{"id":22226,"date":"2022-05-14T12:03:57","date_gmt":"2022-05-14T16:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=22226"},"modified":"2022-05-14T12:03:57","modified_gmt":"2022-05-14T16:03:57","slug":"junkyard-gem-geo-metro-convertible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=22226","title":{"rendered":"Junkyard Gem: 1991 Geo Metro LSi Convertible"},"content":{"rendered":"

Americans lost the ability to buy a new Detroit-made convertible<\/a> starting in the 1977 model year (unless you count aftermarket<\/a> conversions), not regaining it until drop-top Chrysler K-Cars<\/a> showed up in showrooms in 1981. This gave convertibles a certain magical quality that lasted for quite a while here, and so it seemed to make sense for GM<\/a> to offer an open-air version of the Geo Metro<\/a>. Here’s one of those cars, spotted in a self-service yard in northeastern Colorado<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Metro<\/a> was really a second-generation Suzuki Cultus<\/a>, successor to the 1985-1988 Chevrolet Sprint<\/a>. While a four-cylinder engine became available in the later Metro (which got Chevrolet badges<\/a> when the Geo<\/a> brand got the axe in 1997), all Chevy<\/a> Sprints and early Metros got this 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You’re looking at 55 Suzuki<\/a> horsepower here. The XFi version of the Metro<\/a> (not available with a convertible top) managed to get better than 60 highway miles per gallon with an engine rated at 49 horsepower.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There was an automatic transmission available\u2026 for 465 bucks (about $993 in 2022 dollars). That would have added nearly 5% to the cost of this $9,740 car ($20,805 today) and killed the fuel economy<\/a>, so nearly all Metro buyers got their cars with three pedals.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Do you like simple instruments in cars? You’ll\u00a0love<\/em> the Metro!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This one is good and rusty, with some really scary corrosion underneath. I think it sat in a field, buried to the axles, for many years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

However, the bra tells us that it once had an owner who loved their then-shiny red convertible.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

No 1991 competitor could offer a new convertible with a price tag even close to that of the $9,740 Metro LSi. Oh, sure, a ragtop version of the wretched Yugo<\/a> was available in 1990<\/a> and\u00a0maybe<\/em> 1991, but that doesn’t count. A new Miata cost $13,800 that year, with a Mazda-based Mercury Capri<\/a> going for $12,588. The 1991 VW Golf<\/a> Cabriolet cost $16,175, and prices for convertibles just got higher with other competitors.<\/p>\n\n

How much?\u00a0No way!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Americans lost the ability to buy a new Detroit-made convertible starting in the 1977 model year (unless you count aftermarket conversions), not regaining it until drop-top Chrysler K-Cars showed up in showrooms in 1981. This gave convertibles a certain magical quality that lasted for quite a while here, and so it seemed to make sense […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}