Geo Storm: Isuzu’s sporty compact for America

The Geo Storm was a sport compact car manufactured by Isuzu and sold in the United States by Geo from 1990 until 1993. It was a rebadged second-generation Isuzu Impulse with some of that car’s more expensive features removed, intended as a budget car with the look and feel of a sports car, and it was built at Isuzu’s main plant in Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan.

Geo Storm at a glance

Based on one source (English Wikipedia).

History of the Geo Storm

Launch and versions

The Storm went on sale in 1990 as a rebadged version of the sporty second-generation Isuzu Impulse, minus some of that car’s more expensive features. The base models used a less powerful single-overhead-cam engine, and the Storm lacked the Impulse’s Lotus-tuned suspension as well as its optional turbocharger and all-wheel drive. The most common body style was a three-door liftback, sold as a “coupé” and offered in two trim packages in 1990 and 1991, both with front disc and rear drum brakes and a front anti-sway bar. The base model cost $10,390 and the GSi $11,650; the GSi added a 130 hp (97 kW) twin-cam engine, driving lights, a spoiler, a rear anti-sway bar and a gearbox tuned for quicker acceleration. For 1991 and 1992 a two-door hatchback, also called a wagonback, was offered at $11,450 and never with the GSi engine. The same cars were sold in Japan as the Gemini Coupé and through Yanase dealers as the PA Nero.

1992 restyle and the end

In 1992 the Storm was restyled with a smoother front fascia that did without the pop-up headlight covers of the earlier cars. Base models kept their engine, equipment and price, with changes to stereos, rear speaker locations and interior trim, while the GSi rose to $13,645–14,560 with a larger 1.8-litre, 140 hp (104 kW) engine. Canada received the Storm in 1992 in base and GSi Sport Coupe trims. Sales of the Storm were much stronger than those of the Impulse, and indeed better than most small GM cars of the era, but slow sales of the Isuzu version doomed it: when Isuzu stopped building passenger cars in 1993 after the collapse of the Japanese bubble economy, the Storm went with them. Geo offered no sport coupe replacement before the brand was folded into Chevrolet after 1997.

Design and features

• Impulse genes: the same body and engines as Isuzu’s sporty coupe, without the Lotus suspension, turbo or all-wheel drive.
• Sharp handling: Road & Track measured a skidpad figure of up to 0.85 g, matching the Mazda RX-7 convertible.
• Two engines: a 95 hp single-cam unit in base cars and a twin-cam GSi, replaced by a 140 hp 1.8 in 1992.
• Practical bodies: a liftback and, from 1991, a more upright wagonback hatchback.
• Popular: it outsold the Impulse by a wide margin and most small GM cars of its time.

Geo Storm versions

• Base liftback (1990–1993): 95 hp SOHC engine, $10,390 at launch.
• GSi liftback (1990–1991): 130 hp twin-cam, spoiler and rear anti-sway bar.
• Wagonback hatchback (1991–1992): base trim only, priced at $11,450.
• 1992–1993 GSi: the smoother nose and a 140 hp 1.8-litre engine at $13,645–14,560.

The Storm was the sporty coupe of the Geo range, sold alongside the Geo Metro and the Geo Prizm. More cars are in the Geo collection.

Sources

• Geo Storm, English Wikipedia: history, versions, engines, prices, production