The Plymouth Barracuda debuted in 1964 and became the only fishy member of the original pony car club.
The other member of the original club was the legendary Ford Mustang, a car that inspired the pony car name.
‘Cuda became the unofficial slang name for Barracudas until the name was officially used by Plymouth for its high-performance models in 1969.
Jim Sutherland
The ‘Cuda name became an even more prominent part of Plymouth’s go-fast pony cars during the early 1970s, including the 1971 models.
The 1971 Plymouth Barracuda was a one-year-only model in any form, including the ‘Cuda, because it had a different style on the front end and used four headlights instead of only two. It was a striking look that pushed the ’71 ‘Cuda to the front of the E-body line in terms of collectability.
Steve Philip is the proud owner of a 1971 Plymouth ‘Cuda convertible that he bought in 1974 when he was only 19 years old. Steve bought the car shortly after high school when he had enough disposable income to buy a road rocket during an era when fast cars were losing ground due to oil shortages and new government rules that limited horsepower in domestic cars.
1971 was a year when a big herd of horses could still be found under the hood of a performance vehicle, so Steve made a wise choice to buy his used ’71 Cuda convertible from its first owner because it still had a muscular 383 big block under its hood.
The large Mopar engine hooked up to a factory 4-speed manual transmission was a perfect fit for a teenaged Steve back in 1974, but unfortunately his free-breathing 1971 ‘Cuda combined with his youthful spirit of adventure and resulted in some big traffic citations at the time.
As mentioned, Steve is only the second owner of the car and bought the ‘Cuda from its original owner, a math teacher at a nearby high school when Steve was a teenager at another high school.
For the record, Steve was still aware of the car when he was a kid at another school.
The 1971 ‘Cuda was clearly a big part of Steve’s life from the moment he purchased it 52 years ago. Steve recalled a conversation with his then-wife in which she described his look when driving the ‘Cuda as the same look he had when they had a romantic encounter.
However, the car stayed with Steve after the end of his marriage and is still with him to this very day. The ‘Cuda was stored for 14 years until Steve decided to bring it back on the road in 2025 and take it to car shows again. Steve told MyStarCollectorCar that he “liked going to shows” and wanted to enjoy them once again in his 1971 ‘Cuda convertible.
The years have taught Steve to take a moderate approach to driving his Cuda and he now keeps his foot out of the gas pedal whenever he hits the road in the convertible. The car’s long timeout presented a few mechanical issues like a carb problem, so Steve wants to complete his repair list in the future.
He now believes in pampering his survivor 1971 Plymouth ‘Cuda instead of street racing it. Sounds like a smart game plan for Steve and his rare survivor pony car with a fishy name.
Jerry Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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