They were basically Kei cars for the US. This was before every suburban mom and dad-bro decided they needed 3 ton trucks to drop the kids off at school while watching TikTok videos though.
Safety requirements basically make building cars this cheap and light impossible now. Also the overweight trucks make them less compelling and more risky to drive.
This was almost my first car: the Geo Metro convertible.
If I'm remembering correctly the weight capacity of this car was something like 350 pounds, which meant that my dad and I wouldn't have been able to ride in it at the same time. That wasn't the reason I didn't get it (it was used and had been wrecked and the radiator was held in place with Bondo)... I really wished it would have worked out.
I went on to get a 71 VW Super Beetle. I like cute cars.