Passport International Automobiles (PIA) or Passeport Automobiles Internationales (PAI) was a Canadian car dealership network owned by General Motors. It sold vehicles from Isuzu and Saab as well as its own branded Passport Optima (Passeport Optima in the French language area), a Korean (Daewoo) made badge engineered Opel Kadett E, starting in model year 1988. General Motors' Geo import brand was introduced in the United States at about the same time. Sales began in mid-1987, originally only in major metropolitan areas.[1] Only 83 I-Marks and Optimas were sold in 1987.[2]
Overview
The Optima was offered in either hatchback or sedan and achieved 52mpg on the highway. It was designed by European Opel and had a slew of standard features for a relatively low price. The Optima sedan represented a minority of the sales, while the hatchback remains more common.