The Chevrolet Monte Carlo was one of the coolest cars made in the history of GM. For
NASCAR, the Monte was the
car of choice, and a very successful one at that. The Monte enjoyed a very succesfull production run from 1970 (introduced in Sep. of `69) until 2007 (June 19, 2007). It was Seperated into 6 different generations:
1970-1972
1973-1977
1978-1980
1981-1988
1995-1999
2000-2007
Years 70-
72 were the best in my
opinion, they are recognized by their 'muscular' looks, Big fender and quarter panel Bulges, and
beautiful bodylines from front to back. All models came with V8 engines, with sizes ranged from a 350 Small Block(5.7L) to the monsterous 454 Big Block (7.4L) (
SS only)... In 1973 they recieved a makeover and became less muscular, lost power but still had nice looks and focused on improving ride and handling... The third generation was the first to offer a V6 engine, they were also shortened and lightened in 78... The second best generation in my
opinion came in the
mid 80's (fourth generation) with the return of the
SS (returned in 83 after only being in production in 70 and 71) and a smoother look than before.. The fifth generation is the most dissapointing for me, the looks diminished (no more muscles) and they didn't offer a single V8 engine. About the only glimmer of light was the Z34 option... GM figures out the fifth generation wasn't the greatest and in 2000 (Generation 6) they looked to the Monte's of the past and renewed the look once more. Still no V8 was offered until `06, but there was a supercharged
3.8L V6 as an option for the
SS. Sadly the Monte was discontinued after the `07 model year. I know i didn't cover everything and some material is
opinion but hey, this is Urban
Dictionary right!
