i own both and i personally like the 3rd gen better. i think it looks kind of like a cat ready to pounce from the side. the caprice looks like a super sized malibu. the interior i think is personal preference. a nice bucket seat, and console gbody with a freshly restored black interior looks extremely sharp.

the 4th gens are kind of heavy, long, and not at all unique or rare. so ive never personally been crazy about them

reliability i think is what you make of it. bone stock the 3/4th gens shouldnt have issues as long as they are regularly maintained. with that said who really wants to keep their 180hp 3300/3600lbs "muscle car" bone stock. once you start tinkering and getting wild things are bound to fail. the gen 1 small blocks always had issues with the seals and guides. after a while they would start smoking, and leaking oil. i drove mine mildly modified for 6yrs also and it rarely left me stranded, but once again the car wasnt making enough power to hurt itself. the second a cam went in it it spun bearings and on tear down the rings crumbled in my hands. not to mention the race built th350s that it dynamited on a regular basis. its all about how you drive, how much power the motor makes, and what the rest of the driveline can handle.

once again owning both, the 3rd gens body lines are definitely more
distinctive and the nicest of the gbodys, but the 6/7th gen definitely has body lines and at least they have the vertical tail lights. not to mention that i assume there were far less 00-07 montes than there were 78-88 montes. i know for a fact that there are less 06-07 monte SSs than there are 83-88 monte SSs. mine for example is 1 of 12XX built in that color that year and i have to assume that it was one of the more popular colors. the same probably goes for the ops car since the l67 is a 2yr only option. so i dont think everyone has one, and it doesnt look like a taurus. it looks like an impala, and im sure its far more rare than a 3rd gen monte, or a 4th gen ss. not to mention that stock vs stock a ls4 monte could run the quarter twice in the time that it would take the "hot cammed" 305 4th gen SSs to make one pass, and lets not even talk about 305 in the 3rd gen.

i agree. except id get an aerocoupe or a gp 2+2 if i were going to modify it. at least pick something up that may be worth something someday, or get a lowly v6 car and go insane.


Rant over.

 

agreed monteman, aerocoupes are the way to go, very rare and nice. and my 3rd gen doesnt have the boat anchor 305, it has a mildly built 350.....

 

I have to throw in my 2 cents on the comment about 6th gens looking like every other car on the road, and the 4th gens don't. And also the comment about 4th gens being a real Monte and his 2004 isn't.

First, as I've mentioned many times, I love 4th gens. By far my favorite generation Monte Carlo. Even though I own a 6th gen, and don't plan on ever getting rid of it.

But 6th gen Montes don't look like every other car on the road, rounded or not. Even fellow W-body Pontiac Grand Prix doesn't look all that much like the Monte Carlo. Many of the body lines are different, the rear windows are different, etc. 4th gen Monte's get mistaken for other cars all the time. Especially the Olds Cutlass. The 4th gen Monte, Cutlass, Grand Prix, and Grand National all look very similar. More so than the 6th gens.

Again, I love the 4th gens. I would jump on the chance to own a 4th gen SS. And don't care if it looks like other cars or not. Still a bad *** car.

The other thing is this idea of 1995 and up not being Monte Carlos. I think this comment comes simply because they're not RWD V8's. In 1990, the Monte Carlo got replaced by this...



The 3.1 litre Chevy Lumina.

When GM decided to re-introduce the Monte Carlo in 1995, due to customer demand, the domestic car world had changed. The classic styling of the 1980's was considered to be boxy and looked dated. Also gone was the idea of cars coming standard with a V8 engine. People wanted better fuel economy. Which is why the Monte returned as a FWD V6 with more rounded lines. Most cars produced in the 1990's were under powered for the sake of fuel economy.

When GM put the 3.8 engine in the 5th gen Montes, it was one of the most powerful cars in GM's line up at the time. It fit the Monte Carlo's designation of "luxury sport". The 6th gens brought back a few styling cues from previous generations of the Monte Carlo. And still fit the description of Luxury Sport. It also had a FWD V6, but at the time, most of GM's line up was still FWD. GM put the LS4 V8 into the Monte for it's last two years, giving the Monte 303 hp from a FWD.

GM decided to go with the trend of eliminating 2 door vehicles from their line-up. And putting their money into developing 4 doors, and reviving the Camaro. Killing the Monte Carlo in the process. But if the Monte Carlo would've returned in 2008, it would've most likely been a RWD. But that would've put it in direct competition with the Camaro.

The Monte Carlo has always been considered Luxury Sport. And in my opinion, each generation of Monte lived up to that designation during it's time. Just because it wasn't a RWD doesn't mean it wasn't a Monte Carlo.

I'm not saying everyone has to like every generation of Monte, no matter what. We all have our preferences, and that's fine. But don't say it's not a real Monte Carlo just because you don't like FWD.

Just my opinion.

 

i dont really know if the monte carlo really ever had an image or a name until the second gens were winning in nascar. like you said they were luxury sport cars, not muscle cars, but even that they only backed up for a few years. 70-73 big blocks, the z34s, l67s, and ls4s. other than that they were just pretenders. like the first couple year grand nationals with out the turbos.

i think the issues with the 5th gens were that they dont have the body lines, fwd, v6, and they are more or less identical to the luminas of that year. in essence a 2 door lumina, and not for nothing the z34 luminas were pretty bad dudes in my opinion.


i personally love the 5th gen. i think they can be super sleepers. ill list the gens and my favorite years in order from favorite to least favorite.

1st gen 72
3rd gen 78
5th gen 99
7th gen 06
6th gen 05
2nd gen 73
4th gen 88