




From 1964 to 1974, Chrysler's Plymouth division produced the two-door Barracuda. There were two different generations and then in 1970, the E body, available in both a convertible and a coupe, was considered to be a major change from previous models. It falls into the pony class of vehicles and stayed with the trend of offering customers both performance and a sporty style.
The first generation was manufactured from 1964 to 1966. At first, Plymouth was looking to keep up with the completion when it came to a sporty compact vehicle. At the time, the Valiant took the lead in the company's efforts and the Barracuda fastback was released on April 1st of 1964. It had the largest back rear window in a production car at the time, giving the fastback appearance. Unfortunately, because of its similarity to the Valiant, many people could barely tell the difference and it was not as set apart as the manufacturer had hoped.
As the pony car class continued to increase in competition, the stakes were high as the Barracuda received new options in both the interior and exterior, including increasing the engine's output. In 65 the Formula S was introduced and it came with the Commando V8 engine. The carmaker continued to struggle to differentiate the Barracuda from the Valiant and in some markets, the fish logo began to separate the two vehicles.
The second generation Plymouth Barracuda lasted from 1967 to 1969 with the vehicle getting its own specific styling and range of models. There were convertibles, fastbacks and the notchback hardtops. During this time, the first federal auto safety standards were released and every year for the next three years, changes were made to the model. The engine options continued to improve and different packages became available to give consumers higher performance. In addition to the vehicles available for the public, there were 50 fastbacks made in 1968 that included a sticker that let people know that the vehicle was not allowed to be used on public roads.
1970 was the moment when the Barracuda came into its own. Everything that kept is connected to the Valliant was gone. It was redesigned with only a coupe and a convertible model available. Called the E body Barracuda, the vehicle was no longer looked at as an economy car. The first two years, it was available as the base model, the Gran Coupe and the sport model called the 'Cuda. There were also some options when it came to what the manufacturer called "high impact" colors. These included Vitamin C, In-Violet, Moulin Rouge and Sassy Grass Green.
Much like other cars in its class, it was tough to keep up with the federal regulations and maintain performance. The weight of the vehicle increased as the power decreased. The production of the Plymouth Barracuda was complete by April of 1974.
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