The current Monte Carlo and Impala are no 'crap box'. They are very well built cars. With the S/C it gives them a BIG jump in horsepower. They'll probably outrun the 94-96 Impala SS too...

I still find it funny how so many people now worship the 94-96 Impala SS... When the Caprice came out, and befre the Imapala SS of the time came out, they were refferred to as "Bloated Whales", "Bath Tubs" , and the like...

 

First, the GTP IS a very impressive car. I got to drive one a few years ago, and it was hella quick. Alot of GTP owners are adding smaller diameter pulleys and a few other mods, and are getting these things up to & over 100mph quarters. If that's not impressive for a FWD full size car, nothing is.

As far as the GTO goes, say what you want about the fact it doesn't look like a 1960s throwback, but to insinuate it's NOT a muscle car, isn't honest no matter what the name is.

As far as "getting the Impala right", I made numerous posts on this a month ago. The Impala of the mid 90s RUINED what the Impala was in that before 1994, Impala was the cheap fleet version of Chevrolet's full size car. Also before the 1994 Impala came out, everyone and their brother bashed the Caprice as fat, bloated (in Police form it was called Shamu), and worse.

Suddenly, in 1994 Chevrolet took a Caprice Police package, painted it black, added a plastic grill, and suddenly tons of people like yourself fall all over each other praising this big Chevy as if it's God's own gift to humanity. Bloated? Fat? Impala as a fleet rental car?? Never happened!

Impala SS was a nice package, but you could get the exact same package (and performance!)on a regular Caprice w/o the seats & grill. The new Impala SS is in the exact same situation. The only difference is FWD. RWD is comming, but the supercharged Impala & Monte Carlo SS puts Chevrolet back into the performance game, which at the moment, they are not in by any measure!

 

The GTO is RWD and has a LS1 V8 just like the Vette

 

We all want these cars to be V8 and RWD, but it is not going to happen over night. Both cars will be faster than previous SS version with V8s, I think it is about time the Monte Carlo SS got the S/C 3.8L, while the 2000-03 monte carlo SS was great car, I don't think it should have called SS, at least not from a performace point of view. It should have had the S/C 3.8L from day one.

The big question is will either car get a optional manual transmission????

 

I agree that the 2000-03 Monte Carlo SS should have had the S/C'd 3800 from the beginning... I'm guessing it did not, because GTP and the Regal had it, and they wanted those to be steps up or something...

But, that was the old guard at GM... at least they are correcting it now.

 

I think I remember reading somewhere the Monte Carlo's next model was suppose to be FWD, but Lutz cancled that program and called for a different one.. thus the current models have to soldier on for a few extra years till they bring out the new models........... or did i just make that up?

 

Speculation is that Monte Carlo and Impala will go RWD for 2006... I know Guion has been looking into this a bit...

 

When the rear wheel arches were completely opened up for the 94 model year, it made a huge visual impact.

 

Correct, the FWD program was cancelled last fall, in favor of Mark Ritter's desire to have a RWD sport sedan (the same Mark Ritter who one member called a impediment to RWD Chevys ).

The original replacement program for Impala & Monte Carlo had it's plug pulled late 2001. It was initially scheduled to come out in 2005 on the same updated chassis the 2004 Grand Prix was on.

This program was killed in favor of a RWD full size Chevrolet. Chevy GM Mark Ritter partially hinted at this last winter when he said he'd prefer a RWD sedan sooner rather than later. Additional hints have been filtering out recently as events that GM couldn't keep secret unfolded. As I've always said, watch the factories to find out about future models, they gotta build them somewhere (and it takes a couple of years to gear them up).

The FWD LS1 Impala was never made because of runaway torque steer.

Finally, it seems to be pretty much common knowledge with suppliers & inside the industry that GM is going to a high volume RWD car by 06.

You don't think Ford made that 427 RWD concept car for sh*ts & giggles, do you?

 

So is the sheetmetal / fascia update for Monte and Impala false?

I thought that even NASCAR was showing a new look for the Montes?!?!

 

Is it just me, or is that Monte Carlo SS with a spoiler starting to look like an El Camino from the side view?

 

The NASCAR Monte they had here in LA was slightly different from the current Monte body. Don't know if it was a fluke, or just NASCAR's continuing efforts to prove that calling them stock car racers in idiotic.