Minneapolis Street Sighting: Chevrolet Monte Carlo

In the hustle-and-bustle of the big city, donks are quickly becoming the transportation of choice for young folks who have the desire to look "cool", and as a result, stock and almost-stock examples of Chevrolet's personal luxury coupe are getting harder and harder to find. Poking around in the numerous sidestreets revealed that not all of them are rusted or blinged; instead, there are still some quite nice examples, even of base models, still around.
The 1970s examples are big and bold, and laden with enough chrome to make even the "hardest" blingster jealous; the 1980s versions are stark contrast. Not much chrome except for the wire-wheelcovers, the two-tone paintschemes were on the way out, and the car itself was much smaller. Did it still deserved to be a called a "luxury coupe"? You bet. Vinyl ruffled seats, optional landau top (which this example was lacking), and a choice of engines meant that buyers could option out their Carlo from either simple, to pure 1980s luxury kitsch. Solid colors, though, without the vinyl roofs look the best, and too many people overdo it when it comes to either customizing or restoring their Carlo.. Plain and simple is just how I like these.









It's not often that 1980s "in-cars" escape whatever fad is running rampant in car culture; for years, Monte Carlos have been prime fodder for lowriders, and demolition derbies. Now, there's a new enemy--donkriding. Donking is when someone takes a car, and jacks it up on obscenely huge wheels, and does little to no performance mods to offset the added unsprung weight. Thankfully, this example is as pristine as can be. No modifications, good or bad, adorn this almost-classic luxury coupe.
It's never easy to shock me, when carspotting; somehow this maroon Monte Carlo took me by surprise. I guess I wasn't ready to see a rather nice example or a car so commonly ruined in mass numbers; the paint is fantastic, especially considering the fact that it lives in rust-hell. The trim, too, has withstood the test of time quite well, only showing minimal fading.
Seeing how this Monte is equipped with one mirror, I'm guessing it's a base model. No bad thing, really, it just means its likely motivated by either a diesel 305, or the more common 3.8 V6. I'd rather have the V6 than the diesel for obvious reasons, and given the upkeep, I bet the V6 actually gets better mileage than the diesel.
It's not often one of theses is preserved or at least left stock, and this owner seems to take great pride in his or her near-classic coupe. One only hopes that this nice example can survive for many more years to come.