01
Origins
The Prizm was the product of NUMMI, the Fremont plant General Motors ran jointly with Toyota, and it was in most respects a Toyota Corolla wearing different badges — launched under the Chevrolet Nova name and folded into GM's new Geo brand for 1989. The idea of Geo was disarmingly candid: American buyers were defecting to imports, so GM would sell them imports — cars engineered with Toyota, Suzuki and Isuzu — through Chevrolet showrooms under a neutral name. The Prizm was the range's substance: Corolla reliability, American assembly, modest price. It sold steadily to people who researched rather than dreamed, and reverted to Chevrolet badging in 1998 when the Geo experiment ended. Used-car guides spent years pointing out that a Prizm was a discounted Corolla; buyers who listened did well.
90-92 Geo Prizm · IFCAR · Public domain
