Asüna was a captive import automobile

marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

created in 1992 for sale in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

as a counterpart to Geo. It was one of two successors to the

Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

marque, which had a similar intent.The Asuna experiment
BY JAY RAMEY on Autoweek

Overview

Preceding the Asüna marque, Passport sold a Korean (

Daewoo Daewoo ( ; ; ; ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "''dae''" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerate) and aut ...

) made rebadged Opel Kadett E known as the Passport Optima (which hit Canadian shores in 1988) as well as a selection of

Isuzu , commonly known as Isuzu (, ), is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu commercial vehicles and diesel engines ...

cars and SUVs.

General Motors Canada General Motors of Canada Company (), commonly known as GM Canada, is the Canadian subsidiary of US-based company General Motors. It is headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. After the 2008 financial crisis, GM Canada received a combined loan ...

changed its branding strategy in 1988, disbanding Passport (the Optima was rebadged for 1992 as Pontiac LeMans). Isuzu was grouped together with Saab and GM's new, import-fighting

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

division to form Saturn-Saab-Isuzu dealerships. The Geo marque was introduced in Canada in (model year) 1992, offered at

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

dealerships, which had been selling the Geo-rebadged Suzuki marque's products as Chevrolets from 1987 until the marque's introduction. Sales of Geo vehicles were relatively successful, prompting Pontiac-

Buick Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...

- GMC dealers to request GM Canada to provide a lineup of similar "import" vehicles. Asüna was created to fulfill this demand. The Pontiac LeMans model name was dropped altogether in favour of trimline designations, selling as Asüna SE in base trim hatchbacks and sedans, and as Asüna GT as a higher trim hatchback for 1993. The Asüna lineup was rounded out by the 1993 Sunfire (Isuzu Impulse and Geo Storm twin) and 92-93 "Sunrunner" taking the GMC Tracker's place in the Pontiac-Buick-GMC lineup. Asüna sales could not match Geo's, and the Asüna marque was eliminated for 1994. The SE/GT and Sunfire were dropped from the GM Canada lineup and the Sunrunner was rebadged as a Pontiac model.

List of vehicles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asüna Canadian companies established in 1992 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1992 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1994 Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Canada General Motors marques