Dodge Monaco
The Dodge Monaco is an automobile that was marketed by the Dodge division of Chrysler Corporation.
It was introduced for the 1965 model year as the flagship of the full-sized Dodge product line, replacing the Custom 880. The Monaco later became a sub-model of the Dodge Polara.
During its production, the Monaco was offered in several body configurations, including two-door and four-door hardtop sedans, four-door sedans, two-door convertibles, and station wagons.
From 1965 through 1977, three generations of the Monaco were produced using the full-size Chrysler C platform.
For 1977 and 1978, Dodge shifted the Monaco to the intermediate Chrysler B platform, effectively downsizing the model line.
For 1979, the model line was redesigned and renamed the Dodge St. Regis.
After a twelve-year hiatus, the full-size Monaco was revived for the 1990 model year as the flagship Dodge sedan, replacing the Diplomat. This model was a rebadged version of the Eagle Premier, which was developed by Renault and American Motors Corporation.
The Dodge Intrepid replaced the Monaco for the 1993 model year.
The cars are named after the Principality of Monaco.
First generation (1965–1968)
1965
Upon its introduction on September 25, 1964, for the 1965 model year, the Dodge Monaco was intended to compete with the Pontiac Grand Prix in what came to be known as the personal luxury market. The new model was based on the Custom 880 two-door hardtop body.The Monaco received special badging and a sportier interior with a full-length center console, as well as a, V8 engine as standard equipment. Transmissions were the Torqueflite automatic or a four-speed manual, both with console-mounted shifters. In an attempt to emulate the halo effect of the Grand Prix for the Pontiac line, the new Monaco was marketed as the "Limited Edition Dodge for the Man with Unlimited Taste".
The Monaco's exterior featured a distinctive rear end design, front fender-mounted turn indicators, wheel covers with simulated knock-off centers, and the bodysides only had a slim full-length molding and a ribbed rocker-panel trim. The interior of the Monaco received special attention from the designers with standard buckets seats in the front and rear, a rear package tray contoured with the tops of the individual rear seat-backs, unusual rattan wicker accents on the door and quarter panels, and a unique three-spoke steering wheel.
The Monaco two-door competed with similar "sporty" models such as Chrysler 300 non-letter series, Oldsmobile Starfire, Buick wildcat, and Mercury S-55, as well as top-of-the-line full-sized models: the LTD in the Ford Galaxie series; the Chevrolet Caprice; the VIP in the Plymouth Fury series; and the Ambassador 990-H and DPL hardtops offered by American Motors Corporation.
Compared to the marketing goal of replicating the success of the Pontiac Grand Prix, the lower pricing was in the Monaco's favor, but its front-end design was similar to the lower-priced Dodge Polara models. After one model year, the Monaco became the full-size, luxury line for Dodge.
In Canada, a version of the Plymouth Sport Fury was marketed as the Dodge Monaco. It was available in hardtop coupe or convertible body styles. The Canadian Monacos were equipped with Plymouth dashboards in 1965 and 1966. Unlike the U.S. Monaco versions, the Canadian Monacos were available with V8 or the slant six.
1966
For the 1966 model year, in the U.S., the Monaco replaced the Custom 880 series, and the former Monaco became the Monaco 500. The basic Monaco was available in hardtop coupe, four-door hardtop sedan, conventional four-door sedan, and four-door station wagon body styles. In the U.S., the Monaco 500 was available only as a two-door hardtop. Although there was no convertible in the 1966 U.S. Monaco range, there was in the 1966 Canadian Monaco lineup. The Canadian Dodge used the "Monaco" name for the Sport Fury equivalent and the Polara 880 for the Fury III competitor.1967
The 1967 model-year full-sized Dodges, including the Monaco, received significant facelifts with all-new exterior sheet metal. Chief designer Elwood Engel's work featured generally flat body planes with sharp-edged accent lines. The hardtop coupes featured new semi-fastback rooflines with reverse-slanted trailing edges on the rear quarter windows.In Canada, the "Monaco" name was applied for 1967 to all of the premium full-sized Dodge cars, replacing the Polara 880 at the top of the Dodge line. Taking the Monaco's place as a premium full-size model was the Monaco 500, which was available only as a two-door hardtop and convertible.
1968
Marker lights in the fenders and full-width tail lights were added. The Monaco 500 was dropped at the end of the 1968 model year in the United States and at the end of the 1970 model year in Canada.Second generation (1969–1973)
1969
For the 1969 model year, the wheelbase of the Monaco was increased from 121 inches to 122 inches, and the length was increased to about 220 inches. Returning for 1969 was the "500" option, which in the U.S. market gave the Monaco front bucket seats and a center armrest. In Canada, the Monaco 500 was a separate series that used the side trim of the Polara 500 sold in the U.S. Canadians could also buy a Monaco convertible; U.S. Dodge full-size convertible shoppers had only the lower-end Polara and Polara 500 to choose from.All full-sized Dodge cars, including the Monaco, adopted Chrysler Corporation's new "fuselage" styling, in which the upper and lower body are melded into a uniformly curved unit. Curved side glass adds to the effect, as does deleting the "shoulder" along the rear. The look starts in the front of the car, with a nearly straight-across bumper—demanded by a Chrysler executive after a Congressional committee attacked him over the seeming inability of car bumpers to protect vehicles from extensive damage in low-speed collisions—and a five-segment egg-crate grille that surrounds the headlamps. When the cars failed to spark buyers' interest, Dodge executives demanded a change. By the summer of 1969, the division released new chrome trim for the front fender caps and leading edge of the hood as an option, which gives the appearance of a then-fashionable loop bumper without the tooling expense. At the rear, Dodge's signature delta-shaped taillamps were presented in a new form that required the top of the bumper to slope downward toward each end.
The standard-equipment engine on the 1969 Monaco is Chrysler's B-block V8 engine with a two-barrel 2245 Holley carburetor. Buyers could order the 383 with a four-barrel carburetor that increased power to, or they could opt for the Magnum RB-block engine. Station wagons with the 440 were rated at.
The 1969 Monaco offered, as a $50 option, the first modern polyellipsoidal automotive road lamp. Called "Super-Lite" and mounted in the driver's side of the grille, this auxiliary headlamp was produced in a joint venture between Chrysler Corporation and Sylvania. It uses an 85-watt halogen bulb and was intended as a mid-beam, to extend the reach of the low beams during turnpike travel when low beams alone were inadequate, but high beams would produce excessive glare to oncoming drivers.
Available models for 1969 included a two-door hardtop coupe, four-door hardtop sedan, four-door pillared sedan, and four-door station wagons with six- or nine-passenger capacity. A new Brougham option package included a vinyl roof on sedans and hardtops and a split-bench front seat with a reclining mechanism on the passenger side. Monaco wagons received wood-grained vinyl trim along their sides and across the dual-action tailgate.
Sales of the Polara and Monaco were down by nearly 20,000 cars compared with 1968, with the Monaco line accounting for 38,566 of the 127,252 full-size cars made by Dodge for the year.
1970
The 1970 models featured new front and rear styling, including complex loop-type bumpers front and rear. In the front, the new bumper enclosed a new diecast grille and the headlamps. At the rear, the double-loop bumper enclosed the taillamps. Reversing lamps were moved up into the endcaps that terminated the quarter panels, in slotted body-color housings. The designers chose to emphasize the length of the hood this year, which meant that the redesigned front end grew by three inches. However, the new rear end was four inches shorter.Improvements to the suspension were promoted as the new "Torsion-Quiet" system, which used strategically placed rubber isolators to reduce road noise and vibrations. The rear wheel track was broadened by nearly three inches as Dodge installed the rear axle that had been used only on Wagons on all 1970 Monaco models.
The Brougham and 500 option packages continued, as did the availability of the Super-Lite, but the 440 Magnum V8 was dropped. The version 440, available only in wagons for 1969, became the new top engine for all Monacos. Despite all of the changes, which cost Chrysler a rather large sum of money, Monaco sales declined, with 24,692 Monacos built for the model year.
1971
The 1971 model year Monaco received a facelift featuring a new grille within the bumper that had been used the previous year, and other minor styling changes focused mainly on the rear. The Super-Lite was no longer available because of a lack of consumer interest and challenges to its legality in some states. A new single-loop rear bumper and larger taillamps were installed.The 500 option package was discontinued. A stereo cassette player-recorder with a microphone was new on the option list. Bucket seats remained available despite the loss of the 500 package, and the Brougham package was also available for $220, despite the addition of a separate Polara Brougham series.
All engines had their compression ratio reduced so they could all run satisfactorily on regular-grade gasoline. The two-barrel 383 versions still has the same power rating, the four-barrel 383 dropped to, and the 440 dropped to.
Monaco station wagons, which in 1969 and 1970 featured woodgrain trim on the lower bodysides, now had woodgrain high on the sides, including around the side windows. The new vinyl decals were translucent, allowing some paint color to shine through.
Despite the power losses and mild styling change, sales slightly rose. About 900 more Monacos were built for 1971.