Junkyard Find: 1986 Chevrolet Spectrum Hatchback
Before the creation of the Geo brand for the 1989 model year, The General sold Isuzus and Suzukis with Chevrolet badging in the United States. Only one of those vehicles started its American showroom career as a Chevrolet and finished it as a Geo: the Spectrum. Here's one currently residing at a car graveyard in Colorado Springs.
GM began selling Americans the Isuzu Faster with Chevrolet LUV badges back in 1972, and then there was the Gemini-derived Buick Opel by Isuzu during the late 1970s. The US-market Chevette had plenty of Isuzu DNA as well.
The General's sprawling and occasionally profitable empire continued to supply iron for US dealerships during the 1980s. Sadly, the Pontiac Division gave up on selling Vauxhalls here after the early 1960s, but Daewoo provided the LeMans beginning in 1988. From Suzuki, we got the 1985-1988 Chevrolet Sprint, the subsequent generation of which became the Geo Metro.
The Geo brand was launched so that GM could put all its Japanese-built (Isuzu and Suzuki) and Japanese-designed (Toyota) vehicles together in showrooms. South Korea was left out of the party and the LeMans remained a Pontiac until it was axed in 1993.
The Geo Spectrum was a branding oddity, in that it was sold with both Chevrolet and Geo badging; the car in the photo above is a 1989 Geo Spectrum, complete with Chevy bowtie on the grille.
Here's the badge on the hatch of that car. The Geo Spectrum was available for just a few months before being discontinued.
In recognition of Geo's Chevy connection, later Geo models got a subtle bowtie in the middle of their marque emblems.
The Spectrum was a second-generation Isuzu Gemini, a Giugiaro-designed front-driver that was a big sales hit in Japan. Just to make things interesting, Isuzu sold this car in the United States with I-Mark badges, competing for buyers of its Chevrolet- and Geo-badged twins.
In 1986, the Spectrum hatchback started at $6,658, while the I-Mark's MSRP was $7,149 (those figures come to $19,686 and $21,137, respectively, in 2026 dollars). The I-Mark had somewhat nicer standard equipment, hence the higher price.
So, if you wanted a right-hand outside mirror as base hardware on your Gemini for '86, you had to buy the I-Mark. The original buyer of this car saved 43 bucks (127 bucks after inflation) by skipping that option.
I've managed to find exactly one Geo Spectrum during my junkyard travels, but the 1985-1988 Chevrolet Spectrum has been a bit less elusive; prior to today's Junkyard Find, I've documented a 1986 hatchback, another 1986 hatchback, a 1988 sedan and a 1988 hatchback.
The last model year for new Isuzu-built cars in the United States was 1993 (after that, Isuzu went all-truck here), and I found this ultra-rare 1993 Stylus at the very same Colorado Springs junkyard last year.
The Isuzu-made Geo Storm also held on through 1993; this discarded final-year example showed up in Greeley a year ago.
Now that we've glanced at Izuzu/Chevrolet/Geo history, let's take a closer look at today's Junkyard Find. It traversed nearly 200,000 miles during its career on the road, which is respectable for an Isuzu product (the highest-mile Isuzu I've documented in a boneyard was a 1990 Geo Storm GSi with 274k miles on the clock).
The amount of hantavirus-saturated rodent nesting material and droppings built up in this car indicates that it got parked outdoors years ago and (probably) never moved under its own power again.
Many Coloradans enjoy making noise and damaging pavement year-round with studded snow tires, and this car's final owner wasn't afraid of exposed steel belts on the fronts.
This car was built at Isuzu's Kawasaki plant, in Kanagawa Prefecture ( Kawasaki Heavy Industries is named after its founder, not the city that shares his name).
The engine is a carbureted 1.5-liter SOHC straight-four rated at 70 horsepower and 87 pound-feet.
Later on, the I-Mark became available with a turbocharged engine. There were no Spectrum Turbos.
The Spectrum's base transmission was always a five-speed manual, and that's what this car has. The automatic was a $395 option ($1,168 in today's money).
Air conditioning was available, but this car's original purchaser didn't want to spend the extra $630 ($1,863 now) for it. I love the symbols Isuzu used on its HVAC control panels during this period; do you want the air to blow your feathered hair back or do you want it to warm your high-heeled boots?
The only new non-truck-shaped vehicles offered by Chevrolet in the United States today are the Bolt and the Corvette. It was a different story in 1986, when your local Chevy salesmen offered nine car models in addition to the Spectrum (Camaro, Caprice, Cavalier, Celebrity, Chevette, Corvette, Monte Carlo, Nova and Sprint).
A sad ending for a car made by the car company named after the Holy River of Isuzu.
It has, uh, Spectrumality? Weird times, the 1980s.
When a Spectrum with opaque tinted glass stalks you, what do you do? Buy a Spectrum, apparently.
"It's not half a car," says Holly Zoba of Virginia.
No article about a Gemini family member is complete without this home-market commercial.
Down Under, this car was the Holden Gem-Gem-Gemini.
Yes, Joe Isuzu pitched I-Marks.
In Chile, Ecuador and Argentina, the Gemini was badged as a Chevrolet.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
1986 Chevrolet Spectrum in Colorado wrecking yard.
[Images: The Author. Videos: Manufacturer]
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Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Hagerty and The Truth About Cars.
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The version I wanted as a teen was the I-Mark RS with the non-turbo twincam engine and Handling By Lotus.