Driving a 43-HP Geo Metro From NY to LA Takes a While. It's Worth It

Mitchell Kohrmann set out on the “Cannonball” route from New York City to Los Angeles in a 1992 Geo Metro convertible—choosing what he calls the slowest possible car to make the attempt more “everyman.” The first-generation Metro uses a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine rated at 55 horsepower in LSi form, but Kohrmann found it made 43 hp at the wheels on a dyno. He estimated the effective output would drop to around 26 hp at the altitudes of the Rocky Mountains. The trip covered 2,838 miles in 49 hours, 11 minutes, and 18 seconds, starting at Red Ball Garage in Manhattan and finishing at the Portofino Inn near the Pacific. The piece highlights the tradeoff: limited safety equipment compared with modern cars.