Curbside Classic: 1975 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
You’d think that all the Malaise Era Montes would have been crushed 15 years ago, but you still see the occasional survivor chugging around these days. I spotted this battered-but-solid example in a Denver park a few months back.
You could get a 235-horse 454 V8 for the Monte Carlo in ’75, but most of them came with a 145-horsepower 350. This in a car that weighed 3,950 pounds. Think about that next time you complain that your rented Cobalt (205 horsepower, 2,783 pounds) lacks power.
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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Unlike so many others here, I loved my 1973 Monte Carlo. The curb weight on the registration was 4200 lbs, and it had the 350 4bbl. No rocket by any stretch of the imagination, but a solid car, with a smooth ride. The paint was a diginified maroon, and it had a black vinyl top. I was impressed by the rear window design, and the way that the tailights were slanted inward. Truly a solid, dependable car.
That's awesome! I like them much better without! 👍