I spotted this at a Park and Ride lot at the Fairgrounds, and it looks very much to be a regular driver. Given it’s an ’88, that makes it the last year for the gen1 Sprint as well as the Chevy bowtie. The Gen2 arrived for 1989, now bearing GEO Metro badging.
The Sprint was Chevy’s first foray into the sub-compact market; or sub-sub-compact, depending what class one put the Chevette into. Sales started in 1985, but only in the Western US. In addition to the base version with the carburated 993cc triple, there was also the wicked little Turbo Sprint, with 73 hp. Given that it weighed less than 1600 lbs, it was surprisingly brisk. Even the non-turbo version could be flogged happily, with surprising results under the right circumstances.
That is, unless one made the mistake of getting an automatic. Then it was just mostly tedious. No wonder this one has survived this long.
As most folks know, these were surprisingly tough little beasts, willing to take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’.
It looks positively lost in its parking space.
Refreshingly uncomplicated but what a bummer about the automatic transmission, likely sapping any joy out of driving it. Although the fact it has survived this long even with that points to a long-term caring owner.
The autobox may have saved it, I test drove two used Sprints on two occasions in the mid ’90s and both repeatedly jumped out of 2nd and 3rd. That wasn’t an issue with the Geo Metro I bought a couple years later and drove for the next four years or so. I can only wonder if what that jumping out of gear would’ve led to, would lead to a one-way trip to the junkyard rather than transplanting a later Metro ‘box.
Racecar before racecar was cool with that external hood catch release!
A friend had a 4 door 90 model in that same color with a 1.3 engine and a 5 speec. It went by the name of Suzuki Forza and he squeezed 350k km out of it in something like 5 years.
A friend had a 4 door 90 model in that same color with a 1.3 engine and a 5 speec. It went by the name of Suzuki Forza and he squeezed 350k km out of it in something like 5 years.
The best part of owning a Metro was the infinite supply of compatible upgrade parts form the many crashed Suzuki Swift GTs in the junkyards.
While I’ll buy that the Swift GT may have been more likely to get wrecked due to hoonage there just weren’t many sold with the Suzuki badge in the US for them to be plentiful in junkyards.
This is in really good condition for being 33 years old, The auto likely helped, as at some point, a clutch replacement or shift linkage issue would have meant a trip to the junkyard.
I’d say it is more unlikely to have survived since it is an automatic. When it went it would have been hard to find a replacement and not cheap. Meanwhile a clutch is a 2-1/2 hr job and the parts are, or at least were, dirt cheap since they were tiny.
A corner of my brain still wants a Turbo Sprint.
One family since new, and still going.
You, or it?
These remind me of my days as a young kid wandering through the dealers; I still have a Sprint brochure of two. Fun times!
Rented one from Rent-A-Wreck in Hawaii in the ’90’s.
Of course it wasn’t a wreck — just basic transportation and no AC.
While other renters photo’d themselves in open Jeeps & LeBaron convertibles, this funky little Chev-zuki squeezed through rain forest passes & tight turns …. at 15 mph …. from mts. to the sea …..
These are the cars in which the cockroaches will meet.
And they’ll be able to start it.
Saw this guy in the wild about 11 years ago. Would bet it’s not scurrying around any more.