Alameda Street Sighting - 1977 Chevrolet Monza 2+2

I never would have guessed that people collect obscure and unloved GM compacts, let alone the H-body Chevy Monza. Someone in Alameda apparently does just that. This one's a 1977 Monza 2+2 hatchback.

The Monza is not generally known for being a spectacular performance car. Born as an offshoot of the ill-fated Vega, the Monza gained its own sleek body for 1975. As is common with GM cars, too much of a good thing is never enough -- the Monza was cloned as the Buick Skyhawk, Pontiac Sunbird and Oldsmobile Starfire. Most Monzas were economy specials, though a V8 was available. I can't vouch for what's under the hood of this one, but it would have had a V8 badge if there was one. The Monza actually has racing history in the IMSA GT series - or at least the roof and glass do. The car looked like a Monza but was scratch-built and powered by a souped-up Corvette engine. The race cars were good enough to be competitive for more than 10 years in motorsport.

This car has Arizona historic vehicle plates, leading me to wonder if it's a recent acquisition. The color could possibly be stock 1977 Chevy "Firethorn" or a repaint in some other maroon color. The combination with gold stripes reminds me of how my father's '66 Mustang looked when he bought it in 1980 (except that was maroon with gold accents in the grille, taillight panel and C-scoops). As Monzas go, this is in pretty good shape. I don't normally see them in any condition to compare, and for what it's worth, this was the cleanest H-body on the street and probably on the whole island.