The Geo Storm Is A Sporty, Cheap, And Rare Find - HotCars

Back in the early 90s, small sports coupes were an extremely common sight on American roads. Not only did these small coupes offer a sports car feel at a fraction of the price, but many parts were shared amongst other vehicles, making them extremely cheap to maintain. Pair this with a decent fuel economy rating and a front-wheel-drive set-up, and you have a cheap, easy-to-drive car that many Americans had as their first car.

Pontiac Sunfires, Sunbirds, Chevy Cavaliers, Dodge Neons, the list goes on and on. But there was one car released by GM that most forget about.

A look back and it's easy to see we overlooked one of the sportier cars of the 90s. The Geo Storm.

The Bones Of An Isuzu

The Storm was put out on the market as a car under the Geo brand. Geo was a sub-brand of General Motors from 1989 to 1997. While other companies like Dodge and Plymouth had no problems importing foreign cars and putting their badges on them, GM created this Geo brand as a catch-all brand for small imports.

The Storm came from Japan as a second-generation Isuzu Impulse, with some of the features of the original car stripped away to cut costs.

Some of these stripped features included an all-wheel-drive variant, as well as a Lotus-engineered suspension.

While this left the Storm fairly basic in terms of options, some wild design variants still took hold.

A “Wagon Back”

It’s true, the Geo Storm came to market as a toned-down Impulse, but the little Geo had some wild offerings when it came to trim levels.

Most Storms were sports coupes, but there was a hatchback variant available if the liftback design of the coupe wasn’t roomy enough for you. The hatchback was called a “wagon back” and the design certainly lives up to the name. The design of the hatch looks very similar to the Saturn wagons of the 1990s.

But the real kicker trim level of the Storm is the GSI. The original base Storm offered a straightforward 4 cylinder single overhead cam offering 95 HP, but the GSI trim offered a bigger dual overhead cam engine producing 140 HP later on in the Storm’s life.

For comparison, the top trim of the Chevy Cavalier, the Z24 also offered 140 HP but had to resort to a V6 to make that number.

An Unfair Ending

While the Storm was no Cavalier killer, it sold well for a small import. For someone wanting a sporty car, the top trim could reach upwards of 130 MPH, for someone looking for a fuel saver, the Storm had an EPA 33 MPG highway, and for someone that wanted a Japanese import, this was a car that could offer that feel but with easy-to-find support from any GM dealer.

But unfortunately, Isuzu’s version of the Storm, the Impulse, was selling very poorly and was discontinued in 1993.

Because the Storm was largely a rebadged Impulse, this marked the end for the sporty little liftback coupe.

The Storm Today

The Geo Storm is a rare car today, but one that can be yours for a good price. While they were only made from 1990 to 1993, the Storm is still an economy sport coupe, and most are priced as such. If you can manage to find a high GSI trim, you can expect to pay anywhere from $4000-$5000, but a base Storm can still be had for around $1,000.

Due to this low price, many novice racers will Autocross and Rallycross Geo Storms and they end up performing well for their drivers.

While Geo filled their lineup with small economy-focused cars, the Storm stuck out as a different car. Offering a little fun to folks on a budget. Unfortunately, it was pulled from the market for reasons outside of its own sales and performance.

But thankfully the Storm lives on now and into the future as the short-lived Japanese-designed, American-badged sport liftback coupe with a wagon back option.

What a cool car!

Geo Metro LSI (Featured Image Dimensions)

The Geo Metro: Everything About The Gas Sipper We Love To Hate

In the 90s, GM gave America one of the most fuel efficient cars ever made.

Related Topics

About The Author

Steven Teleky (7 Articles Published)

Steven Teleky is an educational professional in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is formerly the Educational Specialist for the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Working on American cars his entire life, Steven has extensive history with all GM, Ford, and Mopar vehicles, as well as experience with German and Japanese imports as well. Currently, Steven races in California Rallycross with a 1987 Pontiac Fiero, and is always scouring dealer lots and junkyards for a forgotten classic or neglected daily to bring back to life.