May is the most spectacular month in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a riot of colors everywhere, as the flowers of all kinds are peaking after a prolonged spring that actually started way back in January with the Daffodils and Tulips. It’s been the best spring in memory for flowers. Even the cars can’t resist the overwhelming urge to blossom, and this little Metro (genus: Geo) is providing some welcome color among the deep green of the horsechestnut trees and grass.
This is on Jefferson, a very busy arterial feeder into the freeway, so there aren’t a lot of flowers in the gardens of the rentals. But there’s a ubiquitous Rhododendron, which are in top gear right now. But this little Metro is doing its job, in more ways than one. These Suzuki Cultii/Swifts wearing new badges were tough little miniature goats, and there’s quite few still providing rock-bottom cheap transport for their owners.
Under its colorful hood, the little 993 cc triple is always ready, willing and able, as long as the job is appropriate to its characteristics. Great as an urban scooter, with a surprising amount of torque, but long distance highway trips are not its thing, baby.
The metro, and its predecessor, the Chevy Sprint, had their heyday during the eighties, when high gas prices and the lingering memories of them made them as popular as geraniums. But by the nineties, the bloom was off on ultra-econo-boxes, and the Metro wilted and faded in the bright summer of SUVs. A colorful relic of a different time.
Well, since we’re talking flowers, I will indulge in a bit of digression and show you a couple of rhododendron blossoms from a recent walk to Hendricks’s Park, with one of the finer collections of that classic PNW flowering shrub. But the best way to enjoy them is in the wild, on a hike in the deep woods, when their colorful blossoms literally light up in the forest under-story.
These lush and sensual giant blossoms have an amazing ability to virtually glow even in the deepest shade or fog. One year we had a very late little snow fall, and we walked to Hendricks’s Park and reveled in these blossoms with fresh snow sprinkled on them. Sublime.
OK, back to cars; maybe there’s others joining in on the blooming too. I’ll keep my eyes peeled.
Mankind has made some truly beautiful things: Jaguar XKE, Maillart’s bridges, etc. but they all pale in comparison to Nature’s efforts.
BTW, don’t go hating on the GEO Metro. With a bit of love this car could be (probably was in some cases) great for its intended purpose. The car in this article looks like it belong to a loving, or at least fun-loving, owner.
Was I? I’m quite fond of them, being the minimalist that I am.
Not you, Paul. The “don’t go hating” comment was for possible others. Yes, the minimalist in me loves the Metro – Hyundai Accent too (at least in concept). 🙂
I just saw someone the other day enjoying her Metro convertible. Not as colorful as this one, though. The pictures of the blossoms are beautiful!
What do you mean “Not suitable for long highway trips”? Does it use too little fuel for you? You CAN make “pit stops” without buying gas.
Speaking as someone who made a few 3+ hour highway trips in a ’93 Pontiac (Daewoo) LeMans, that little 60 hp mill may not be using much gas, but it’s straining its little guts out trying to maintain a safe (at least the speed limit) highway speed.
As for those pit stops, sure, you won’t have to buy gas. But you do have to make a lot of them just to get out and walk around after a few minutes of being cooped up in a tiny space listening to the loud droning of an engine having to run at or near WOT just to keep up with traffic. My ex’s LeMans also had an automatic and a/c (in Houston, where it was turned on most of the year) which made it all the more worse.
At least it can be said for the Swift/Metro that it got its 60 hp and excellent mileage out of three cylinders. The LeMans got the same 60 hp with four cylinders and returned mileage no better than a Civic or Corolla with nearly twice the horsepower.
I thought this was about Metros?
The one I’ve driven has a complete, functional exhaust system. It’s nowhere near WOT cruising down the road. Set the cruise control and settle in. Then again, I don’t give a isht about how fast any/everybody else is going. I pick the (legal) speed I want to go and bask in the 50+ mpg. 😉
I routinely make a 500+ mile one-way trip. I’ll see the same vehicle(s) pass me several times along the way, me plugging along at 55 or so and them blowing my doors off… repeatedly. In the end, we arrive at the same time. I just didn’t participate in so many stops along the way… particularly, gas stops.
That your ex chose to saddle her minimally powered car with a (presumably old-school) a/t, a/c, and the desire to go 80 mph and then wonder why NVH was a bit high and mpg was a bit low… um… I’ll just leave it at that.
This would be better on the highway than my Suzuki Savage and would get about the same mileage and probaby perform about the same. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about getting rained on unexpectedly.
Indeed. I had similar vehicles, the last being a 1992 (European) Ford Escort diesel with all of 59 hp and it got me all over Austria reliably, if not quickly (nevertheless at speeds far in excess of 55 MPH, other than when climbing the mountains). Being a student at the time I appreciated its 900-1000 Km range on a tankful, which translated to something like 50 MPG in US terms. You just have to understand these cars for what they are.
I know that breed…mind you, with one horsepower more…
No mountains here. Once doing about 75 mph in 5th gear, which took a while, it just soldiered on till eternity. In a peaceful state of mind. And with a ne-plus-ultra fuel-efficiency.
A colleague had a 60 hp Ford Escort 1.8D wagon. When he arrived at work we said “Ah ! There he is, with his Fordson…”
Speaking as another who has made several cross-state trips in an ’84 Swift, economy is great. The engine thrives on revs, never sounded strained, and had power for passing on the freeway – though I wouldn’t have wanted to try overtaking on a country road with oncoming traffic though! Also the ultra-light weight meant it got buffeted to an uncomfortable degree by passing trucks.
But the big drawback for me was the cramped cabin and offset pedal layout. I had to get out and stretch and massage my shins and ankles every hour or so.
Perhaps I used the wrong word here. Replace “suitable” with “ideal”. At my age, with my damaged ears, I don’t relish the idea of a long highway trip in one of these, or my Scion Xb.
Yes, they’re quite “capable” of long trips, but I’ll pass.
It’s reassuring to know that someone else rates cars based on their impact on damaged hearing 🙂
On the subject of rhododendrons & cars, a reminder to those in the area that the 30th annual Vancouver All British Field Meet takes place this Saturday (May 16) at the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver BC. Hundreds of cars, apparently including this year a record number of Austin-Healeys. It’s followed on Sunday by the All British Vancouver-to-Whistler Run.
http://www.westerndriver.com/?page_id=7885
Yeah, my hearing’s fried as well, so a quieter car is essential if I want to understand my passengers. What’s doubly frustrating is that my left ear is the better one. Perhaps I need to find a right hand drive vehicle?
If marketers expected folks to buy it primarily for highway driving, they wouldn’t have named it “Metro.” I knew a coworker who drove a Metro as his commuter car (about 22mi 1-way). My guess is, a lot were used this way. Highway speeds no problem during rush-hour!
I don’t know how profitable these were, but it looks like Europe, with its big variety of well-designed cars in this class, was a no-show in this US market segment. Even now, the only European players here are Mini, Fiat, & Ford (in a way). If I had to choose among these, it’d be Ford. I don’t count Smart, it’s 2 seats.
Does that mean Suburbans are only suitable for suburbia? Can one venture out of Tahoe city limits in their Tahoe? How many Expeditions ever see so much as a gravel road?
Of course Metros aren’t as plentiful as Silverados; in ten years how many Metro ads did you see in ANY media? I saw zero, but back in the ’90s when I had TV there were ads for full-size pickup trucks airing every 5 minutes 24/7. To this day when “Like A Rock” comes on the radio I race to shut it off. Who knew Uhmericans had so much crap to haul??? People have to keep up with the Joneses after all; besides, gas was cheap and plentiful.
Suburbans sure aren’t convenient to park in metropolitan areas! Tahoes & Silverados are only a little better here. And who goes on an urban Expedition or Excursion? So names, while not everything, do sometimes imply usage.
I think he means that it is not suitable comfort wise for long trips. I like the Metro and respect it for what it is(a basic commuter car) but to be honest, it is not the best car for long trips due to the seats feeling like they have rocks in them.
Still remember the original Mouse Car, the ’93 Metro I bought for my girlfriend’s use. Black with every option available except the automatic (believe me, you don’t want an automatic in these). I’ve never understood the snide attitude towards these cars, they were very good value for the money ($9000 in 1993, as described above), reliable, fun to drive, and a hoot in rush hour traffic.
And, while noisy, not bad on the interstate. Definitely better than my ’05 xB (the current Mouse Car), and you could actually haul those things up to an indicated 86mph on the flat. I still have wonderful memories of that car, said girlfriend kept it after we split and got a couple of more years out of it before going for a Hyundai.
I have to agree. My best friend still has his ’93 Metro. A solid, well built reliable car. Just like Suzuki motorcycles. I think the snide remarks are simply because of it’s size, here in the land of huge. And yes manual trans ONLY in these.
And Americans have the mind set that if it is a small car, it is a pile of dung. Not gonna name names, their were plenty of flavors to choose from. Pick your own to berate.
Civics and Corollas of that era were anything but piles of dung.
If a 20 year old Geo Metro is the benchmark then I can fully understand the word “penaltybox” for small cars.
But it’s 2015. B-segment cars are perfectly OK for (long) highway trips.
Good seats, good sound insulation, power somewhere between 100 and 150 hp, six speed manuals or automatic transmissions. And all options that are also available on big(ger) cars.
The very simple rule of thumb is this:
price of a fully loaded sub-compact = price of a base model compact.
The choice is all yours. Mine is the fully loaded sub-compact. Right now I’m driving about 30,000 to 35,000 km a year. In a romping-stomping 13 year old diesel Land Cruiser. It’s fine with me, but I’m sure that a new Renault Clio, Peugeot 208 or Citroën DS3 would offer me more comfort, and I wouldn’t have any complaints driving them with that kind of yearly mileage.
Not trying to be contentious, but I’m puzzled, for I think that equation fails with American buyers, and reviewers tend to back me up. The French & Italians for awhile now have denied us their superminis, and we’ve never seen VW’s Polo. Why? Only reason I can think of is taxation; in America, there’s little financial benefit in thinking small.
Suzilight: “And Americans have the mind set that if it is a small car, it is a pile of dung”.
My response: these days a small car is not a pile of dung and is perfectly compatible for highway trips, given their current level of comfort, options and power.
Thinking small only because of financial benefits has nothing to do with that statement. Drive whatever you want, if driving to the office in a classic Peterbilt makes you happy it’s all fine with me. But don’t say that a fully-loaded circa 120 hp B-segment car is a penaltybox.
I think “penalty box” more accurately describes SUVs. I’m embarrassed to be seen riding in ’em (of course many of my friends have them) not to mention actually shelling out money to get and feed one.
Rhododendrons come in more than one color? Wow, must be a west coast thing. We certainly have them here on the east coast, but they are all that pink/lavender shade of the first photo. At least all that I’ve seen, whether in the wild or as a cultivated plant. Their popularity is far eclipsed as landscape plants, though, by their smaller-bloomed cousin the azalea. And we have those in practically every color of the rainbow. Very lovely photos, though, and I learned something!
The variegated Metro is a rare find, though a good number of its less dazzlingly colored siblings are still trundling around. Did they make a convertible in this second-gen, or just the 3-door and the be-trunked sedan (which I think gained a larger 4cyl motor)?
The native ones have that same range of colors here too. But the breeding of rhodies has been going on for a very long time, and the results are a wide range of colors.
Update: there are yellow native rhodies to be found further south along the coast, in Northern California.
It also occurs to me that one doesn’t see many wild rhododendrons in North Carolina/Virginia unless you head toward the mountains, and they become more common as the elevation rises and the weather gets correspondingly cooler. Given that and what I know about the climate of PNW/Northern California, I’m guessing that they prefer cooler temperatures. Whereas the azalea is perfectly happy in 90+ degree stretches of southeastern summer, though it’s long since finished blooming by then (April being Peak Azalea.)
Perhaps this is turning into a Landscaping Outtake?
paul are the flowers from rhododendrons or the closely related azalea? rhodos tend to be white or pink but azalea come on all sorts of colors thanks to horticultural breeding efforts. closely related species but the rhodos have larger leaves and an overall larger size. the picture of the purple flower seems to show small leaves about the size of the flower but scale is difficult to perceive in that picture.
regardless the photos are great thanks for posting them along with the colorful metro.
These are rhododendrons, but they have been bred, and are not wild or native ones. And to tell the truth, it’s possible that the purple one is an azeala with particularly large blossoms. The two are related, and sometimes the bred ones are rather similar. I don’t pretend to be an expert; I just admire their flowers.
It is a rare treat to spot a Cypripedium reginae. Haven’t seen any yet this year though.
For a brief moment I thought I recognized a Mitsubishi Colt (early- to mid-nineties), mainly because of the shape of the tail lights.
Very nice analogy with the flowers. And put me down as a liker (if not quite a lover) of the last Metros and Swifts imported to the US. I thought they looked okay (the two-door hatches, anyway), particularly for a bottom-feeder car, and the driving dynamics, if not exactly scintillating (to be kind), were honest enough, particularly with the more expensive, four-cylinder versions. I think those were the top tier ones with the LSi badges (and all the US Swifts got the four-cylinder engine).
In fact, the little 3-cylinder Metro engine has the potential to live on as the basis of the powerplant for the still-in-development (and still looking for start-up funds) Elio commuter vehicle.
My favorite reference to the Metro was when it was featured in a McDonald’s commercial as a ‘Speck’ rental car. Ever since, that’s what I’ve called them.
The Metro/Swift/Speck might still be around except, in typical GM fashion, the timing was off. In its final years of existence, the price of gas was low, so fuel-efficient vehicle weren’t flying off the lots in the manner that big, gas-guzzling SUVs were.
All I can think of when seeing one of these is pizza delivery car.
Prior to Suzuki and GM parting ways, Suzuki used to supply GM’s Chevrolet Division with some of the most smallest cars such as the Chevrolet Sprint/Geo Metro and Chevrolet/Geo Tracker. While Isuzu (which is currently back on the GM scheme of things) supplied GM with more smaller vehicles such as the Chevy LUV, Buick Opel Isuzu Kadett/I-Mark/Gemini under Buick Opel Isuzu, Chevrolet Chevette, Chevrolet/Geo Spectrum, Geo Storm. Prior to 1975, most Buick subcompact cars except the Vega based Skyhawks were Opel sourced such as the Manta and the 1900. However I would not include the joint venture with Toyota which produced the Corolla based Chevrolet Nova, Geo/Chevrolet Prizm and Pontiac Vibe since other than their joint venture aka NUMMI, GM had no vested interest with Toyota. Daewoo which later became GM/Chevrolet Korea produced only one model for GM that time and it was the FWD Kadett based Pontiac LeMans.
Lovely photos indeed especially of the flora, but I agree with Paul that I rather have a quieter vehicle for long distance driving. Though if I do buy a 1st gen Honda Insight and choose to drive long distances I will look into noise canceling headphones. Cruise Control would also be nice just so one can get an occasional break from pushing the accelerator. I actually used a beaded seat cover from Portland to Missoula recently, but my back was killing me on the return trip so next time I will limit its usage.
My dad bought a Metro when he was about 70. He had learned to drive in the Depression on unsync’d long-stroke Fords and Essexes, and he continued the minimal-shift habit on the Dodges and Plymouths that he owned through most of his life. Start in first, wind all the way up to 8 MPH, drop directly into high, stay there.
When I heard he had bought the Metro, I was afraid he’d kill it with lugging. Nope. Amazingly he had mastered the 5-speed, used it the ‘sporting’ way, downshifting to the exactly correct gear for every situation.
Strange to think that an untrained skill was ready to use, just waiting for the right car!
Metros never got any respect. Remember the TV ad with the guy crying about his poor credit?
For me it will always be Ned Flanders car of choice
Maude: Faster Ned faster!
Ned: I can’t it’s a GEOOOOO!!!!
We have this crazy rhododendron by the corner of the house. It’s the fastest one I’ve ever seen…finishes its blooming cycle in about a week and a half, but for that week and a half it’s great.
Judging by the comments here it’s clear that I’m one of the Americans who has underestimated the Geo Metro. I suspect it’s because I’ve always thought that the convertible of that make resembles a bunny slipper.
The convertible version really is something isn’t it?
These folks seem to think so…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/13411027@N00/17358964570/in/dateposted/
Nice flowers.
Used examples of these Metros had a popularity resurgence during the late 2000s gas price spike. Gas prices recently fell and suddenly the media was talking about slow sales of fuel efficient cars. But gas prices are now back up to $4/gal in my area. I’m wondering what it will take to bring back the hyper used Metro market again.
The white and pink rhododendron’s in my back yard are blooming better than they have in years. Must be the mild winter. If I had to take a cross country trip with a 50 MPG machine, the Geo would be world’s more comfortable than the Yamaha.
I had a 1995 (Canada only) Pontiac Firefly it came with the 1.3 70 HP FOUR cylinder engine mate to a 3 speed automatic (the only transmission available that year with the 4 banger) It was a great car for city driving. I averaged around 500-600 km per tank and it was reasonably peppy. The car was super reliable, I had it from 1995 to 2008 and 350,000 km`s. The only reason why I got rid of it was it was starting to burn and leak oil and dealers stopped carrying replacement parts which were on the expensive side. Fun little car to drive though.
I currently HAVE a 1995 Geo Metro LSi that I purchased for $2,000 in 2007 as a second car to supplement my Chevy Suburban when gas started getting expensive. The car has only 88,000 miles on it and is as attractive as an Eastern European grey day but as faithful as a Chocolate Labrador. I regularly drive it between my homes in NYC and Toronto which is roughly a 9 hour drive depending on border waits. It has required a new exhaust system and new tires in the time I have owned it and likes Seafoam 2x a year. Aside from regular maintenance this car just keeps going and going and is probably the wisest money I have ever spent. I did treat it to the body shop and had new metal cut for rust issues as this car is a glorified coke can. With an 8 gallon gas tank it is very nice when gas is high to know it will fill up without making me cry. Yes, it is not very comfortable but damn it’s a good friend.