I often get asked "What's the difference between a Sport Coupe and an LS/CL/SS
Monte Carlo?" Some people have even confused one with the other! Understandable,
I guess. I'm going to make an attempt to clarify this issue, though!
First, there is a very basic visual difference between the three models:
Sport Coupe, LS, and SS. (Please refer to the following illustration.)
This visual difference is all that I am going to concentrate on, and it
is a difference that is most marked in the front of the car.
Please click on image to enlarge.
Now let me try to explain further....:)
Sport Coupes - 1981-1986:
4th Generation Monte Carlo Sport Coupes were available from 1981-1986 with
the nose shown in the first (topmost) picture. It is relatively plain,
and highlighted by chrome trim around the headlights, middle bumper strip,
and grille. There is also chrome trim around the wheelwells. The entire
bottom part of the nose is urethane. Monte Carlo Sport Coupes have four
separate headlights and two large marker lights on the bottom of the bumper.
There is also a stand-up knight hood ornament on this type of Monte Carlo.
Monte Carlo Sport Coupes have chrome trim around the windows and taillights
and wider chrome trim along the lower sides of the car. To clarify totally,
the 1982 of mine that you have probably looked at on these pages is a Sport
Coupe.
"CL" - What is it?:
Monte Carlo Sport Coupes were available with CL (Custom Luxury) trim -
a trim package that included a deluxe interior with some pretty neat velour
seats. Monte Carlos bearing the CL package will be badged with "CL" on
the fenders. LS Monte Carlos were also available with this trim option.
It is NOT a real model designation and both LS and SC Monte Carlos
can have the CL badging on their fenders. If you have a CL-packaged car,
I guess the proper terminology is "I have a Monte Carlo LS CL" or "Monte
Carlo Sport Coupe CL".
LS Monte Carlos - 1986 - 1988:
LS (Luxury Sport) Monte Carlos were introduced in 1986 - the only year
that you could have gotten 3 distinct Monte Carlo models - SS, LS, and
Sport Coupe. The LS would eventually replace the Sport Coupe as the "base"
model Monte Carlo; there were no more Sport Coupes made after the 1986
model year. The LS nose was, at least to me, vastly different than the
nose on the Coupe. It was a "Euro" type of nose - very rounded off, with
two composite headlights (both high and low beam instead of four separate
lights as in the Coupe). The stand-up hood ornament was dropped - LS cars,
if I remember correctly, wear their knights on their grille, which is chrome,
along with the trim on the car. It is a nose at times that reminds me more
of a Cadillac than a Monte Carlo; other than this major physical change,
physically everything from the fenders back is identical to a Monte Carlo Sport Coupe
- except for some of the later-model taillights which wrap around the edges
of the car as opposed to ending at the edge as in Sport Coupes. There are also minor
trim differences between the LS and the SC: The 86-88 LS (CL or not) cars have chrome
strip that runs down the side of the car, mounted higher than the SC's. The LS cars have the wide
chrome mounted on the "belt-line" (raised portion of the door), while the CL had the wide chrome on
the lower part of the door. To see the difference between the belt-line molding on my SC (viewable here, for example) and an LS car, please
click here. Special thank you to Derek Atteberry for bringing to my attention about the molding! :)
SS Monte Carlos - 1983 - 1988:
The SS nose is the most distinct of the three cars; it is very sleek and
aerodynamic as compared to the nose on the Sport Coupe, which is square.
SS cars wore blacked out grilles and black trim as opposed to LS and SC
models, which had chrome trim (one of many tip-offs to spotting a fake
SS, by the way). I've always thought that SS cars remind me a bit of a
cat when looked at from the front; there's something a bit sinister going
on there! As in LS cars, SS cars do NOT have a stand-up hood ornament;
they are badged with a very small knight on their noses. The SS is also
the most minimal as far as exterior trim.
I hope that this clarifies some of the differences, and if I've incorrectly
stated something, please by all means let
me know!
