The Monte Carlo...

[trinacriabob]

Today, I saw a bunch of last(2)gen Monte Carlos on a major boulevard in my area. They ranged anywhere from early 2000s up to the 2006/2007. Some of them, unfortunately, were kind of "blingy(sp)."

I look at this car and study it. It has some good angles and some bad ones. The overall side profile is good. The frontal 3/4 view is good, too. The rear hump is not at all good and the too-low and too-heavy fender sculpting is not good, either. This is a car that could have been much better.

I think that it was "sort of" intended to be a Cutlass Supreme price-point personal coupe, though it was not marketed that way. I think the GP 2-door that ran through 2002 was way too different in that it was more of a fastback and lacked the more formal lines of the Monte Carlo...and the Cutlass. I put down "Meh."

It's too bad. Had the styling been a little less quirky and had there been a 3800 V6 under the hood, as there was in the early 2000s SS coupes, there's no doubt I would have bought a Monte Carlo.

Just thinking out loud...with this poll...

[2005 EquinoxLS]

The change to the front end for 2006-2007 fixed the front end. Helped it some though I never found the car objectionable. In fact I had a 2000 for 4 years and loved it. I was unsure of the looks when it came out but a test drive made me like it enough to buy it. I wish one would have been available when I got the Impala. But it wasnt so the Impala was the next best choice.

[daves87rs]

I've always liked it. The later look grew on me too...

[ocnblu]

The last ones were the best looking of the FWD Montes, imo. If they had flattened out the decklid hump and put the CHMSL inside the back glass while they were at it, it would have eliminated the need for a spoiler to disguise the problem, and would have let the car go out on a truly high note.

[mustang84]

I did like the FWD Montes overall. My sister has a '97 and I have driven it a few times. For what it is, it's fun to drive. I like having the heavy, elongated two doors and cockpit style seating position. I hope GM brings back the Monte some day (as RWD though), but I won't hold my breath.

[trinacriabob]

The last ones were the best looking of the FWD Montes, imo. If they had flattened out the decklid hump and put the CHMSL inside the back glass while they were at it, it would have eliminated the need for a spoiler to disguise the problem, and would have let the car go out on a truly high note.

Wow, I am +1-ing an ocnblu post.

True, the very last revise was a clean fix and that front end works better on Monte than on the Impala. They could have easily fixed the rear hump. The CHMSL could have gone inside the back glass, or even in the upper part of the trunk like as they did on the last 2 gen Devilles/DTSs...either way would have worked.

[trinacriabob]

I like having the heavy, elongated two doors and cockpit style seating position.

True, that's what's always kept me behind the wheel of a 2-door GM mid-size coupe. First, it's nice NOT to have a door pillar in your peripheral vision...a large door makes for a large window! Second, these set-ups with a console make for a cockpit style seating arrangement, which can be nice. When the Monte went to blue lighting for 06-07, it was even nicer.

[Robert Hall]

The last ones were the best looking of the FWD Montes, imo. If they had flattened out the decklid hump and put the CHMSL inside the back glass while they were at it, it would have eliminated the need for a spoiler to disguise the problem, and would have let the car go out on a truly high note.

Yah, the last ones were the best looking...the headlights were just so ugly on the '00-05 models. The Lumina based '95-99 weren't bad, but they looked like a 2dr Lumina, not really distinctive from the sedan.

[trinacriabob]

Yah, the last ones were the best looking...the headlights were just so ugly on the '00-05 models. The Lumina based '95-99 weren't bad, but they looked like a 2dr Lumina, not really distinctive from the sedan.

Yes, moltie.

They compared the headlights to sideways Coke bottles. And, true, the 95-99 were 2-door Luminas, just like the Riviera was once a 2-door LeSabre.

In the right color, such as white, the last-gen Monte Carlo with the bigger 5-spoke alloys can look sharp.

[mustang84]

I've always thought the '06-07 SS with the big alloys and black on black was an extremely sharp vehicle.

[bobo]

Chevy cleaned up the styling of the Monte nicely in its final years. It was the last hurrah of a dying breed, the personal luxury coupe. It was a survivor in what used to be a huge market. I found the early years of the final generation to be quite objectionable, with bulges all over the place and strangely creased corners of the rear bumper. It was as if the stylist were trying to force in some flair to an otherwise poorly proportioned car.

[Blake Noble]

They compared the headlights to sideways Coke bottles.

Interesting. I always thought the headlamps were intended to evoke Chevrolet bow-tie logos, especially on the '98 concept that GM shown where the lines were a touch sharper in places than on the final production car.

[ocnblu]

Yeah Mr. Jacket, I heard the bowtie headlight thing before. That Concept, especially the fleshed-out side sculpturing, really looks good. Shame about the tiny door-to-front wheel distance... belies its FWD compromised chassis.

[Camino LS6]

Terribly,terribly, ugly cars.

I almost cheered out loud when production ended.

And you all know that I love coupes.

[ocnblu]

I didn't like the way the quarter glass turned forward at the back edge. It should have turned back, imo, which would have evoked the first-gen quarter glass more successfully. Maybe a quick photoshop could help confirm or deny my theory.