2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS: the final year

Wikipedia's 2000-2007 production table, citing The Encyclopedia of American Cars (2006 edition), gives 10,889 Monte Carlos of all trims for 2007, and its text gives 6,035 of them as SS models. The SS therefore accounts for a little over 55 percent of the year's output, which means the V8 coupe outnumbered the LS and LT combined in the model's last season. This record's production note is candid that Wikipedia itself gives no citation for the SS figure, so the number is carried as reported, without a named underlying source, and no assembly-plant or trim-by-trim split was found for the year.¹

The SS was the V8 Monte Carlo. General Motors' own 2007 press release, reproduced by conceptcarz.com, lists the standard 5.3L small-block V-8 with Active Fuel Management technology in the SS and rates it at 303 horsepower and 323 lb-ft of torque, while the LS and LT share a 3.5L V-6 rated 211 horsepower and 214 lb-ft. All engines are matched to the Hydra-Matic 4T65 four-speed automatic, with an enhanced version behind the V8, and V8 models use a three-point engine-mounting system. The 2007 owner's manual identifies the 5.3L V8 as VIN engine code C. Neither document prints the rpm of the peaks, so those fields remain null.²

The press release describes three suspension settings tuned to the model, and the SS gets the FE4 setting: a MacPherson strut front with gas-charged four-valve struts, a trailing-arm tri-link rear, a 34-mm hollow front stabilizer bar and an 18-mm solid rear bar, both larger than the bars of the two FE2 settings used on the LS and LT. Eighteen-inch alloy wheels carry W-rated P235/50R18 Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires, the four-wheel disc brakes are paired with ABS, and steering is a power rack-and-pinion of 13.3:1. The SS also has its own dual-split black-diamond grille, a unique rear spoiler, and bright exhaust outlets as standard.

The sources disagree on some equipment. The press release and the owner's manual both treat side seat-mounted air bags as available for the front passengers, while Consumer Guide's summary says front side airbags are standard. Consumer Guide also calls leather upholstery and heated front seats standard on the SS, where the press release lists Nuance Sandstone leather-appointed seating and heated seats as available. Both disagreements are kept under conflicts rather than settled. The press release adds a Rally Stripe package for the SS, a Bose eight-speaker system, an ICDX six-CD radio, remote vehicle start with a 197-foot range, dual-zone climate control, and XM Satellite Radio as standard on the SS. It prints no prices.^2,3

The owner's manual supplies the service numbers a restorer needs: a 17.5-gallon fuel tank for the 5.3L, premium unleaded of 91 octane or higher for the V8 with regular usable at slightly reduced acceleration, six quarts of engine oil with the filter, a 13.3-quart cooling system, and a wheel nut torque of 100 lb ft. Consumer Guide's road impressions of the SS record a test average of 17.2 mpg in mostly city driving, a ride that is surprisingly compliant on the sport suspension and 18-inch tires, and a cabin dominated by hard plastic. It also notes standard 60/40 split folding rear seatbacks and generous trunk space for a coupe.^2,3

Several parts of the year remain unsourced, and they are left empty rather than filled by inference. No 2007 exterior color list, price list, order guide, window-sticker decode, performance test or VIN chart was found in a source that could be read, so the paint, prices, performance and identification sections stay empty and every option price is null. The press release is a marketing document, reproduced on a third-party site and undated, and the Consumer Guide text is a republished review, so neither establishes what was built, only what was advertised or observed.³