What 1960s/70s American car was originally going to be called the Panda?

The Plymouth Barracuda is a two-door car that was manufactured by Chrysler Corporation from 1964 through 1974. The first-generation Barracuda was based on the Chrysler A-body and was offered from 1964 until 1966. A two-door hardtop, it shared a great majority of parts and bodywork with the Plymouth Valiant, except for the huge and distinctive wraparound rear glass.The second-generation Barracuda, though still Valiant-based, was heavily redesigned. The third generation, offered from 1970 until 1974, was based on the Chrysler E-body, exclusive to it, and the slightly larger Dodge Challenger. A completely new design, the two-door Barracuda was available in hardtop and convertible body styles.

The Barracuda sold for a base price of US$2,512 ($22,000 today).

The development of the Barracuda was inspired by the fact that Ford planned to introduce a new sporty compact car based on the inexpensive Falcon chassis, which was eventually released as the Mustang in 1964.

Chrysler executives wanted to have an entry in this emerging and potentially lucrative sporty-compact car market, so stylist Irv Ritchie sketched a fastback version of the compact Valiant which would become the Barracuda.

The executives wanted to name the new model Panda, an idea unpopular with its designers.

In the end, the suggestion of Barracuda prevailed.