The Monte Carlo's success story really begins with the Pontiac Grand Prix -- or rather, the lack of Grand Prix for sale. Pontiac's newest G-body was expected to be a massive home run with the muscle-car crowd, but a factory strike in 1970 meant that few were available. So, customers just meandered over to Chevy dealerships and ordered every Chevelle-based Monte Carlo GM could build with practically every option they could install.
The Monte, styled as it was after the Cadillac Eldorado, was meant for a somewhat more upscale audience than its rowdy Chevelle brother. For that reason, most of its colors were pretty subtle, with Earth-tones and metallics dominating. Code 19 Tuxedo Black was the natural counterpart to Code 10 Classic White. Shadow Gray 17 and Cortez Silver 14 split the difference. From lightest to darkest, Misty Turquoise 34, Astro Blue 25 and Fathom Blue 28 filled out their part of the pallet, white they hazy Green Mist 45 and deeper Forest Green 48 covered that slice of the spectrum. Cranberry Red 75 was bold, and Black Cherry 78 was nearly a dark purple. Chevy offered three classy brown-gold tones, from lightest to darkest: Gobi Beige 50, Champagne Gold 55, Desert Sand 63 and code 58 Autumn Gold.
GM offered the Monte in several two-tone combinations. Code 25-10 was Astro Blue with a White top, and 25-28 had a Fathom Blue top. Code 28-25 was Fathom Blue with an Astro Blue top. The rest of the color combinations used a white top with a "-10" suffix. These included Misty Turquoise 34, Champagne Gold 55, Autumn Gold 58 and code 63 Desert Sand. Black vinyl roofs were available on all color paints, and White vinyl came on all but Shadow Gray. Dark Blue Vinyl was available on all the blue shades, Cortez Silver and Classic White. Dark Green vinyl was available on green and Classic White cars, and Dark green tops were available on Gobi Beige, Champagne and Autumn Gold.
