Erroneous on the last bit. They are the same cars, not shittier. Rolled off the same lines, same parts aside from minor stuff (Geo/Chevy actually had better radios). The Prizm and Corolla from those eras are the same car and the Prizm is a sweetheart deal even now if looking for a beater. The Storm is an Isuzu built in Japan on the same line as Isuzu’s sport coupe. The Tracker and Suzuki Sidekick were the same car built in Ontario in the same factory with the same parts.
They failed because they were too close in perception to the era of shit American small cars and also the bottom fell out of the small budget marker across the board. You’ll notice Suzuki and Isuzu are also not here, Mitsubishi is a ghost, and the 3 Japanese giants shrank their budget lines and expanded their SUVs in both lineup and size. Even the Koreans began abandoning the econobox ship.
A Geo of the era and a proper Pontiac or Chevy (Lumina, Grand Am, etc) are no comparison in quality. Geo is better in every way. Also remember the econoboxes were always meant to be bought cheap, flogged by new or poor drivers, then offloaded to some person with even less money for maintenance and care. They got harder miles. But if you can find a Prizm in decent shape it’s a steal for a beater ride compared to the Toyota and it is the same car.