Despite the Monte Carlo nameplate being a consistently strong seller for Chevrolet from its introduction in 1970 all the way through its final, abbreviated 1988 model year, Chevy decided to put it out to pasture when the rear wheel drive G-body personal luxury coupes got the axe.
For 1989, the new Lumina on the front wheel drive W-platform came in both notchback coupe and sedan forms and replaced both the Monte Carlo and the midsize Chevrolet Celebrity.
However when the second generation of the W cars came around for the 1995 model year, the Lumina name was only used for the sedans, and the coupes revived the Monte Carlo name after its half-decade hiatus.
All the attention was on the sporty Monte Carlo Z34, which carried over the 210 horsepower DOHC LQ1 3.4L V-6 from the Lumina Z34. Although the motoring press paid all the attention to the performance version, as usual, the base Monte Carlo LS outsold it by nearly a two to one margin. (As it did most years, sometimes by as much as more than four to one.)
A base Monte Carlo LS, like the Torch Red example in the photo, would have started at $16,760 ($34,675 today) and come with the 160 horsepower 3.1L pushrod 3100 GM corporate V6. The LS Monte had an interior style that was rare in a coupe of the era, with a column shifter and split bench front seat with a folding armrest; the six-passenger coupe was practically a relic of a bygone time by then.
Notably, the one in the picture has the optional 15" five-spoke alloys shared with the performance model.
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