1975 Chevrolet Monza
1975 Chevrolet Monza
H-BODY PAGE
  1975, the Chevrolet Monza is born.  Due to the energy crisis of the early '70's, car manufacturers were concerned with fuel prices emmisions control and introduced numerous smaller vehicles to provide an alternative to the big gas-guzzling cars of the early '70's.  Chevrolet introduced the Vega in 1971 and this was the platform that the future Monza was to be based on.  The Monza, based on Ferrari designs and originally to be named the Chapparall, was to be powered with a Wankel rotary engine.  This engine never came to be and Chevrolet dropped in the Vega's 2.3L L4 engine and Chevrolet's small block 262 V8.  If you had the pleasure of living in California, you also had an option of a 350ca 5.7L V8 to power your little 2,800 lbs car.
  The first Monzas were 2+2 hatchbacks
with quad headlights and an entire front
end was a soft urethane that enclosed the
grill, parking lamps, headlights and a small
front air dam.  The rear end on the Monza
was also the same urethane that included
the wrap-around taillamps, licence plate
and trunk lock.  The 2+2 included 2 front
bucket seats and the 2 bucket-style rear seats had a common seat-back that folded flat to provide more cargo space in the hatch.   Standard features included a high-rise centre console, advance torque-arm suspension, power ventilation, full guage instrumentation, wheel covers and steel-belted radial tires.  The interior                                                                                          included vinyl upholstery trim and                                                                                            sound insulation.  Knit cloth, vinyl and                                                                                    genuine leather were the available seat                                                                                   cover options.  For those that wanted a                                                                                   few extras, the Monza 2+2 included                                                                                          numerous options.  Space-Saver spare                                                                                   tire, aluminum wheels, power brakes                                                                                        and steering, numeros radio options,                                                                                       rear seat speaker, auxiliary lighting, tint                                                                                   glass, air conditioning, body side                                                                                              moulding, reaer window defog, deluxe                                                                                    seat belts, tilt steering, positraction rear axle, heavy duty radiator and battery options, sport mirros and an automatic transmisson.  This 2+2 Monza entered the car market on a high note when it was voted Motor Trends 1975 Car of the Year.
  Later on in the 1975 model year,
Chevrolet introduced 2 more Monzas to
the public, the Towne Coupe and the 'S'
Hatchback.  The Towne Coupe was a
"dressy" Monza with a trunk instead of a
hatchback and the 'S' hatchback was
basically a bare-bones 2+2 with minimal
options to keep the cost to the comsumer
down.  The Towne Coupe with it's vinyl roof was set with large "opera" windows.  The front and rear end of the Towne Coupe was much different from the 2+2 in that it included metal bumpers with black bumper guards with a single round headlight design instead of the quad lights found on it's hatchback sibling and a different rear lighting assembly.  Essentially the standard and optional features were the same for each model as they were for the 2+2 hatchback.
                                                                                 The new Monza provided a sleek-
                                                                              looking small car platform that enabled                                                                                   the buyer an option of a powerful V8                                                                                        engine, an option that was never offered                                                                                 on it's predecessor, the Vega.  It was the                                                                                 beginning of a 6-year run that would                                                                                        provide the market with an small, sporty,                                                                                yet economical car for years to come.
1975 Monza Production Totals
69,238 - Monza Towne Coupe's
57,170 - Monza 2+2 Sport Hatchback's
  9,795 - Monza 'S' Hatchback Coupe's
A total of 136,203 Monza's were produced in 1975