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.
| platform = C-body
| layout = FR layout
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| transmission = 3-speed manual<br />4-speed manual<br />3-speed automatic
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| predecessor = Dodge 880 (for 1965)
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".
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 (pillarless) hardtop sedan, conventional four-door (pillared) 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.
<gallery widths="200" heights="150">
File:1965 Dodge Monaco (34737540180) (cropped).jpg|1965 Dodge Monaco 2-door hardtop
File:'66 Dodge Monaco 500 Convertible (Orange Julep).JPG|1966 Dodge Monaco 500 convertible (Canadian market only)
File:Dade City ACL Station Museum & Dodge Monaco Wagon.JPG|1966 Dodge Monaco station wagon
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Second generation (1969–1973)
1969
left|thumb|A 1969 Monaco 500 2-door hardtop, equipped with the optional Super-Lite projector road lamp
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 (projector) 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 (except on the two-door hardtops). Monaco wagons received wood-grained vinyl trim along their sides and across the dual-action (side- and bottom-hinged) 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
thumb|1970 Dodge Monaco 500 4-door
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 (102 mm) 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 (and Polara) sales declined, with 24,692 Monacos built for the model year.
1971
thumb|1971 Dodge Monaco Station Wagon
thumb|1971 Dodge Monaco Station Wagon, rear view showing the new woodgrain trim application
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. The V8 was rated at , and the fully equipped car featured power windows and a standard vinyl roof. The car weighed over two tons with a top speed of 127 mph.
1976
At the start of the 1976 model year, exterior changes on the full-size C-body 1976 Dodge Monaco were minimal. However, all models (including police packages) now had the former high-series front panel with hidden headlights. Chrysler's new Lean Burn system was introduced to reduce exhaust emissions (only on the 400 cubic inch engine). The four-door hardtop, which had been part of the Dodge Monaco lineup during the previous ten model years (from 1966 to 1968, from 1969 to 1973 and from 1974 to 1975) ever since the Dodge Monaco made its debut from eleven model years earlier (1965), had been discontinued during the end of the previous model year (1975), which reduced the choice of body styles to just three offerings, the four-door wagon, four-door sedan, and two-door hardtop for the 1976 model year. A with a two-barrel carburetor and 150 bhp became standard on the base Monaco. At the same time, the Royal Monaco Broughams and wagons were downgraded to with 2-barrel carburetors, but the Royal Monaco continued with 1975's with a two-barrel carburetor. The with a four-barrel carburetor could still be ordered.
1977 (Royal Monaco)
For the 1977 model year, the Monaco was effectively split into two model lines, with the Royal Monaco retaining the full-size C-platform alongside the Chrysler New Yorker, with the standard Monaco replacing the Coronet B-platform intermediate. Offered in standard and Brougham trims, the Royal Monaco was produced as a two-door hardtop sedan, four-door sedan, and five-door station wagon.
The 318 cubic-inch V8 became the standard engine for the first time. Outside of California, the 360 V8 (with a two-barrel carburetor) and the 400 V8 remained available; the 440 V8 was offered as an option. A 3-speed automatic was the only transmission available. Beginning in 1985, AMC had begun to build the Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon and the Dodge Diplomat/Plymouth Gran Fury/Chrysler Fifth Avenue for Chrysler under contract.
At the time of the sale, AMC was nearing the release of the Premier, a collaboration between AMC and Renault to develop a full-size car for the North American market. The largest AMC-branded vehicle since the 1978 Matador, the Premier was to become a full model line, including a four-door sedan, station wagon, and two-door coupe (named the Allure). To further distinguish the AMC Premier from the Renault 25, the model line received an exterior update by Giorgetto Giugiaro; the interior was restyled by AMC designer Dick Teague (one of his final designs). For 1988 and 1989, Eagle sold fewer than 90,000 Premiers, forcing Chrysler to shutter the Bramalea plant on several occasions. To expand production of the facility and also to fulfill its obligation to Renault sooner, Chrysler opted to offer a Dodge-branded version of the model line alongside the Premier for the 1990 model year.
Body
For 1990, the Eagle Premier underwent a minor revision (leading to the deletion of the Design Giugiaro badges