70 Plymouth Barracuda
The Barracuda. This one will get interesting. This car is
one that has always had a strange way of showing up throughout my life. A
remember in my youth, a close family friend had a white 73 that I never really noticed until one day when he started the car up, the sound caught my attention. It was that raw muscle
V8 sound that just demanded a look to see what the sound was coming from. Life
went on but that sound and that car always stayed on my mind. Then later on in
life, a move to another state and a new adventure. Once again, a close friend
had a poster of one of these in his office. Then he purchased one, his dream
car. The look in his eyes when we would talk about it was a sign of pure joy. A
car? How does one have that much love for a car I would think. And then a ride
in it. The noise from the exhaust brought back every smile from my childhood
memories of the first time that I heard that Hemi sound. At that moment I
understood. Because of this, I realize cars do something to us and that is
where the tie to Hot Wheels comes in.
The Casting:
The casting is just as interesting. The only unfortunate
detail in my opinion is that this was a time where the real car was named ‘Cuda
rather than Barracuda - minor detail. I remember there was a little lull in collecting
as the lineup was getting stale in my opinion. Then, in 1995 Hot Wheels
introduced the First Editions and Treasure Hunt lines and instantly the
collecting world was turned up a notch. So were the errors. There were many
transitions up to 1997 and some were still getting shaken out. The 1997 First
Editions lineup features this gem, The 70 Plymouth Barracuda. I collected all
of the First Editions that year but there was one missing. Or at least I
thought. The 70 Cuda was a First Edition, first casting but the packaging never
received the First Edition packaging. Most collectors realized this later on and
finding one on the peg became like finding a super treasure hunt on the pegs.
When I finally got lucky enough to find one, it instantly made that connection
to the real car, elusive but was just waiting for my attention in the right
time.
The details for this casting are done well. The interior is
very basic, but the bucket seats, console and dash are all there. You really
don’t buy this car for the interior. The exterior has all the proper details,
the Shaker hood, hood pins, front grill and bumper with fog lights cast in
place. The bumper is done well also, the iconic taillights are clearly
represented. The body lines are maybe slightly disproportionate, but the lines
are correct. The casting has been in action a bunch. There is the Mardi Gras
version in light blue with big white flames, the Classic Avon series that
featured the Cuda case and polyglass lettering on the tires.
The casting has also been cast as a hard-top which
intrigues the collector even more. The hard top was released in 1996. The
hardtop issue was always a limited edition until the 2007 Treasure Hunt series,
then it became a regular. The hardtop also got featured in the mystery series
from 2007, its last appearance to date. The First edition convertible became a
First Edition in 98 and never made the Treasure Hunt series. The last
appearance was in 2017 but only in 5 packs.
There has been another casting of this part of muscle history, the 70
AAR Cuda which we will review some other time. However, the 70 AAR version is
still a current casting, last seen in 2018 mainline. [1]
To the pavement:
The 70s started off with American muscle still dominating
the showrooms. Flashy high impact colors like In Violet, Panther Pink, Lime
Light and Vitamin C Orange were popular [2]. By this time, Cudas were tearing
up the IMSA tracks and Hemis were ruling the dragstrips. Dan Gurney piloted a
purple Cuda in the Trans Am series while Sox and Martin were tearing up the
dragstrip. Ask any car enthusiast if they would like a chance to pilot a real
426 Hemi Cuda 4 speed and unanimously the response would likely be “when and
where”.
Because of the collectible car industry and the low number
of cars still around, we are not often treated to seeing one at a local cruise
in but there are plenty to see at Mopar car shows. The noise this car makes
embodies the muscle car era and is music to the ears of any classic car
enthusiast. To that note, one that has headers, a good exhaust and some minor
modifications is so much fun to experience. Maybe this is because of the
elusive behavior of the fast fish that I know has captivated me for most of my
life.
This review was a flashback trip to some of my fondest car
memories and Hot Wheels hunting memories. I look forward to more and can’t wait
to see the next version Hot Wheels gives us for this model.
Happy Hunting,
Collector Quentin
Although I own the actual diecast pictured in these posts,
all artwork, logos, car names, paint descriptions and wheel descriptions in
regard to the Hot Wheels versions are copyrights of the Mattel toy company.
Plymouth, Cuda and paint descriptions described herewith
are copyrights of Dodge (now Fiat) or the FCA US LLC.
[1] Casting information gathered from:
[2] Color names gathered from:
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