I was working on a new series of “What If” posts featuring an imaginary line of AI-generated 1975 Studebakers and Packards, when I accidentally got myself a concept sketch of an alternate universe Monte Carlo and a Camaro mash-up. A Monte Camaro, if you will.
In this alternate universe, Chevrolet took a more evolutionary approach with the second-generation Monte Carlo. Instead of a Colonnade roof and baroque sculpting, they kept the hardtop, smoothed out the flanks, and added a front end with a family resemblance to the Camaro (and a bit of an overall Impala vibe, as well).
What do you think? Would it have sold?
This particular image came about because the AI has been reluctant to give me a decent imaginary 1975 Studebaker Hawk personal luxury car. After many failures I asked for a Monte Carlo just to confirm that it even understood the concept of a PLC. This is what I got instead. It’s certainly recognizable as a Chevy, but it’s unlike any Monte Carlo I’ve ever seen.
This lines up with what I learned last time around. If you want the AI to create a fairly accurate image of a vehicle, it either needs to be an international icon (Mustang, Corvette, VW Bug) or you have to feed it a reference image. That said, outside of my Hawk problem, the AI has been surprisingly good at adapting Studebaker and Packard styling themes to a decade in which they didn’t exist. But that’s a story for next time.
Looks more like a refresh of a ’75 Buick Regal, eh?
I absolutely love this. I’m getting slight Cordoba vibes from the front, but this is still very recognizable as a GM product. I do like the Colonnade ’73 Monte, but this looks more upscale, almost more akin to a more sensibly-sized Riviera. Terrific illustration.
I feel like we already know what GM thought an early Monte/Maro-esque mashup would look like:
Even before I clicked on “comments,” this was my thought.
What model year is this “Holden”? It’s actually rather cool.
HQ model. July ’71 to Oct ’74. Australia’s best selling model. 455,000 of ’em.
Early “70’s”, Buick Riv.
Since it’s computer-, not human-generated, I’ll complain about the anachronistic wheel size and style. It doesn’t look like it would work well with the required mid 70s landau roof, either, but discouraging those wouldn’t have been a bad thing.
I like the line work on this better than the previous color images. Not to mention the styling is better than any real Monte Carlo, to me. I had missed your previous posting; a lot of those have an Eastern European look … I wonder if the database of images is heavily populated by cars from there.
Not AI generated, but I always thought the Fisker Karma’s grille looked like what a modern Packard’s might look like – it has that classic shape, only widened and modernized to fit a 21st century car.
You are right, that does work as a seriously reworked iteration of the Packard grill. I always thought the real world late Packard grills were too literal in their reinterpretation of the classic shape, as were the grills of the later model revivals. This one gets the point across, if one squints a bit, without “going there” in a full-blown and generally awkward way, and without calling too much attention to itself.
I like it!
I get neither a Monte Carlo or Camaro vibe.
It looks like what a full-sized Pontiac(?) B-body might have looked liked, if they were more stylized. Better masking their bloat. It would need a Pontiac grille and nose of course. Roof line, is all B-Body IMO.
I`d like to see those AI generated 75` Packards and Studebakers. Maybe you can post them?? Thank you!
They’re coming. I have have about 200 images in various styles to sort through.
It looks like a threesome between the 1977-80 Toyota Cressida, 1974-75 Buick Regal and the 1980-82 Dodge Diplomat coupe. This is what their resulting “chimera” love child would look like.
Toyota beat them most of the way to the punch with the X40 Chaser, the JDM “twin” of the Mark II/Cressida.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-asian/curbside-classic-1979-toyota-chaser-sxl-hardtop-coupe-x40-is-it-a-bird-is-it-a-plane-no-its-superfluous/
GREAT! I`m just dying` to see them.
I’m sure it would have sold extremely well. Of course, I am cheating a bit, because the real Monte Carlo of the era was a best-seller as well, and it wasn’t a vastly different styling exercise from this rendering.
The real MC styling hasn’t worn as well as this fictitious one, over time, IMHO. But it is hard to block out our current subjective judgement and try to place the styling success of the real-deal MC in context. At the time, people wanted a bit of the flashy, swoopy “luxury car” elements, including formal chromed radiator surrounds and opera windows. Wire wheel covers and the little coats-of-arms in the emblems. Hence the MC and the Ford Granada(!) were best sellers. This iteration does not pick up much of all that, but the handsome overall effect would likely not have scared many buyers away.
One reference in the AI rendering rings false, and it is in the tire aspect ratio and the way the wheels and tires fill out the wheel wells. That was not a seventies thing at all for Detroit, and the actual wheels and track would have been narrower, and the tires would have been much narrower and taller, with broader “balloon” sidewalls. Detroit only began seriously mitigating that design and specification situation a few years later.
The Camaro front end does work but it feels odd without the Colonnade Monte Carlo’s curved character line son the fenders. I’m sure it would have sold well but 70s GM always seemed more curvy than angular.
I agree with Dutch 1960 that the AI drawn wheels look like a modern restomod and 70 series rubber on 15″ rally wheels is more correct.
Looks like A Buick Regal mixed with an Impala
Disclaimer, I consider the mid 70’s Monte Carlos an abomination, styling wise and functionally.
But that’s all I see. Well, at first glance. Looking at it a bit more I think I see some Pontiac in the nose. Camaro? No. But not much more. I will say the images in the like, https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/what-if/ai-a-midjourney-through-the-forest/ are interesting. Some good, some bad, but much more interesting than the Monte Carlo.
I’m sure sales would be brisk but for one thing;
GM would start the pricing at $100K
Why add Camaro? By this time, sporty muscle cars were not as popular as they are in hindsight. Adding Camaro to the Monte Carlo makes about as sense as adding Thunderbird to the Ford Explorer line. Few wanted sporty brougham. The Charger SE was a flop, remember? Same with the Magnum and the Mirada. It wouldn’t have sold.