Year | Changes |
1991 | Trackers were originally offered as rear-drive / 4WD models. This year, Geo added the 2WD convertible, available only with a 5-speed manual transmission. All Trackers rear anti-lock brakes. Standard 4WD and base convertibles got new black bumpers, door handles, and bodyside moldings. Base models kept manual hubs, but LSi Trackers got automatic-locking hubs. |
1992 | Tilt steering wheel was a new option. |
1993 | The only changes were new colors and revised radio controls. |
1994 | California & New York Trackers got a different engine: a 95-horsepower 1,6L 16-Valve engine (4-valves per cylinder). |
1995 | All 4WD Trackers adopted the 95-horsepower engine. |
1996 | All Trackers added dual airbags and a 4-door wagon was available for the first time. The 4-door measured 11 inches longer in wheelbase and 15 inches longer overall than the convertible. Trackers also had a revised front-end look and new wheels. Three-door hardtop bodies were gone. New options included 4-wheel antilock braking, which worked in both 2- and 4-wheel drive. |
1997 | The upscale 2-door LSi convertible was dropped for 1997. Meanwhile, the base convertible gained a folding rear bend seat as standard equipment. |
1998 | Tracker puts on a Chevy bow tie badge and loses its top LSi trim level for 1998. Other changes are minimal. An all-new Tracker, again under the Chevrolet name, was waiting for 1999. |
1999-2004: In 1999, the Sidekick was discontinued, and a second generation Tracker was introduced, differing from the Sidekick’s successor, the Grand Vitara. A Suzuki version of this North American-exclusive Tracker was sold in the North American market as a Suzuki Vitara, which is shorter than the Grand Vitara. In Mexico, the second-generation Tracker remained in production and was sold there as Chevrolet Tracker. The Tracker series was discontinued in the United States and Canada in 2004, but all models including the LJ80/Jimny are still in production in other Suzuki plants. Some Trackers and Sidekicks were made at a Suzuki plant in Kosai, Japan.
The later (1999 and up) Tracker models reverted to a lightweight automobile-type rack and pinion steering, and thus unpopular with rural and off-road users since the rack and pinion is easily damaged. The 1st generation Tracker was sold as the Chevrolet Vitara in Latin America, and the 2nd generation Tracker is sold as the Chevrolet Grand Vitara in Latin American countries. In North America, the first generation Tracker was sold as a Chevrolet in 1998 after GM discontinued the Geo brand. In Central America GM made the Suzuki Vitara/Grand Vitara and sold as Chevrolet Vitara/Grand Vitara (Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela produced in GM Ecuador), Suzuki Grand Vitara (Argentina) Chevrolet Tracker (Brazil and Mexico) Both Produced by GM Argentina. On January 27, 2004, production of the Chevrolet Tracker was discontinued at the CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario and replaced with the Chevrolet Equinox.