line-up in 1998. Shortly thereafter the brand was effectively retired and the last model, the Tracker, ceased production in 2004 amidst growing competition in a turbulent global car market.

In 1989, the car industry was undergoing numerous developments with the Japanese launching luxury marques in the US market (Lexus and Infiniti) – General Motors wanted to attack the small but growing import market and created Geo in order to do this which was launched in the same year. The original marketing slogan was “Get to Know a Geo” but there was a declining interest in compact cars which was the brands initial launch offerings as the trend was towards larger passenger vehicles and SUV’s.

The bulk of production was in the United States but General Motors was heavily engaged in strategic partnerships at this time and production also took place in Ontario, Canada and with Isuzu, Toyota and Suzuki in Japan. In 1998, the models were transferred to Chevrolet and the brand effectively moth-balled with production easing of the Tracker, the last vehicle in the range in 2004.