Hey MC family. Just a decent read to couple with your coffee, tea, or double shot.

https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-2000-06-chevrolet-monte-carlo-the-last-gasp-of-the-american-personal-luxury-coupe/

 

I'd disagree with that statement. Sure it didn't go out with some really crazy limited edition like some high end cars seems to, but IMO the V8 in the SS was a better final send off than many typical models seem to get. Wasnt the performance of the stock 06/07 SS relatively close to that of the fastest big block old school monte?

I really dont think theres much they could've (realistically) done better besides perhaps pulling over a few things from the GXP (suspension, HUD, maybe the tap shift even though its not great in modern context).

 

That interior refresh would've been the bee's knees, and that suspension too. Notable V8 end glory but a lazy attempt at grace.

 

I guess the way I see it is we're lucky they did literally anything at all in the end (including that minor exterior face-lift). Sales were sliding for the MC in general, but more concerning - the entire coupe market was falling apart.

By that time, they already had two big hitter coupes in the works - the production C6 started selling in 2005, and the Camaro concepts were in the clay model stage by 2005. So they knew they had plenty of coverage across the price ranges for the new (smaller) coupe buyer marker.

IMO many companies would've just cut their losses and let the existing model drag on another couple years without change until their inventory + contracts were depleted enough to shut it down.