Was there ever a Valiant Barracuda?
Did you also know it was almost called the panda.
Automotive trends in the early to mid-1960s had all the U.S. manufacturers looking at making sporty compact cars. Chrysler's
A-body Plymouth Valiant was chosen for the focus of the company's efforts in this direction.
[2]
Ford's
Mustang, which significantly outsold the Barracuda, gave to this type of vehicle its colloquial name "
pony car", but the Barracuda fastback, released on 1 April 1964, pre-dates the Mustang by two weeks.
[3]
Plymouth's executives had wanted to name the car
Panda, an idea that was unpopular with the car's designers. In the end,
John Samsen's suggestion of
Barracuda was selected.
[4]