mmarshall

IN A NUTSHELL: A brand-new Toyota Corolla without the hassles and difficulties of dealing with Toyota salespeople.

In the 1980s, the Reagan Administration, despite Reagan’s own personal belief in the supremacy of free-markets with as few regulations as feasible, was, due to political pressure at the time, and the rapidly-growing demand in the U.S. for Japanese-sourced vehicles, more or less forced to impose “voluntary” import-quotas into the U.S. These quotas, despite consumer-demand, strictly-regulated the number of vehicles that could be imported from overseas. On paper, these quotas applied to virtually any import from any other country, but, in effect, was directly-aimed at the Japanese, because that was what most of the rapidly-growing demand was for….despite the fact that some Japanese-sourced vehicles, at that time, still had significant rust-problems in American winters (road salt) and, with their small size and somewhat stiff suspensions, were not particularly comfortable to sit in and drive. Mazdas, with their reputations of being a Poor-Man’s-BMW and “Kansai” engineering (and Hondas, to a lesser extent), were somewhat of an exception, with their more-sophisticated platforms and steering/suspensions.

But, don’t kid yourself……despite the Rust-O-Matic fenders on some Japanese vehicles back then, and their sometimes Less-Than-Ideal standards of driver/passenger comfort, that rapidly-growing demand for them was there for a reason. The domestic competition, particularly from GM and Chrysler, despite the Slick-Talking TV ads from Chrysler’s Lee Iacocca and Ford’s “Quality is Job One” theme. had been getting worse and worse for the previous decade, and was at a point that, believe me, was difficult to describe if you didn’t actually live through it and waste your money on those products, like I did. And these Japanese-built vehicles, even though their emission-choked carburetors suffered some of the same stumble-bumble and overly-lean drivability problems of the domestics (the auto industry, in general, didn’t convert to electronic fuel-injection until the mid/late 1980s) at least were screwed together properly, and didn’t break down wth clockwork regularity.

Among these Japanese imports, the Toyota Corolla was a vehicle that was in particularly high demand, having gotten an excellent reputation for its durability, non-nonsense design, and resale value…the explosive popularity of the larger Camry, introduced in the fall of 1983, was not really yet a factor, as the design was still brand new and had few takers. It must also be remembered that that was before the days of the Internet/auto-forums/social-media that we have today, and a vehicle’s reputation took longer to get established with the public.

The Corolla had made a major switch in its platform from RWD to FWD in 1984…as with the Honda Civic and Nissan Stanza, some taller AWD wagon-versions were also briefly offered. Before the switch to FWD, the smaller Corolla Tercel had gotten most of the attention of those who wanted the better winter traction of FWD, although the Tercel was quite small and light, and didn’t actually put much weight on those front wheels for traction. The Tercel remained in production (and still sold well) even after the introduction of the FWD Corolla.

But, sadly, dealerships who sold and serviced these Japanese-sourced imports knew that they had a gold mine on their hands from the supply-and-demand situation for them….actually, not much different from the one that exists today, as I write this (December 2021) because of the computer-chip shortages affecting supply. Corollas, Civics, Accords, and almost anything with the Toyota or Honda nameplate were difficult to find, bargain on and purchase without paying at least list price, and, sometimes, more than list. I remember looking at a turquoise/teal-colored Accord in the showroom (an absolutely beautiful color that is sorely-neglected by automakers today) and noting the Added-on/Second-Sticker price (I don’t remember the exact mark-up, but it was substantial). The salesperson, IMO somewhat arrogant in his attitude, said ”That’s it, no negotiation……people can either afford a new Accord or they can’t”. Sadly, he was correct….it was a clear gravy-train for the dealerships, although they of course, could have sold even more (and made more profits), if they themselves had gotten more of them. Toyota and Honda (and eventually other Japanese manufacturers) eventually got around some of those quota-restrictions by opening up their own plants in the U.S., which, of course, would also eliminate the need to transport new vehicles across the Pacific by cargo-ship.

At GM, their often-inept marketers actually came up with a potentially good idea…..in addition to the all-new Saturn Division, which would sell small domestic plastic-bodied cars in competition to the Japanese, a new Geo marque would be created, sold through Chevrolet dealerships rather than as a separate division, marketing what were essentially rebadges or related designs of existing Japanese-designed vehicles from Toyota, Isuzu, and Suzuki. One of these vehicles was the Geo Prizm, which was essentially a rebadged version of the Toyota Sprinter, the Sprinter itself being a closely-related version of the Corolla. The Chevy Nova, an earlier rebadge of the previous Sprinter, had also been offered through Chevy dealerships, but was relatively unsuccessful, despite the fact that it was more reliable than any other GM vehicle in the vehicle, and had the corporations’s lowest warranty-costs and claims. Although I’m not sure I totally agree with this, one reason auto-historians have given for the 80s-vintage-Nova’s lack of success was the country’s rapidly-growing Hispanic population and the fact that “No-va,” in Spanish, literally means “No-Go” or “Won’t-Run”. Like I said, just a theory, but an interesting one.

The Geo marque, in contrast, represented another whole approach from the earlier Nova. The Prizm would be built in the same NUMMI factory in Fremont, CA that GM shared with Toyota, where some American-spec versions of the Corolla were also produced. In other words, like with the Nova, Prizms would come off of the same assembly line as Corollas, be subject to the same levels of quality/inspections, and be built with many of the same parts and components, although the Corolla, unlike the Prizm, besides a four door sedan, also offered a five-door wagon version. The Geo logo (symbol) of a globe represented the global nature of the Marque, which most Americans, back then, did not associate with Chevrolet. Best of all, the new Prizm did not have the previous record of selling at or above MSRP by arrogant salespeople like the Corolla did, so it offered buyers potentially a much better deal-making/buying/servicing experience…and essentially getting a new Corolla for a better price, less hassle. In fairness, though, Toyota offered a longer 5/60 drivetrain warranty to Geo’s 3/36, but, in truth, there was relatively little likelihood that the drivetrain warranty would be used on either vehicle.

There were three generations of the Prizm offered before it went out of production, and I’ll concentrate on the second one, because IMO it was the best of the three, for several reasons. Like the Corolla, it came with a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic and a 1.8L non-turbo in-line four that was extremely easy to work on. The oil filter, for example, was high on the front side of the engine block…just pop the hood, reach down about a foot or so, and unscrew it, although your hand and arm had to avoid the adjacent hot exhaust-shield. My late mom had a 1994 Corolla Wagon (she wanted a wagon, and the Prizm didn’t offer one), and I used to do the oil changes on it for her regularly. She got a decent, though not overly-generous, deal at a local Toyota shop on one, because I was a repeat customer, having gotten an earlier Celica there and shopped there with other customers. The Prizm was quite similar to the Corolla sedan inside and out, although different paint colors were offered, and the dash/gauge/control layout had some differences. But, underneath, it was the same reliable, appliance-like vehicle the Corolla was, using the same components. It had the same non-sporting, somewhat appliance-feel to the driving characteristics/road-manners as the Corolla, the same overly-firmly-padded (for my taste) seats, and the same level of what was safety-equipment in those days. It was, in short, a Corolla sedan sold at Geo/Chevy dealerships, offering buyers a potentially better experience than at some of the Toyota/Honda stealerships.

As I said, I liked the Second-generation Prizm (1993-1997) the best….and a friend from my church, on my recommendation, bought one (green, if I remember the color correctly), and was very pleased with it….she kept it a number of years. The First-generation and Third-Generation models were both slightly smaller, didn’t seem to have quite as much room inside, and the Third-Generation model felt like it was built with lighter-weight / less-durable materials. I’ve long-felt (and still do today) that Toyota produced many of its best vehicles in the mid-late 1990s, and started going downhill after around 2000….and that, of course, was reflected in the Prizm.

Geo also marketed other rebadged or redone Japanese vehicles, such as the Sprint/Metro (Suzuki Sprint/Cultus), Geo Spectrum (Isuzu I-Mark), Tracker (Suzuki Sidekick), and Storm (Isuzu Impulse). In 1997, the Geo moniker was dropped (GM, IMO, never really gave an adequate explanation why), and these products were then sold under the Chevrolet nameplate. Later, a version of the Toyota Matrix 5-door wagon/hatchback, with the choice of FWD or AWD, was sold as the Pontiac Vibe….also built in the same NUMMI plant in Fremont.

Unfortunately, the Prizm never attained the same popularity the Corolla did, despite its similar mechanicals and less-hassle buying experience. That was, probably, as I aforementioned earlier, due to the fact that this time-period occurred before the Internet, and car-bargains and customer-experience, outside of always-popular Consumer Reports, just didn’t travel with the speed it does today.

And, as Always……Happy Vehicle-Memories.

MM

LexFinally

These were terrific cars, just as their fraternal twins the Corollas were. They were the little brothers to the golden Camry of 1992-96 that cememted the supremacy of the Camry and of the Toyota quality reputation into the American psyche for a generation-plus and counting.

I remember taking a look and a ride around the block in a fully loaded Corolla of this generation and thinking it left that era's Mercedes C-class 190 with no reason to exist. The overall solidity, the interior materials quality, were unprecedented and unbelievable for the price and size.

The Prizm, produced on the same Califonia GM/Toyota Fremont joint assembly line as the Corolla, was slightly less well-trimmed to leave some room for the pricier Corolla — this was, after all, Toyota's car all the way. But it was still nice enough that I steered my nice, non-car-nut mom-in-law into the second-gen model. She picked up a demonstrator of the top trim level to save a few bucks, and experienced nothing worse than a drooping headliner in over a decade of thoroughly unpampered use.

As a footnote, my recollection of the naming saga is a bit different from Mike's. As I recall it, GM was acutely embarrassed by the idiotic naming of the First Gen car with a name that made it sales poison in Mexico or to any Mexican-American (already a growingly important constitutency for a Chevy compact car). Rather than admit they'd made a mistake, or alternatlvely learn how to design small cars that could be built and sold at a profit (which is exactly what Chrysler did with the Neon), GM chose to rename the second-gen car as not a Chevy and schlep together a motley collection of other captive third-tier imports (including an Isuzu and a Subaru) as the Chevy-only "Geo" nameplate-within-a-nameplate. This "strategy" worked in the marketplace as well as it deserved to. How well it worked for its real intended purpose of letting some GM managers save face within the company's famously Byzantine office politics, I have no idea.

mmarshall

^^^Thanks for your input. You brought up some good points.

Yes, I basically forgot to mention that. The Prizm, though, as you noted, did have a top-line LSI trim for those who found the base model a little too stark. It was more or less comparable to the Corolla LE.

I think you and I basically agree on that....your recollection isn't much different from mine. The "Nova" name is what turned off a number of Hispanic buyers, although, unlike you, I only got it hearsay, from secondary sources, not from the GM people themselves.

As for the Geo moniker, it was not having quite the effect on sales that the GM marketers wanted it to, so they decided to integrate those products back into the Chevy lineup. That was more the case with the Prizm than with the other Geos ......the Geo Tracker, Storm, and Spectrum actually sold better in the U.S. than their Suzuki and Isuzu cousins.....which simply didn't have enough dealerships. That's one reason (among several) why Suzuki and Isuzu left the U.S. market not that much later.

You might need to fill me in on that one .........I don't remember Geo itself selling any rebadged Subarus. Now, GM's Saab's division DID sell a re-done (and somewhat upmarket) version of the Chevy Trailblazer SUV as the 9-7X (I did a recent 9-7X write-up), and a rebadged Impreza/WRX as the 9-2X. But that had nothing to do with Geo.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Interesting that most Isuzus were more or less loosely GM based, and then GM sold rebadged Isuzus under the Geo moniker. There were so many convoluted collaborations back then.

mmarshall

You might not remember this one, but the flip-side to the buisness-agreement that gave Honda/Acura the right to sell rebadged Rodeos and Troopers as the Passport and SLX was that Isuzu would get rebadged Honda Civics to sell in the Japanese Market Isuzu I-Mark. At that time, Honda had no SUVs to sell (until their own CR-V crossover came out), and Isuzu was not very proficient in designing small cars....they were mostly into trucks and SUVs.

Isuzu, in the American market, also sold a version of the four-door Chevy Trailblazer as the Ascender, and also a version of GM's first-generation Colorado/Canyon mid-size truck as the Isuzu I-series. I had a very low opinion of that truck, BTW...the second-generation Colorado/Canyon was light-years better in numerous ways.

Och

iTrader: (3)

The whole Isuzu brand is a weird arrangement. I believe most of their products were somewhat reengineered GMs, and some rebadged Japanese cars. They still make a lot of no-nonsense hard working diesel trucks. I find it interesting that Geo sold two rebadged Isuzus, both of which were originally loosely based on GM platforms.

When it comes to the Prism, it is mostly a Corolla with very few changes. Believe it or not, I still see these driving around with regular frequency, which attributes to the Corollas notorious reliability.

mmarshall

The Geo Spectrum and Geo Storm's platforms were not GM-designed......they were actually Isuzu-designed platforms (The Isuzu Gemini / I-Mark and Isuzu Impulse)...although the body and interior of the Impulse were notably different from the Storm. Isuzu built very solid vehicles, with high material-quality, when they were allowed to actually design them, and not be stuck with rebadges. But their suspension engineering was not very good....from what I remember, neither their ride quality nor handling was particularly good. I remember one of the auto mags (either R&T or C&D?) remarking that the Isuzu-designed I-Mark's suspension (not the rebadged Honda-Civic version) felt like the shocks were welded-on solid. I test-drove one (which was then still available in the U.S.) and agreed....felt like no suspension at all.

Like I mentioned in the write-up, the Prizm was actually a rebadged Toyota Sprinter....a very close Corolla-derivative that was not sold in the U.S. under the Toyota name.

Och

iTrader: (3)

I think they were Holden derived, which is GM derived, something to that extent.

LexFinally

My mistake typing Subaru; I meant to say Suzuki (the Geo Tracker SUV and Metro minicar). The Isuzu vehicle was the Spectrum sedan, I believe. Wikipedia confirms your recollection that the four-door Spectrum was replaced by the two-door Storm, which I'd forgotten about entirely.

I will say, in fairness, that the Spectrum didn't have a terrible reputation when it was out.

LexFinally

I did not know about the side of the Izusu-Honda deal that let Izusu rebadge Civics. That's a great tidbit.

I do remember that GM was selling versions of the 900 series midsize truck-based Trail Blazer SUV under almost every name imaginable. One of the most wretched was when they cross-badged it as a Saab, which meant that GM was selling Saab, Subaru and Chevy/GMC vehicles here simultaneously as Saabs.

LexFinally

Mike, I share some of your specific recollections of the Hondas of that period, specifically the Accord. I was looking for a new car in '92, and the Accord caught my eye — notably the loaded EX with that killer teal metallic paint you talked about. (I agree, if they sold it today, I'd be sorely tempted depending on what car it was on).

I remember making a semi-serious visit to my local Honda store and making a beeline for the Accord EX on the showroom floor. It was clearly marked with a new car sticker in the window, of course. I summoned up my best attempt at casual cool as I asked the saleswoman what they were selling for. She smirked and stared me down as she said icily, "$1X,XXX is the manufacturer's suggested retail price." That conversation didn't last long, nor did my visit. I ended up in a Maxima SE that cost a zillion dollars by my standards of the time yet is still one of my favorite cars ever, but that's a story for another thread.

mmarshall

Yeah, that '92- (fourth-generation} was probably the best Accord ever done. Felt and drove like it was assembled with the precision of a laser or Electron Microscope. Everything on it, inside and out, was assembled about as tightly as it was physically possible to so. A wagon version was also available....which would last until the mid-90s, along with the Camry wagon. Later Accords not only lost some of that laser-precision but also developed automatic-transmission problems.

Striker223

My neighbor down the street has a new X7 and 760Li and a red one of these that parks outside, it's hilarious. We joke all the time that between my WJ and his prizm we are dropping property values for the whole street lol!

At least mine is parked on the side of the house in a cul-de-sac that is not visible from down the street......his is right at the intersection of four of the loops!

mmarshall

Shouldn't have any effect on property values at all. I can think of lots worse vehicles to drive than a old Prizm. And it's a testimony to the car that it's still running this many years after the last one was built.

Also, keep in mind, although it's a little off-topic........the higher your property value is at the yearly tax-assessment, the more real-estate tax you are likely going to pay for it.......just more money out of your pocket.

LexusChris

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the mmarshall for the write up, growing up my family had a 1988 Chevrolet Nova, I remember I used to tell my dad why did we get a car so slow, and we would have a hard time keeping up on the interstate with other cars ! I always tried to convince my dad as a young boy let's get a Geo Prism. I learned to drive with it but I remember it was just so slow I remember on the highway onramp once this Escalade driver had to really slow down as I entered the highway with that thing! haha! It had a 3 speed automatic with 74 horsepower. My parents at the time in 1988 when I was two had no idea it was made by Toyota they only chose it because it was cheaper than the Cavalier at the time they said. I remember that had a 55 MPH highlighted on the speedometer with a top speed of 85 . My parents did not purchase a second car until 2001 the Mazda MPV which at the time was still powered by the Ford sourced 2.5L 160 HP v6 with a 4 speed automatic so that was pretty lethargic too. It was not until we got a 2002 Nissan Pathfinder with the 3.5L v6 240 HP I knew what it meant to have some power.



Here it is my last picture I had of it back in October 2005.