Key Takeaways
There was no denying that the Pontiac Grand Prix of the 1960s had a sense of style other automakers wished they could duplicate . Even though the nature of the Grand Prix ’s winning style was elusive , it did n’t prevent others in Detroit from act on it . For Dodge , this pursuance took the form of the 1965 - 1968 Dodge Monaco and Monaco 500 .
However , despite their in effect efforts and to the dismay of other medium - price brand , the 1960s really belong to Pontiac . Ever since Bunkie Knudsen tore off the hallowed " Silver Streak " hood trim for 1957 , Pontiac had been on the rise . Swiftly , seemingly from nowhere , a deliver the goods compounding of full looks and deft merchandising go up the " blanket Track " make to a secure third place in total industriousness sales .
Two long - established competitors , Dodge and Mercury , had to scramble just to stay in the race , a race made all the more unmanageable by the fact that both virtually abandoned the medium - priced market tor 1961 - 1962 , provide all the glory – and most of the earnings – to Pontiac . Mercury ’s discharge at Pontiac is another account , but Dodge ’s pinch - up endeavour included a new name – Monaco – and the labors of Jeffrey Godshall as one of the " Dodge Boys " in the styling studio .
" It was in other February 1963 , during one of the cold Midwestern winters in computer storage , that I achieved a goal I ’d been purport at since I was 14 years onetime : becoming a designer ( ' stylist ' back then ) for Chrysler Corporation , " says Godshall . " It had taken a long eight month since calibrate from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh , but I ’d in the end land the business I ’d fructify my centre on . After a few months in a snap - all orientation studio under Dick Macadam ( later Elwood Engel ’s replacement as Chrysler design frailty - President of the United States ) , I was transport to my first output assignment in the Dodge Exterior Studio . "
" I was prosperous to get this plum tree billet , " he continues , " given the intense ongoing rivalry between sib Dodge and Plymouth , a competition keenly felt by their respective stylist . In mid-1963 , the Dodge studio was assign the final touches on its 1965 model , the " A " series in Chrysler Engineering - speak . Against one wall stood the Lucius Clay dollar for the novel B - dead body Coronet , the most vanilla extract - looking car I ’d ever seen . Mid - studio , work was proceed on a nicely facelifted A - body Dart . But on a political platform at the west last of the long elbow room sat the one really young car to be seen : the big C - physical structure Dodge . "
Dodge’s Auto Design in the Early 1960s
The young Dodge C - physical structure was the first novel - design full - size of it Dodge since the 122 - in - wheelbase Polara / Matador of 1960 - 1961 , when the division storm the modest - price field with the related to high - economic value Dodge Dart . alas , Dart ’s runaway 1960 succeeder lead Dodge to empty the medium - priced rank , which were then chivy by declining sales , new challenger from low - priced stain ( Chevy Impala , Ford Galaxie ) , and the late demise of Nash , Hudson , Packard Clipper , and , of line , Edsel .
Chrysler had two other new unibody entries in this beleaguered class , the 1960 Chrysler and DeSoto . But DeSoto was dead by model year 1962 , leaving Chrysler as the caller ’s sole medium - priced line . exchange the traditional large Dodges , at least in theory , was the Polara 500 , a gussied - up version of that year ’s new mid - size Dart .
But while the , er , unambiguously style Dodge Dart die nowhere fast , large cars began staging a comeback . Dodge scramble to make its mid - sizing more salable and was even faster to answer dealer pleas for the return of a genuine " banner . " The latter was hastily enclose in bound 1962 as the Chrysler Custom 880 , basically that year ’s Chrysler with a 1961 Polara front clip and mixed trim drawn mostly from the parts bin .
This was an ironic move indeed , because the 1962 Chrysler , itself a last - minute foundation , used 1961 Polara front and rear door , decklid , back panel , and rearward bumper . The only real Chrysler parts on it were new de - finned rear quarters , and the Custom 880 had those too .
They might have called it the 880 to involve that this patched - together merchandise was double as much railroad car as a top - credit line Dart 440 . In any type , it was a quick and easy way to restore the traditional large Dodge , lead contriver loose to separate out the rest of the pedigree . Those efforts bring out a new compact Dodge Dart for 1963 ( substitute the 1961 - 1962 Lancer ) ; a slightly upsized , more schematic 1963 - 1964 mid - size ; then the new big elevator car for 1965 , when the average again got new styling , as well as the old Coronet name .
What’s in a Name: The Story of the “Fratzog”
Speaking of names , beginning in 1962 , Dodge cars sported a fresh Modern emblem , triangular in shape and indite of three triangular factor . According to stylist Bob Gale , it was develop via an in - studio rival . " We all stress dissimilar aim , " he recalls . " Mine add up in second and Don Wright ’s came in first , so we used his . "
Wright , a retired Chrysler design chief , remembers the event well . " The company had an outside intent firm working on a new logotype , " he say recently , " but nothing they came up with was ' self-propelling . ' Bill Brownlie thought we in the studio apartment could do better , and challenged us to come up with some fresh ideas . I imprint the design around element of the ' Forward Look ' emblem , repeated three times . "
" I think the design appear pretty salutary as a 2 - D graphic , " he carry on , " but I never did like the 3 - five hundred interlingual rendition the hombre in the Ornamentation Studio later came up with to put on the automobile . Of of course , being a triangular logo , it catch the attention of Mercedes - Benz . Their lawyers and Chrysler ’s lawyers move round and pear-shaped about the design for several years , but [ unlike Studebaker in 1953 ] we never had to change it . "
When it came time to submit a patent drawing for right of first publication purposes , Chrysler attorneys ask , " What do you call it ? " Stuck for a name , someone in the studio came up with the nonsensical " fratzog " ( which Wright still despises ) . Now you cognise .
1965’s New Dodge Designs
1965 was the first metre since the " P " series machine of five years sooner that a adult Dodge was sketched on a clean sheet of paper . The effect embodied the philosophical system of Chrysler ’s Vice - President of Styling , Elwood Engel .
A George Walker man at Ford , Engel was lure to Highland Park in the fall of 1961 by Chrysler President Lynn Townsend to put back the gifted Virgil Exner , whom division handler tended to charge for the marketplace bankruptcy of the shriveled 1962 Dodge and Plymouth . In line to Exner ’s late-1950s finned wedges and his Modern valorous - style long - cap / short - deck cars , Engel favored long horizontal line in side opinion , with massive front fender , taper rearward end , and adequate - duration hoods and pack of cards . In other words , handsome boxes shaped to accentuate sizing . It was n’t a striking or peculiarly original face , but it was just what Francis Everett Townsend believed was necessary to put Chrysler back into the mainstream of American styling – and sales .
The newfangled big 1965 Dodge was a perfect rumination of Engel ’s dictates , being attractive but not adventurous . doorway were shared with a likewise reborn full - size of it Plymouth Fury . So were the uppers on most consistence style , which sport curving side ice as pioneered by Exner ’s 1957 Imperial .
The Polara name was attached to the lower - priced model group , along with the more de luxe Custom 880s . The latter , however , include a six - window saloon that was shared with Chrysler but not Fury or Polara . All models wore a new variation of Dodge ’s " barbell " grille report , which originated on the 1962 Plymouth , was abandoned and then resurrected by Dodge chief designer Bill Brownlie for the mid - size of it 1964 Polara . It stay a Dodge hallmark for six years .
Odd dual headlight locating had been a hallmark of mid - size Dodges since 1962 , but the big young 1965s had uncomplicated side - by - side position at the outer ends of the grille . In between , a downhearted hood and raised bumper center form a more rectilinear barbell . Grillework was similar to that of the 880s from 1964 , but it was convex rather than concave , with slender vertical boxes hold in recess vertical bars , all peak in side view . formal , perhaps , but commercial .
High , blocky front buffer top to body - side " grapheme " lines that tapered gently toward the rear , which deport the car ’s one original styling factor : deposit - shaped " delta " taillights . These , too , would be a Dodge picture for the rest of the ten .
Dodge’s New Styling in 1965
Dodge ’s Modern styling in 1965 included a taillight treatment that was complot up literally overnight by Diran Yazejian , who joined Chrysler in 1959 after take at Art Center School in Los Angeles .
" I was push on the back end of the clay dollar , " Yazejian recalls , " trying to translate a sketch of mine into cadaver . From dead posterior , the design turned downward at the oddment , but it just was n’t working out and studio direction was get spooky . One good afternoon , as my boss , studio apartment coach John Schwarz , was leaving for the day , he said he ’d give me until the next morning to work out something satisfactory or they ’d move on to another blueprint , " he continues .
" I came up with the musical theme of mirroring the downward shape at the ends , thereby create a symmetrically squeeze taillight . Working with clay modeler Dick Bernock and Don Kloka , we rough out it in on overtime and by next first light , when Schwarz and Brownlie come in , we had something I feel would work . Brownlie wish what we ’d done , and I was set aside to refine the design , which run into product . " With fluctuation , this wide admired pool stick soon circularise throughout the Dodge line .
Those first delta taillights carried a bright horizontal partition measure intersected by a circular reflector – except on the new top - line Monaco hardtop coupe . There , the concave back panel was traversed by a bright horizontal die - cast small-arm ( in the beginning narrow , but inspissate at Engel ’s request ) that " swim " in red charge plate and extend halfway onto the taillight lenses .
The melodic theme was to make the conjuring trick of full - breadth lamp . Although price prevented any lighting behind the charge plate , one determined designer , Frank Ruff , retrofitted his own Monaco with tiny bulbs that gave a continuous ruddy glow .
1965 Dodge Monaco Exterior
The 1965 Dodge Monaco mount the same 121 - in wheelbase as other C - body Dodges , but was its own one - model serial publication . Mainstream 1965s were initially pronounce Polara and Polara 800 , but someone plainly obtain cold-blooded feet , and the conversant Custom 880 name continued in the United States ( but not Canada ) . This switch – authorize by a Product Planning letter dated May 26 , 1964 – came so of late that other 1965 Customs had no series nameplate at all .
Billed as the " Limited Edition Dodge for the Man with Unlimited Taste , " the 1965 Monaco was doubtless invigorate by Pontiac ’s Grand Prix , whose astonishing 1963 production of 72,959 units was a wake - up call for every product planner in Detroit .
Even Dodge ’s choice of name was the obvious " other half " of the well - known Monaco Grand Prix racing event . Gene Weis , a retired Chrysler preparation executive , recalls that advertizing agency BBD&O mat that the numerical Dodge serial publication name of the solar day were deadening . Weis remembers that the way created the Monaco ’s crest – and probably came up with the name , too . " We in mathematical product Planning had nothing to do with the names , " he recalls .
Although Grand Prix had been restfully introduce for 1962 , it blossomed as Pontiac ’s " epitome automobile " for 1963 : an aggressively handsome hardtop with a unique roofline and concave backlight , minimal chrome , and specific grille , rearward ending , and home . tastily refined yet sporty , the 1963 GP sick an appealing " anchor ring " over the entire Pontiac line . The 1965 Monaco , it was hop , would do the same for Dodge .
But the Monaco was n’t quite a Grand Prix , although it did cost a moment less ( $ 3308 versus $ 3426 ) . Yes , that special rear end set it apart from other heavy Dodges , but the grille was the same as any plain Polara ’s . Despite an overall willingness to spend money on their 1965s , Dodge planners did n’t come up with funds for designers to give the Monaco its own epitome - construction " face . " ( Note that they did n’t make this misapprehension with the 1966 Charger fastback , which used Coronet front sheetmetal but gain distinction with costly disappearing headlamps . )
And while the 1965 Dodge Monaco ’s bodysides were indeed dechromed – brightwork was confined to a slim full - length upper - dead body molding and a ribbed rocking chair - panel applique – the outcome was somehow less than the Grand Prix ’s treatment . Some title record photos show that rear buffer annulus were considered , but as luck would have it they were block when the sill molding was added .
The 1965 Dodge Monaco did have some neat exterior touch , though , like fender - climb turn indicator and special roulette wheel covers with three - blade simulated bang - off centers . While new , the hardtop roofline mimicked the inverse - taper C - pillar introduced on the 1964 Polara . A vinyl radical cover in contraband or white was supernumerary toll .
1965 Dodge Monaco Interior
Where Dodge pick out to spend its money in 1965 – especially where the 1965 Dodge Monaco was occupy – was on DoI . " We reached the peak of sorts in our 1965 car , " explains former Chrysler planning executive Gene Weis . " Though a financial genius , Lynn Townsend admit that he ' did n’t get it on mathematical product ' and consequently give [ merchandise planning head ] Bob Anderson a free rein in planning the 1965 line . We spent money on every aspect of our 1965 cars , add up content to best the competitor , and targeting GM . "
That certainly usher inside the 1965 Dodge Monaco . A unique three - verbalize guidance wheel fronted the expensive - bet cushiony instrument venire find in other big Dodges , with two imposingly tumid circular standard of measurement pods dead forward and a full - width concave brushed - aluminum board below .
Seating comprised buckets front and rearward , useable in three shades of pleated saddle - metric grain vinyl ( red , opprobrious , and cordovan ) or , optionally , with vinyl and " Dawson " cloth in blue or aqua . The software program tray was cleverly contour to couple with the individual rearward seat - rear , echoing the Thunderbird Sports Roadster of a few years before .
Like earlier Chrysler 300s , the 1965 Dodge Monaco came with a full - length center console . This provide a padded armrest / entrepot bin , hide rear cigar lighter , ashtray supporting players and , where rank , a tach up front . Transmission choices admit the common Torqueflite reflex or a four - velocity manual of arms , both with console shifter .
A unfeigned novelty was the utilization of rattan wicker accent on the Monaco ’s door and quarter panels , as well as over much of the backs of the vinyl front buckets ( but not with fabric upholstery ) . Done in a natural light cream , the criss - cross caning was unique and attractive . Above was a perforated vinyl star . And , of course , there was sparkle chrome everywhere , brightwork that literally lost its luster once the regime start regulating the reflection of interior component a few years later .
The 1965 Dodge Monaco ’s standard engine was a revised version of Chrysler ’s workhorse 383 - Criminal Investigation Command V-8 with 325 bhp . vendee seeking more muscle could prefer from two optional " wedgeheads " : a revived 413 with 340 bhp , or the intimate 426 with 365 horse . All Monaco railway locomotive had four - barrel carburetors and thus demand premium fuel .
Canadian Monacos bid more locomotive engine pick , embark on with a received 225 - Criminal Investigation Command Slant Six , which must have labored powerful under the 3975 - pound curbing weight . Of the 2,068 Monacos build for 1965 in Chrysler ’s Windsor , Ontario , works across the river from Detroit , a simple 40 had the six . There were other divergence in Dominion Dodges . To concentrate plant complexness , all Canadian - built seniors utilized Plymouth Fury Interior Department , including dashboards . Canadian also were offered a Monaco convertible that Americans were n’t – something that hold true through the repose of the decade .
1965 Dodge Monaco Sales Results
The 1965 Dodge Monaco sale effect for the United States sum up 13,096 orders , account for an impressive 10 percent of big - Dodge output , but still far behind Grand Prix ’s 57,900 unit of measurement .
Although combat the GP was ruffianly enough , the Monaco also faced unwelcome and perhaps unwise challenger from within its own folk . Plymouth ’s big bucket - butt Sport Fury , for object lesson , sold 44,900 surd - tops and convertibles that year . Worse , for a paltry $ 192 more than a Monaco , you could buy a non - letter 1965 Chrysler 300 , a larger , arguably better - looking railroad car with the added prestige of the Chrysler brand .
And if the truth be tell , Chrysler was still the bay window ’s medium - price anchor . Since 1961 , Chrysler had offered a Newport saloon sharply stickered at around $ 3000 or less – piranha - like pricing that help oneself kill DeSoto and in earnest hampered Dodge ’s paying back to the medium - priced field .
consort to former Chrysler planner Gene Weis , this manoeuvre ruminate the make ’s policy of " no junior variation , " a gibelike stab at the 1961 " senior " compacts from Buick , Olds , and Pontiac . direction feel it sound to tolerate cheap big Chryslers than thin out the stigma ’s image with little Chryslers . Therefore , the Engel - title 1965 Chryslers were big , attractive , priced decent , and go under a production phonograph recording for the marque .
1966 Dodge Monaco
The 1966 Dodge Monaco attempted to amend on the impressive unveiling of its predecesssor . Senior Dodges in general find a tasty facelift for 1966 . The lower bodyside ridge now carried up and over the front cycle well to fresh pointed fenders with tall bumper ends . The barbell grille was all-inclusive at the ends and narrow in the middle , squeezed by a new hood and bumper . Slim , perpendicular die - cast grille barroom had a " blip " in the eye , forming a subtle shiny horizontal accent ( as on the Charger ) . Designed by Dick Clayton and Carl Cameron , this posh front was distinctive of their piece of work : well handled form combine with precise detailing .
Out back , young decklid and taillight designs formed an challenging series of broken planes , the piece of work of Frank Ruff . The lamps were still wedges outboard of the trunklid , but tapered in toward the middle of it , where a eubstance - colour panel dribble DODGE or MONACO in marvelous , thin letters ( designed by Cameron ) .
Each inboard taillight section comprised two horizontal concavities . Polaras fill up these with undimmed , vertically textured die castings . Monacos again used reddish lenses , only this clock time , thanks in part to Ruff ’s campaign , everything perch up to create a readily identifiable nighttime signature . With this , the senior Dodges had " barbell " graphics at each end , a nice cutaneous senses not widely apprise at the time .
In 1966 , all the top - line prominent Dodges bore the Monaco name . Granted , Monaco had more romance to it than Custom 880 , but this move only reduce the image of the 1965 strong point hardtop , which was lamely relabelled as the Monaco 500 for 1966 . It was another last - minute decision , made sometime between April 23 and May 20 , 1965 .
Equally mystify , the Custom convertible and six - windowpane sedan straggle along with that name . This left a " regular " Monaco occupation with a four - window sedan chair , two- and four - doorway hardtop , and two- and three - seat Charles’s Wain price from $ 3,033 to $ 3,539 . The 500 started at $ 3,604 .
Engine choices were also rearrange . Standard power for steady Monacos was a two - barrel 383 with 270 bhp . This was also a no - toll option on the 500 , which otherwise issue forth with a four - barrel 325 - bhp premium - fuel interpretation that was optional on lesser Monacos . usable for all grown Dodges was Chrysler ’s biggest V-8 yet , the young high - carrying out wedgehead 440 . inquisitively , it give away only 350 bhp in Dodges , 15 few than in like Plymouths and Chryslers .
The Modern regular Monacos were not in haste rebadged Customs ( which would have had Polara taillights , by the way of life ) . Rather , they were upgrade to some trim and feature to begin with design for the " real " Monaco – things like a bright dice - cast hood windsplit , stand - up " fratzog " hood ornament , and those telling red taillights . Trouble was , this only further blurred differentiation between the specialty hardtop and other 1966 Monacos .
grant to retired Dodge design manager Bob Gale , the Monaco 500 narrowly miss out on being more exclusive . Chrysler planners and stylists had created a new two - threshold hardtop roof for the 1966 Chrysler 300 , with wraparound degree Celsius - column and a low backlight . This was offer to Dodge , but according to a still - incredulous Gale , " Bill Brownlie turn it down . He did n’t call back it look as good as the Dodge roof ! "
With all this , the big sports - luxury Dodge quickly turn a loss its special position , becoming a sort of upmarket Polara 500 ( but with no convertible alternative ) . This demotion was a by - product of ousting Custom 880 for the more saleable Monaco name , which was n’t a bad estimation .
After all , Chrysler had done the same affair with honest achiever by replace Saratogas with non - letter 300 models for 1962 . But the 300 recording label had been around seven years at that stop and had a warm performance image , whereas Monaco had no " red-hot railway car " reputation and was " switch down " after only one year .
1966 Dodge Monaco 500
Names aside , the 1966 Dodge Monaco 500 was easily the handsomest of the great 1966 Dodges . This vehicle had a clean demarcation , too , as the upper - dead body molding gave way to a childlike fine - line paint stripe available in four colors . Circular " 500 " medallions ( deal with Polara 500s ) appeared on the front fender , and smoother new full - length rocker moldings turned up at the front to match the bumper . A trio of slender chrome oblong filled with black paint propose louvers on the lower front cowcatcher and door .
The 500 keep on the 1965 Dodge Monaco ’s distinctive wicker trimming , but feature new " casing - type " front bucket seats . received upholstery was all - vinyl in a pick of seven colors ( including a new olive spook refer Citron ) ; black cloth - and - vinyl was optional .
It was still a striking interior , but some " thrifting " pass as the rearward buckets gave way to a ceremonious three - passenger bench rear , which dictate a shorter , redesign centre console table . " After Townsend grew more surefooted , " former Chrysler planning executive Gene Weis remembers , " Product Planning came under frightful press to reduce costs . " There were several new options for the 1966 Dodge Monaco 500 , however , include six - path power hind end and a tilt / scope steering bike .
Deep - dish roulette wheel covering were also new for the 1966 Dodge Monaco 500 , but they were shared with Polara 500s and the 1966 Charger – and they were only covers as fight to the Grand Prix ’s aluminum cycle . Although the studio apartment had designed a singular Monaco 500 cover with a dice - cast " sunburst " applique , it was cancel before yield . ( The plan resurfaced on the " outflow limited " Sundance trim software system for the 1974 Plymouth Satellite Sebring . )
The standard 1966 Dodge Monaco sold well at nearly 50,000 units for the model year – a lilliputian over 5,000 more than the final Custom 880s . But that might have been at the expense of the peculiarity hardtop , because U.S. build for that model plunged to 7,332 ( some sources number 10,340 ) . Another factor might well have been the Chrysler 300 , whose 1966 two - door hardtop depart $ 21 below the $ 3,604 1966 Dodge Monaco 500 .
Dodge Design in the Mid 1960s
While merchandising types at Dodge chafe about names , gameboard interior designer had other worry . During the mid- to late 1960s , many Detroit stylists sustain from an acute case of " Pontiacitis " – a kind of inferiority complex bring on by being perennially outclassed by the Wide Track guys . When it came to gravid car , Pontiac could seem to do no wrong .
Ford , for object lesson , assume a close look at the 1963 Pontiac – with its vertically pile two-fold headlamp and clean , architectural phone line – and produce a copycat railroad car for 1965 . Although it deal well , this imitation prompted a joke about it being " the box seat the Pontiac came in . "
And the big 1965 Pontiacs were completely newfangled – with sensuous , flow lines and Coke - bottle bodysides that blow away both the Ford and the full - size Dodge . Thus , when it came sentence to design the all - newfangled " C " series bounteous Dodge for 1967 , it seemed that the Dodge studio sketch with one middle on the 1965 Pontiac catalog , where plushy renderings shouted from every page , " Top this ! "
" We certainly tried with the 1967 big - Dodge front oddment , " recall former Dodge stylist Jeffrey Godshall , " which I shape out with Bob Gale , then studio apartment C - body supervisory program . Though the barbell was still there , it was n’t so obvious . " Flanking a center panel with either vertical bars ( Polara ) or eggcrate ( Monaco ) were encompassing , blacked - in orthogonal air inlets , each bisected by a hopeful horizontal prevention .
headlamp , two five - inch round units , baby-sit side - by - side in rotary dice - cast housings at each bar ’s outboard end . But this appearance was n’t finalized until fairly tardily in the program , as Dodge keep to try out with vertically stacked dual headlight just like you - know - who ( not to refer Plymouth ’s Fury , which also got them since 1965 ) .
The bumper and hood configuration of the 1967 - 1968 Dodge offer wordless testimony to designers ' indecision on the headlamps issue . dish-shaped upper surfaces on the bumper swept down and out toward the side , mirrored by the head sharpness of the cowl and its smart accent casting . The idea was that stack light could be incorporate simply by notching half - lap in the outer goal of both the hoodlum moulding and the comparable bumper surface .
" I ca n’t return exactly how or why we decided on horizontal lamps . I cogitate the bumper mountain pass required were just too difficult for Chrysler ’s stamping multitude , " state Godshall . Gale recollect the horizontal placement was choose because it made the front look wider . couturier Diran Yazejian remembers the modification come with an 11th - hour decision by then - ware provision chief Harry Cheesebrough . disregarding , this battle represent Dodge ’s frustration at strain to top the 1965 Pontiac , whose vertical headlamp count so " right . "
1967 Dodge Monaco
As much as the interior designer wanted their 1967 Dodge Monaco to keep up with Pontiac ’s style , those unpredictable wide-eyed Trackers came up with more new big - car styling for 1967 , and Grand Prix was again the star .
Not only was the Grand Prix available as convertible as well as a hardtop , it have on extravagant go away headlamps and underhand slitted twist signal into the fender ends above a prominent bumper / grille . ( Dodge cribbed the latter idea for backup lamps on the 1970 Monaco . )
At least the Dodge Monaco finally got its own grille for 1967 – or rather , its own grille center . This was a rectangle split by a horizontal bar bearing the Monaco crest ahead of a ticklish eggcrate , which was unmistakably similar to the rough-textured aluminum shield on the Dodge design studio apartment atmosphere vent .
" It was Chuck Mashigan who first used this grain for the fender release on the 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car , " reminds couturier Diran Yazejian . Dodge designers embraced this eggcrate so sky-high that within a few year it appeared on every Dodge grill , save the Dart ’s .
The big 1967 Dodge vehicles , include the Monaco , reckon a whole lot bigger than the 1966 , and they were . Wheelbase , for example , went to 122 inch , for the most part at the pressure of the California Highway Patrol . Like the storied princess who could feel a pea beneath all those mattress , those CHiPs guys must have been right tender to require a one - inch longer wheelbase for their Polara patrol cars . Overall length increased more dramatically , stretch along over half a ft to 219.6 inches .
Bodyside styling was more dramatic too , thanks to Dick Watson , a talented , friendly bozo whose previous study admit the 1965 big - Dodge bodyside and front end . As Watson worked it out , bodyside sheetmetal was nappy . A panoptic , concave chamfer ran along the upper soundbox with a widen taper toward the derriere that turned down to match the rear deck plane .
Along the lower character railway line , in the rearward after part , the aerofoil transformed smoothly into a horizontal skag that ran back into the bumper – a treatment influenced by the 1965 Pontiac ( which had a similar full - length humiliated skag ) . On the 1967 Dodge Monaco 500 , the entire low body below a full - length bright molding was paneled with ribbed atomic number 13 , yet another approximation pep up by the Bonneville .
Vast plane of sheetmetal made up the cowl and trunklid . Rear quarter terminated at a saucy slant . Bob Gale recall that they were primitively more vertical , " but Elwood made us put on more rake to the back last , exclaim ' That ’s more 1967 ! ' "
The Style of the 1967 Dodge Monaco
The style of the 1967 Dodge Monaco was cautiously think and something to behold . The delta taillights on the 1967 Dodge Monaco swelled into oversize flaring trapezoids above a notched bumper . It was the best looping yet of the delta construct , with the big hero sandwich giving a bold , brash face that was remarkably Dodge . The area between the lamp ' inner and outer bright bezels was paint sintered ash grey metallic on Polaras , taillight bolshie on Monacos .
Uppers on the Dodge Monacos remained crisp and rectangular except on the fresh 1967 semi - fastback two - door hardtops . This innovation , conceived by Ed Westcott of the Chrysler Studio , sported a big triangular canvass panel that flowed flawlessly into the aft quarters . Dodge designers had skin for class to achieve this consolidation of coke - pillar and quarter panel , but they might just as well have hold the old design with the tower perched atop the quarter .
The popular vinyl group roofs of the day required hopeful finishing moldings that slashed across otherwise pristine surfaces , breaking up their continuity ( At least the Pontiac stylist faced this same thwarting . ) The novel hardtops also have menstruum - through ventilation , identified by a paint aura - exit radiator grille in the upper deck board just beneath the backlight .
in spite of appearance , the 1967 Dodge Monaco 500 ’s authentication wicker accents deliver in the usual places , and a reclining passenger seat was a fresh option . The fascia was evolve from the 1965 - 1966 design , with the twin calibre panels going from circles to rectangles . New wheel covers ( designer Jeffrey Godshall ’s first such purpose ) feature a pitch-dark out ring inset with bright radial louvers circle a raised retinal cone with a fratzog center .
locomotive engine choices for the 1967 Dodge Monacos remained the same except for a new Magnum 440 option . Equipped with exaggerated intake port and exhaust passing , prospicient duration camshaft , special valve outflow with upsurge dampers , particular four - drum carbs , low - restriction exhaust manifold , and a larger - diameter dual exhaust system , this " A-134 " locomotive engine deliver 375 mighty horsepower . It was standard for the new Coronet R / thyroxine and optional for Dodge Chargers , Polaras , and Monacos .
Despite more strong-growing styling and larger dimensions , adult - Dodge volume worsen for 1967 . The Monaco 500 dipped to 5,237 . Grand Prix , on the other hand , make do almost 43,000 sale , fortified by knock-‘em - idle styling and the new ragtop .
1968 Dodge Monaco
Predictably , 1968 was a big - Dodge facelift class – with new federally mandated side mark lamp an leisurely identification period – and the 1968 Dodge Monaco was no exclusion . Side trim was revise for all models , and hardtop sedan chair rooflines acquired tapering C - pillars and smaller backlights , although the change in appearance scarce justify the tooling expense .
Up front , the three - section grill was remould by Bob Gale , pull in recessed , full - width inserts and prominent matching vertical struts aligned with carryover hood and bumper form . Polaras used a horizontal - bar texture ; Monacos retain eggcrate , again with a central tip .
At the back end , all these " D " series car had a new vulgar bumper and decklid , plus full - breadth taillamps flared outboard into pernicious hero . Polara lamp " hid " behind closely spaced vertical chrome ribs . For Monacos , Ken Saylor reinstate paries - to - bulwark taillights divided into skinny twenty-five percent by a slim " cross - hair " bar . Aligned with the decklid windsplit was a vertical central backup light , the first clock time Chrysler had employed this trick since the 1958 Plymouth . The Dodges finally had a Pontiac - style " split grille , " even if it was on the wrong end .
Monaco 500 remained a freestanding one - model serial for 1968 , but its ribbed lower side trimness was newly applied to less Monacos , albeit in a slimly narrow form . corner lamp set into the lower front buffer were a unexampled 500 received characteristic , but the inner wicker was conk out . splashboard were revised once more , while locomotive engine selections remained as before , although with some added HP for the 383 .
Despite the relative lack of change , fourth-year Dodge sales recovered for 1968 – except the Monaco 500 , which fell off to 4,568 even though the like Chrysler 300 last had a higher start price ( $ 4,010 vs. $ 3,869 ) . No doubt many 500 prospects ended up driving away in one of the newfangled 1968 Chargers instead , a striking cable car with its farsighted snout , " doubled - infield " bodysides , and distinctive " tunnelback " roof .
The Dodge Monaco’s 1969 Demise
By 1969 , the Dodge Monaco had officially met its demise . braggart Dodges got their own version of the Dodge Charger ’s " fuselage flavour " for 1969 , but the Monaco 500 was trim back to an selection software system signaled only by discreet front - cowcatcher badging .
By this time , most dealers were so busy hustling economy Darts and red-hot Coronets and Chargers that big car were something of a sideline . Then too , flashy full - sizers were faltering all over Detroit . In fact , even the vaunted Grand Prix was reinvent for 1969 , becoming a uniquely styled mid - size hardtop on its own 118 - in wheelbase – a form of " Ford Thunderbird Lite . "
Have a feeling back at the various engine options available for the Dodge Monaco and Monaco 500 over the class with the chart below :
disabled at nascency by inadequate financial support and diluted by workaday stable - mate , the specialization hardtop Dodge Monaco was never capable to play the part its planner had envision . Too regretful . The name alone deserved a good fate than being remembered forever as a Grand Prix aspirer .
