For the Americans - how do you pronounce Camaro? And...

[TimD]

I'm struggling with this one. Do you pronounc it "Cam-air-oh" as in "pharaoh" and "aeroplane"

or is it "Cam-arrrr-oh" as in "argh" and "car"?

Oh, and are they any good as daily transport? Especially the '97 to '00 ones?

[dretceterini]

It's Kam-air-oh....and IMO they are overweight pieces of ****, like all "muscle" cars...

[TimD]

Thanks for that Doc, but you're really going to hate me! First of all, thanks for reassuring me - I've been pronouncing it right all these years.

Secondly, in the absence of the right Alfa Romeo in my price bracket, I'm widening my search for an out-of-the-ordinary driver and a '99 Chevy popped up locally.

Sorry mate...!

[fast95pony]

Go for it !! Unlike those wimpy,under-powered ,wooden ,wire-wheel wonders,you won't have to adjust the carbs and re-gap the plugs every 50 miles..


Although, it is a Chebby..

[DAVID PATERSON]

Tim, are you getting free petrol?

[73_Gstock]

Also, is it a V6 or V8?

I'd expect a nice annoying dash rattle shortly, if it doesn't already have one, too. A friend had the Z-28 model (with a V8) and regularly drove with ear plugs the noise drove him so crazy. Wisely dumped it for a Bimmer 330.

[TimD]

I've driven a Rover for three years, Gstock - my brain already has an inbuilt rattle filter. As for the Chevy - it's the 3.8 V6. Not the real McCoy, I know, but would be a little different from the 200SX and Skylines that make up the used coupe market in these parts.

What I really need to know is how the Chevrolet is likely to be for electrics, transmissions and that sort of thing. Half the problem with the Alfa Romeos is that I keep reading horror stories about the wiring and every car I've seen has had more glitches than really are justified in a 3 year old car.

[73_Gstock]

The transmission in probably the strong suit for the car. GM does actually do good there. The V6 gets decent gas mileage, as well, very important here.

As far as dash rattles, roads here seem to be smoother than roads back home (Ohio), not as much freeze/thaw action causing bumps and warps.

Electrics should be okay, its not built by Lucas. Some Chevy's have some water problems, but I don't think the Camaro should.

I'm not much of a Chevy guy, personally (bad experience with a Cavalier), but this car should be alright for you. Especially if you want to stand out on the motorway. Can't say that I've seen one around York, yet.

I had a Rover 75 for a month, granted it was pretty new, but I didn't notice any dash rattle.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Tim, if it's the Buick 3.8 V6 that we get here in Australia, they are quite good. Strong, reliable, excellent fuel economy for their size and 152kW (204hp).

[fast95pony]

What year was it built in ???
The electrics etc were built to withstand quite extreme temperatures and weather conditions.They should be fine for UK conditions.

[EERO]

BTW, Tim, if you really want to pronounce it like a Yank, its "K'mair-oh", emphasis on the first syllable.

[TimD]

Looks like I've missed out on this one, thanks to a recalcitrant insurance company that took too long to quote me. Someone else bagged the car.

But thanks for all your advice guys, I'm seriously considering one of these now. Especially since the insurance quote, when it finally came through, was almost exactly a quarter less than I'm currently paying for a Rover 200 of less than half the engine size!

What one loses on fuel bills one seems to gain on insurance savings.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Tim, I know Americans like to pronounce it kaMAIR-oh, but I wonder if it appears in the dictionary, as the spelling suggest to me that it should be kaMARR-oh.

[Amaroo Park]

Exactly the same sort of thing with the way Aussies prnounce Moanaro. As in the car it is pronounced Mon-arrrr-oh. But as in the Hwy and District it is Mon-air-oh. So which one is right I say maybe the latter

[Aarrgh8]

Correct. Mon-AIR-oh for the Monaro district and Monaro Highway, Mon-ARR-oh for the Holden Monaro. Similarly FORL-con for the big bird, and FAL-con for the car - unless your name is Alan Moffat, in which case, with what you did for the Falcon name, you can pronounce it any way you please.

[Mattracer]

You say Tom-ART-toe, I say Tom-AY-toe.

[Aarrgh8]

Lisa with an 's', not Liza with a 'zee.'

Ca-NOWN-dra, not Can-o-WIN-dra, WOG-a, not WAG-a, Con-DOUGH-blin, not Con-do-BOWL-in, MEL-ben, not Mel-BORN, CAN-bra, not Can-BERRA, BRIZ-ben, not Briz-BANE, and so it goes.

[Bluebottle]

A little off topic now perhaps?

[Aarrgh8]

Sorry, Bloodnok. C'-MARR-oh. There's only so much you can say in a thread about how to pronounce Camaro. As he didn't end up getting it, I guess it doesn't matter anymore.

[TimD]

Well, I didn't end up getting that one, but I'd hate for anyone with experience of running a late-model Chevy to pass by without saying hello.

[shiny side up!]

The dash rattle is a built-in GM feature. They typically charge you extra for it . Same too with the check engine light... which you can usually put good money on to be for an oxygen sensor on that particular automobile.

[thebear]

How about "kahMAHrow"?

Anyone wanting to buy a `yank tank' please PM.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Here's an interesting aside. When holden was developing the original Monaro, they couldn't think of a suitable name. One day, one of the senior development engineers was heading south of Canberra towards the snowy mountains and he stopped in a little town and saw a sign that said Monaro Shire Council.

He thought, "hmm...mon-ARR-oh, that sounds like a really good name." He went inside and asked the locals what it meant. They explained it meant high place or mountain in the local aboriginal dialect and it was pronounced mon-AIR-oh.

When he heard the meaning of the name, that clinched it, what could be better for Holden's first all out Bathurst challenger? But, he decided that he liked his own pronunciation better and the GMH brass agreed.

[Mattracer]

Interesting story there What else have you got?

[thebear]

Originally posted by Mattracer
Interesting story there What else have you got?

Once upon a time, . . . . . . .