Supercharging Breathes Life into SS Tradition I hit the GM dealership expecting to be handed keys to a black Impala SS. What I got instead was a screaming-bright-yellow, supercharged Monte Carlo SS. Mellow yellow this car isn't!
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| The 2004 Monte Carlo SS is Chevy's latest example to rekindle the SS flame. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
During the muscle-car era of the '60s and '70s every North American auto enthusiast knew that a Chevrolet product tagged with an "SS" badge was something special. Chevy used the "SS" denotation to identify the "Super Sport" version of many of its bread and butter models. Typically these were sedans and coupes laden with gobs of V8 horsepower, sway bars, stiffened suspension and bias-ply polyglass wide-oval tires. Well, in the last few years Chevy has been working hard to spice up its image by rekindling the SS flame. The 2004 Monte Carlo SS is the latest example of this effort.
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| The 2004 Monte Carlo is a big car, reminiscent of the sporty land yachts of the '60s and '70s. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
The Monte Carlo isn't exactly a small, inconspicuous 2-door, especially in monochromatic, competition yellow. Regardless of color, the midsize coupe exhibits a fairly bold, love it or hate it design that begins with a long hood and ends with a substantial length of trunk lid capped-off with a sizeable spoiler. Along the way, bulging shoulders, marked with a definitive crease, flow smoothly over the wheel openings.
The overall design of the '04 Monte is definitely a modern incarnation of the 2-door land yachts that were portrayed as "sporty" in the '60s and '70s. As I climbed aboard the test car and pulled the door shut, I was instantly reminded of that over-sized feeling. Yup, this was a heavy door that slammed shut with a sharp thunk, reminiscent of the bigger rear-wheel drive Monte Carlos of yesteryear. Closing the door was a process that imparted a sense of substance. Call it clunkiness over refinement, but don't call it flimsy.
