Introduced in 1970, the Chevy Monte Carlo was a two-door personal luxury coupe whose production ended in 2007. The brainchild of Pete Estes, a designer at General Motors, the 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo had an unusually long hood and over 145,000 buyers acquired this distinctive machine in its first model year. With a base price of $3,123, the 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo was cheap when compared to the $5,000 needed for a T-Bird. The car was popular with middle-aged buyers who sought an elegant luxury but still sporty vehicle.
The 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo graced the Detroit auto show showcasing its high-performance SS trim, upgraded hardware, and a more powerful engine. The car faced competition from heavyweights such as the Buick Riviera, Ford Thunderbird, and Mercury Cougar.
The coupe version featured power front discs. The front of the coupe had a grid-textured grille next to large single headlamps in square housings. It had circular parking lights directly below the headlamps positioned inside the front bumper, and the taillight lenses were surrounded by chrome trim.
The 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS 454 was a high-performance model powered by a 360 bhp turbo engine and came with many options that included Strato bucket seats, a center console, and special instrumentation including a tachometer, a temperature gauge, and an ammeter. Other features included power windows, power seats, four-season AC, rear anti-sway bar, rally wheels, and a black vinyl top.
While it was marketed as a personal luxury car and less of a muscle car, the 1970 Monte Carlo SS 454 packed a serious punch. For example, it featured a Turbo-Jet 454 cid V8 equipped with a Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor capable of producing 500 foot-pounds of torque and 360 horsepower.
The Monte Carlo 454 SS was paired with a Turbo Hydra-Matic three-speed automatic transmission that sent power to the car’s rear wheels. This allowed it to accelerate from 0-60 mph in just seven seconds. While today that may not appear fast, back then it was a feat that made the Monte Carlo SS stand out.
In 1970, however, a labor strike at the Flint, Michigan GM plant where most of the Chevy Monte Carlos manufacturing was done caused the company to lose about 100,000 vehicle sales. The production of these cars was finally discontinued in 2007.
Nevertheless, because the Chevrolet Monte Carlo was largely derived from the Chevelle in terms of design and features, even today it remains an easy car to run or own. In particular, mechanical parts are readily available, and the cars themselves are somewhat affordable. For example, popular pricing guides suggest that a 1971 small-block powered Chevrolet Monte Carlo in good condition can go for about $30,000, although an SS in mint condition may approach $100,000.
Many of the features of the Chevelle are similar to those the Chevy Monte Carlo, with about 70 percent of the parts being shared. For instance, the wheel spindles are interchangeable with those of the Chevelle, and the dash of the Monte Carlo is the same as the Chevelle SS except for the Monte Carlo’s woodgrain veneers.
