Think of sedan survivors you still see on the road today, especially from the eighties and nineties, and you will probably come up with Hondas (Accords and Civics) and Toyotas (Camrys and Corollas.) You might see the occasional Ford Taurus, maybe the random Volkswagen or Nissan, but generally the majority would be Toyotas and Hondas. But what might be the brand you would least associate with sedans from this era? Enter Geo – probably most known for the economical Metro and the Tracker mini-SUV. Do you remember they made a sedan, too? This 1992 Geo Prizm GSI 4-Door Sedan is up for sale here on Facebook Marketplace with a $4,000 asking price and showing 137,000 miles.
The Geo Prizm GSI was the mid-range model in the Geo sedan lineup. It was produced as part of a combined effort between General Motors and Toyota using the Japan-market Toyota Sprinter sedan as its base.
This Prizm includes the 130 HP twin-cam, 4-cylinder Toyota 4A-GE engine which it shared with the Sprinter, Toyota Corolla GTS hatchback, and the original AW11 Toyota MR2. The Prizm was the only North American market, a four-door sedan that offered the 4A-GE engine. GM had worked with Toyota previously, importing the Sprinter and branding it as the Chevy Nova in the late eighties.
This Prizm comes with air conditioning, cruise control, power locks, power steering, power windows, and an automatic transmission with “sport mode.” Eagle-eyed readers might notice the oddity of the body panels and bumpers. Originally, the GSI was not offered with color matching bumpers meaning this was an aftermarket upgrade. The seller mentions he had the paint job done three years ago and it seems to add to the sporty image of the GSI.
The seller seems to be insistent on selling the Prizm to someone who can appreciate it as an automotive oddity: a uniquely North American version of, what was originally, a sporty Japanese-market sedan that people probably did not realize at the time. If a buyer is not found, the buyer plans to part it out to use for parts on his “other” GSI. Perhaps, reflecting on history, it is time to see the Geo Prizm GSI in a new light?
It’s located in Clinton,Washington.
I get the joke. Took a while, but I got there.
Let everyone else in on it.
Automotive oddity is most certainly an apt description.
One must admit that 130 HP is not really all that bad in this little sled, even with only two pedals.
Geo had a lot of models in their day…..Metro, Tracker, Prizm, Spectrum, and Storm. They were all over the place. Now, you hardly see any of them.
This is a nice one….though I’d go back to the original wheels. Nice to see there are still a few Geos around.
Too bad it’s an automatic
I don’t have much experience with Toyota automatic transmissions from this time period, but Mazda and Honda automatic transmissions from this time period really sucked the life out of 4 cylinder engines and did twin cam engines, especially, no favors.
But hey, maybe Toyota is the exception to the rule?
And probably the first change that I would make to this car is those wheels.
been a toyota mechanic & fan since 1980, have personally owned hundreds of all yota models- still have a dozen or so from ’70s to current. these auto trans are good. My favorite ride was a 1996 corolla/ Prizm with 300k on it- drove from western Idaho to D.C., down to North Carolina & back. Most comfortable seats for thousands of miles, 38mpg, factory cruise control, at, sunroof, power windows…
I really do like this, especially in the red, but I’d much rather have it’s older sibling, the only available in black Twin Cam 5th Gen Chevrolet Nova! I never liked that they took the 5th Gen Novas and turned them into Prizms, but I know a lot of folks see that chunk of Nova history as an abomination. I get why GM did it though, taking all the international ventures and lumping them into a single brand that was suppose to be GM without really being full on GM.
Located in Clinton, WA
The Toyota based Nova was, like the Prizm, produced at the Fremont, California plant
I’m actually the one who ended up buying the car lmao. Same one in all those photos. I’ve always wanted a MR2 but didn’t have the money for that at the time and this is practically the same engine and a super clean car. Power isn’t anything crazy but it handles great and the revs hit 7k which is music to my ears lol. It tops out at 120 and is extremely fun on the corners. I will probably end up selling it in a year or two when I’ve saved up enough for a MR2 but until then it’s a pretty awesome car. Also one thing I will note is that the starter is a bitch to replace lmao it went out and took 6 hours of work because the starters under the headers so you have to take the headers off.