Welcome to the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the notion of what a muscle car is, and to see if a FWD car can be called a muscle car. I must be out of my mind for doing this post, after the last drubbing I received for the 2005 – 08 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP, but here I am, trying to convince you that a couple of other GM cars, with a 5.7L V8 can be considered being inducted onto the Parking Lot. So let’s see if the 2006 – 08 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, and the Impala SS can be considered an obscure muscle car.
Continue reading after the jump!
General Motors has a history of front wheel drive V-8 equipped vehicles, since 1966, when the Oldsmobile Toronado was introduced. Through the years, there have been various Oldsmobiles, Cadillacs, Buicks, and Pontiacs that were both FWD, and V-8 powered. These included such historic nameplates as the aforementioned Toronado, the Riviera, and the Grand Prix, as well as a number of key Cadillacs including the Eldorado, Fleetwood, DeVille, Seville and the Allante. However, it was the success of the Chrysler 300 that helped push GM to offer a V-8 in their line of full-sized (for the time) sedans and coupes, including the Grand Prix, the Buick LaCrosse, The Impala and the Monte Carlo.
I have highlighted this before, but this is your typical muscle car formula. Take one of the more pedestrian, run-of-the-mill, everyday vehicles, add in a monster V-8, distinguish it by giving it a new designation, and voila, sales heaven. That was the recipe a couple of decades ago, but this time, it was applied to a FWD sedan and coupe. The Chevrolet versions didn’t receive the over the top styling treatment as the Pontiac version did, but they do come with 18-inch wheels (though they are the same width all around, unlike the Pontiac), and received subtle changes to the suspension components.
This was the first eight-cylinder Impala SS since the old rear wheel drive sedan ceased production in 1996, and the first V-8 powered Monte Carlo since 1989. Prices for these two SS Chevys could go as high as $30,000 fully loaded, but most came in substantially cheaper with judicious use of options. The interior of this vehicle isn’t all that different from the standard Impala or Monte Carlo, including the optional leather seating. The seats are flat and somewhat unsupportive, and the instrument cluster isn’t all that special either. Unlike Pontiac, you can’t get the paddle shifters with the automatic in the Chevys.
Displacing 5.3 liters, the Impala SS’s engine is a member of GM’s small-block family of overhead-valve V8s and its all-aluminum construction means it isn’t much heavier than the iron-block V6s otherwise installed in the Impala LS, LT, LTZ and 9C1 and 9C3 police packages. Its 323 pound-feet of peak torque at 4,400 rpm, however, is up 43 lb-ft from the 240-horsepower, supercharged 3.8-liter V6 used in the 2005 Impala SS. Fuel economy isn’t the strong suit for this car, as road test proved, with as little as 14MPG in the city. So it’s thirsty, but it’s also quick. With its traction control active you can throw a brick at the accelerator and the Impala SS will rip to 60 mph in 6.4 seconds and bound through the quarter-mile in 14.4 seconds at 97.5 mph. Although it’s about two-tenths slower than the Charger R/T with the 5.7L Hemi.
When comparing the SS models to the Dodge Charger, the Impala rides smoother, but it can’t out handle the R/T, not can it brake within the same distance as the Charger. Period road tests have stated that the 2006 Impala SS was not unlike the 2003 Cadillac Seville STS, which was also a FWD, V-8 powered sedan, driven through a 4 speed automatic. The Impala SS (and the Monte Carlo SS for that matter) feel like a big, heavy, substantial car, with more grunt than any other FWD car available.
Features on the SS models include OnStar, Stability control, steering wheel radio controls, a 60/40 split-folding rear seat, keyless entry and a CD player are standard. Other options include leather seating, a power sunroof, XM Satellite Radio, special paint, automatic dual-zone climate control and a remote vehicle starter. And remember, with the Monte Carlo, this is the last full sized, two door coupe, with a V-8; Remember when there were literally dozens of 2 Door performance cars available?
While doing this posting, I looked for the Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS that CarDomain members might have listed in the community, and there were literally hundreds, so I’m not going to try and perform a shout out to all those SS owners here. Just go take a look. There are some serious rides waiting to be discovered.
So, is this somewhat modern, front wheel drive, V8 sedan (and coupe) a muscle car? And does it belong in the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking lot? Or, because it’s front wheel drive, will it never be considered a muscle car? The Monte Carlo deserves special consideration because it is one of the last full sized coupes, but it is up to you. I predict this particular posting will generate a lot of debate.
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