The Geo Metro is a fraction of the General Motors M platform. It shares this title with the Chevrolet Sprint, Pontiac Firefly, and the Suzuki Swift. This subcompact design first appeared in 1985 as an alternative to buyers that may have considered an import. At the time, it was GM's most fuel efficient line of cars. None of the vehicles of this platform are still in production in North America. The M-platform's last year was 2001. The economy segment is a fiercely competitive market in the automotive industry, and declining sales as well as new marketing strategies at GM pushed all of the former Geo products out the door. The Metro was eliminated in 2001.

Geo was an idea that was born from both need and experimentation. GM has always recognized that there is a market for small cars in North America, however has never committed to making one on their own. The world's biggest automotive manufacturer would not construct one on their own. Instead, they are done usually in joint venture projects with import auto makers. Two separate models are introduced, one under a foreign name badge and one under an American one. Geo was GM's first organized marketing plan targeted at selling import made cars in the American market.

The idea was to cheaply make vehicles by sharing the expenses of design and construction with the import manufacturer, then selling these cars for a little bit less than their import competitors and seeing who won. In the end, the two Suzuki vehicles (Metro and Tracker) beat out their foreign competition Swift and Sidekick. When Geo was introduced, it fit both the cars it sold, and the economic times that America was facing. More women and older teenagers began working in the 80's and 90's, and it was much more commonplace for families to have multiple cars.

 

Therefore, inexpensive automobiles were much more likely to sell. Metros have always been marketed with economy and more luxury than you pay for, in mind. From 89-94, all Metro models had the 1.0 Liter 6 valve 3 cylinder engine. Later, LSi models came standard with a 1.3 Liter 8 valve 4 cylinder engine, which was an option in the Base model. Metro LSi models came with automatic transmissions and all options could be selected. Metro XFi models had the least option selections but attained the best gas mileage. They came with manual transmissions only. Metro Base models came with a mid range options selection and had either manual or automatic transmissions.