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This Well-Kept 1990 Geo Prizm Needs A New Owner

Essentially a rebadged Toyota Corolla, the Geo Prizm was designed as an affordable and reliable product sold under the Geo sub-brand. Now, we have the opportunity to purchase this well-kept 1990 Geo Prizm, as one dealer from Oklahoma currently has it listed for sale.

As a 1990 model-year vehicle, this particular Geo Prizm is in exceptional condition considering its age. Configured as a sedan and featuring a front-wheel drivetrain with an automatic transmission, this Oklahoma dealer has this Prizm listed for $7,900. With 78,680 miles on the odometer, and equipped with a naturally aspirated 1.6L four-cylinder gasoline engine, this Prizm gets up to 28 mpg on the highway, according to EPA ratings.

1990 Geo Prizm.

This isn’t the first well-kept Geo Prizm GM Authority has covered before. Previously, we reported on a rare 1991 Geo Prizm GSi that was up for sale on eBay Motors. That particular unit was a hatchback, and equipped with the coveted Toyota Twin Cam 1.6L 4AGTE four-cylinder engine. As a GSi unit, that Prizm was intended as a sporty alternative, and featured items like four-wheel disc brakes, 14-inch alloy wheels, lowered sport suspension with front and rear sway bars, body-colored side moldings, a tachometer, a rear spoiler and GSi badges and upholstery. In total. General Motors built roughly 7,000 GSi units.

For those who may be unaware, the Geo Prizm was the result of a joint project between General Motors and Toyota. Based off the Toyota Sprinter, the Prizm was sold exclusively in the U.S. as the successor to the fifth-generation Chevy Nova. Following the 1997 model year, the Prizm was sold under the Chevy brand, as Geo was discontinued during that time.

Production of the Prizm took place at the NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing Inc) manufacturing plant in San Francisco, California. Notably, this facility was also the result of a joint venture between The General and Toyota. The Prizm lasted until the 2002 model year, where it was indirectly succeeded by the Chevy Cobalt and Pontiac Vibe.

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Comments

  1. Pass.

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    1. If you drive it into a lake, the minnows will have a home.

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    2. Was my 1st car 1990 sky blue geo prizm I would love to have it again that car ran forever

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  2. They were decent little cars for their day. A friend of mine had one and drove it for about 20 years. The GSi sounds like a fun car especially if it came with a 5 speed manual transmission. The following years Pontiac Vibe was an even better car.

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  3. Bad car then worse car now eight thousand dollars what a joke

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  4. Rebadging a Corolla was an easy way for GM to make a short term profit without expending the energy to design and build a compelling contender, but it hurt them in the long run and provided Toyota even greater economies of scale and future part sales. Just like it burned Sony (the undisputed electronics leader) as TVs were transitioning to flat screens, they simply contracted the complicated glass and associated tech to Samsung and put a Sony badge on it. Eventually people caught on and by the time Sony began investing in their own designs they were already way behind and now they are irrelevant. Notice how Toyota (BYD) and Honda (GM) find themselves in a similar situation thinking they can slap their badge on something and people will line up to buy it as they fall further behind.

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  5. I bet the check engine light is on or will be once u drive it home. I had 3 of these for my kids. Good cheap cars but emissions were a sore spot. Little 1.8 would run past 150,000 easily.

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  6. I thought NUMMI was located in Fremont. Which got sold to Telsa.

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  7. My friend got theirs for ~$800…anyway to buy parts off it instead? (yes, a serious question!)
    A friend of mine needs 2 (3?) parts for theirs, works great and have had for years!

    Reply

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