Geo Metro
The Geo Metro was a marketing and manufacturing variation of the Suzuki Cultus available in North America from 1989 through 2001 as a joint effort of General Motors (GM) and Suzuki. In the US, the Metro carried a Geo nameplate from 1989 through 1997, and a Chevrolet nameplate from 1998 to 2001. It evolved with the Cultus and its siblings over 13 years, three generations and four body styles: three-door hatchback, four-door sedan, five-door hatchback and two-door convertible—and was ultimately replaced in the General Motors lineup by a family of vehicles based on the Daewoo Kalos.
From 1985 through 1989, Cultus-derived models sold in North America—under the nameplates Suzuki Forsa, Suzuki Swift, Chevrolet Sprint, Geo Metro and Pontiac Firefly—were sourced from Suzuki's facilities in Japan. Beginning in 1990, all North American M-cars were produced at CAMI Automotive, a 50–50 joint venture between General Motors and Suzuki in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, although Japanese production continued to source Canada bound sedan models. CAMI never reached its intended Metro/Firefly/Swift capacity. While at its peak, Canadian Swift/Metro/Firefly production reached more than 100,000 vehicles a year, the number fell to just 32,000 in 2000. In response to the waning popularity of smaller automobiles in the North American markets, Chevrolet/Geo sold only 55,600 Metros in 1997, off from 88,700 the year before. In a 2004 Autoweek article, Osamu Suzuki, chairman of Suzuki, called CAMI "a fishbone in my throat" because of its low production.
Suzuki Cultus
The Suzuki Cultus is a supermini car produced by the Japanese manufacturer Suzuki from 1983 to 2003. It was first presented at the 25th Tokyo Motor Show, formally introduced to the Japanese domestic market in 1983 and ultimately sold in seven countries across three generations and marketed worldwide as the Suzuki Swift. An alliance formed in 1981 between GM and Suzuki (and Isuzu) allowed GM to market the Cultus as a captive import internationally under more than a dozen nameplates including the Geo Metro, Chevrolet Sprint, Pontiac Firefly and Holden Barina. It was also known as the S-car within GM.
Offered across its lifespan in four body-style variations with engines from the Suzuki G engine family, the second generation Cultus still remains in production in Pakistan. The Cultus family of vehicles has been marketed in Asia, North America, South America, Australia, and Europe. While never formally marketed in New Zealand they were imported and sold on the secondary market.
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