So no new MC because of diminishing sales, and because this car competed with the Camaro????

I don't see this being a viable reason as they could let the Camaro be Chevys pony car and keep making MC's. All of the enthusiasm for this car would garner so much money man.....Im kind of sad now.

 

They made the mistake of turning the MC into a FWD "low power" granny's grocery getter. There was nothing (in Chevy's eyes) that would make someone buy a MC over the camero if they were looking for a new car.

Idk, just my half baked opinion...

 

I agree making the MC FWD was a horrible choice, hence why they didn't use the new Impala model as a 2 door MC because it would compete too much. Who gives a damn about competition when all cars come from the same manufacturer and they're all successful with sales? Sounds to me like they're missing so much money through favoritism.

 

Diminishing sales is a big deal though. Once you started getting around 04/05, the sales dropped significantly. The face lift didn't seem to help a bit either. So if people were so enthusiastic for the MC name, they sure weren't showing it with their check books.

The bigger issue, IMO, is that whole market segment fell on its face. Large 2 door cars are a very tiny slice of the pie today. Efforts are better spent on making cars for the more popular bigger market segments because there's so much more money to be had there.

 

Well give me that MC concept with the Camaro Z28 fascia and the Impala grille on it as a 4 door vehicle. With all these other cars being brought back from the dead, give the MC another try.

 

If a new Monte existed that was a full-size car, with 2-doors, RWD+v8, I probably would have gotten it over a Camaro.

Pretty much if a 2-door SS existed.

 

The problem boils down to the business case, it just doesnt exist. The purists / enthusiasts claim to want something more like the 4th gen & older cars - RWD V8. Chevys existing 2 cars like this - the Camaro and Vette dont sell well at all (in comparison to their key markets). The Camaro sells enough to hold it's own at maybe 100k a year- its enough to keep the axe away, but it's a tiny fraction of the other market segments (like trucks that are doing half a million a year). The vette sells a tiny fraction of that, but has side benefits as a halo car that keep it alive.

Slotting yet another RWD car in there is a tough proposition because what they've already got is indicating that there isnt a lot more market left there. A great example is the SS. All these enthusiasts claimed they'd buy a RWD manual V8. The car was on sale for like 4 years and never even broke 5000 units a year. Certainly it had some shortcomings, but that's hardly enough to signal that people are genuinely interested in something like that.

What's more likely to happen is that they bring back the name and stick it on something slated for a key market for them. That's when you end up with crap like the new Eclipse SUV or the Dodge Dart. The people buying that model would've bought it anyways, and the enthusiasts mostly wont touch it anyways (kinda like with the latest go arounds with the Monte name).

 

The price was a huge factor for me. The darn thing was just priced so high, and then a manual one was even hard to find.

By the time the used prices became reasonable, they were discontinuing the car, and then I got scared that parts would be tough to find in the event of an accident.

But damn did I want one.

 

So something I think that was also missed, around 04-ish the "Big Three" were all entering the realm of financial troubles. Such Oldsmobile was killed in 2004 as part of the brand consolidation when GM took the Government bail out plan.
As mentioned, RWD was a factor for many Monte enthusiasts. I have heard many, MANY times "Those cars look great BUT they shoulda been RWD". Also so many years without a v8 (your high end of a v6) and again people said "Shoulda had a v8". Many G-body cars that were known for being RWD power houses (Monte, Grand Prix, Regal and on down the list) became FWD v6 cars. Lots of G-body enthusiasts said "thanks, but no thanks".

These 00-07 Montes are like many other cars that came and went. Great for a while and have niche communities that love them, but loving them and buying them are not the same. If they are not selling, they are going to stop making them. This is why the F-body (Camaro/Firebird) disappeared in 2002. People were favoring SUVs instead of two door sports cars. Granted, plans to bring them back started almost as soon as production stopped.

My fear is that some of the retired name plates that people love, when and if a manufacturer resurrects it, will they keep the enthusiast in mind or just make something to put the badge on to.

 

TBH, I wouldn't expect a modern Monte that was true to its luxury roots to be much cheaper than a SS with a RWD V8. Just a bare bones V8 car from any of the big 3 right now starts in the high $30s completely stripped. Add in a few upgrades and 'personal luxury' items to make it a Monte, and $50k isnt that far away. Even an optioned up SS Camaro can get to $50k without touching the ZL1 packages. Swap some of the performance stuff for some luxury parts out of Cadlillac's parts bin and you're in the same boat for price.

I just cant imagine the line for $45 or 50k Montes would be significantly higher than the number of people that lined up for a SS.

That's why I really think if they did bring it back, it would be a lot closer to something like a Regal than to a Camaro.