ALT-1 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was introduced to us as a four person two door luxury coupe. Monte Carlo was based on the Chevelle, but had a 116 inch wheelbase and the longest hood ever made by Chevrolet. A 350 cubic inch, V8 was standard, although, you could have any one of Chevy's big block motors specially put in this car. Arriving to consumers in 1971 was the SS454 Monte Carlo. The SS454 style came with a 454 cubic inch V8, a heavier duty automatic level controlling suspension, a remote sport mirror, and a heavier duty battery. It was no wonder this SS beast was snatched up by over 3,800 auto enthusiasts.
Due to its longer wheelbase and the fact that Chevy parts were both cheaper and easier to come by then most other brands, we were now graced with the Monte Carlo's presence at the NASCAR track during the 1970's and 80's.
Monte Carlo won Motor Trend's 1973 car of the year with its second-generation model. This Monte Carlo had less power then the earlier version because of the new environmental regulations put on the auto makers at that time. But featured more options like frame less door glass and a cockpit style dash. This generation stayed at the top until 1976, when it had already sold more than 400,000 models. This is when the third generation Monte Carlo came out (1978-1980). With stricter fuel efficiency requirements this auto was lighter and much more shorter then the Monte Carlo's we had become used to.
The fourth generation Monte Carlo was offered to us from 1981-1988. This version did not have a manual transmission feature, or come with a convertible features, although in 1984 we were able to get the SS style back again. After 1988 we did not see any new Monte Carlo's again until 1995, when it came out with Chevy's new front wheel-drive two-door Monte Carlo coupe. Unfortunately we were only able to get these new machines in a V6. Even though we were robbed of horsepower and engine size, Monte Carlo did start to become popular again in the NASCAR circuit.
Finally, we come to the 2000-2007 generation of the Monte Carlo. This came with the reintroduction of the SS in 2006, where Chevy combined the front wheel-drive with a V8. Chevrolet has stopped making the Monte Carlo again, but only for a short time. When we see the Chevy Monte Carlo again it will be rear wheel-drive from General Motor's Zeta type architecture. This will hopefully put Monte Carlo back in the position it should be in. As one of the most popular muscle cars made. Competing in the new series of today's muscle machines.
