The Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact automobile produced by Chevrolet for the 1975 through 1980 model years. The Monza is based on the Chevrolet Vega, sharing its wheelbase, width, and standard inline-four engine. The car was designed to accommodate the GM-Wankel rotary engine, but due to mediocre fuel economy and emissions-compliance issues the engine was cancelled, and a V8 engine option was substituted. The Monza name has also been used for several other cars. Introduced for the 1975 model year, the Monza 2+2 and Monza Towne Coupe competed with the Ford Mustang II and other sporty coupes. General Motors' H-body variants, the Buick Skyhawk and Oldsmobile Starfire, were produced using the Monza 2+2's body with grille and trim variations and Buick's 3.8 liter V6 engine. The Pontiac Sunbird variant was introduced for the 1976 model year, initially offered only in the Monza Towne Coupe body with the 2+2 hatchback added for the 1977 model year. The Monza nameplate originated in mid-1960 for the sport version of the Chevrolet Corvair. History Origin The Monza 2+2 debuted as a single-model 2+2 hatchback. The Monza is longer and weighs more than the Vega from which it is derived. General Motors' John DeLorean nicknamed it the "Italian Vega", citing styling with a strong resemblance to the Ferrari 365 GTC/4. GM had planned to introduce the GM Wankel rotary engine (licensed from NSU Motorenwerke AG) in the Monza's 1975 model. Rotary issues included mediocre fuel economy compounded at a time of comparatively high fuel prices following the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973, and GM canceled the engine (this was the same rotary engine that AMC had planned to source from GM for the 1975 Pacer). Thus, the 1975 Chevrolet Monza was launched carrying a conventional piston engine instead. Overview The 1975 Monza 2+2 houses then-newly approved rectangular headlights and a slot-style grille in a slanted nose made of resilient polyurethane. The side window louvers are functional, part of the flow-through ventilation system. The Monza 2+2's two-door hatchback body style is shared with the Pontiac Sunbird, Oldsmobile Starfire and Buick Skyhawk. The standard engine was the Vega's aluminum-block inline-four engine with a single barrel carburetor generating at 4,200 rpm. Optional was the two-barrel carburetor version that generated at 4,400 rpm. Chevrolet's new V8 engine was optional. The smallest V8 ever offered by Chevrolet, it featured a Rochester two-barrel carburetor and generated at 3,600 rpm. For 1975