I have been trying to figure out the deference for the last week if any, an im not having any luck
Can somebody help me out?
Thanks.

CAR-15 is usually a term used for a shorty AR with a collapsable stock.

Michael

www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/0500/512.htm
www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/0300/335.htm

CAR stands  for compact automatic rifle. Technicaly a semi auto with a 16" barrel is not a CAR, but most people call it that anyways.

I thought the CAR was the specific setup with the collapsible stock and the 5.5" flash supressor.  I believe they used the 11.5" barrel and with the 5.5" FS, they had zero flash.  

CAR, when we are referring to carbines means, Colt Automatic Rifles.

The Vietnam era XM177s, XM177E1s and E2s would be "real" CAR15s, the general name has been given to any short AR15 type carbine.

I always thought "CAR" stood for "CARbine" or "Carbine AR" in reference to the shorter barrel and overall length than the standard size M16. In semi autos it has come to distingush the shorter "Carbine" AR  from the standard AR rifle.  I believe AR original stood for Armalite Rifle. The Military adopted it as the M-16.

When Colt bought the rights to the AR-15 from Armalite, they changed the name to CAR-15 for Colt Automatic Rifle-15 (as opposed to Armalite Rifle-15) to capitalize on the marketing value of their own name and the name of the AR-15. It's all smoke and mirrors marketing.

They developed several versions and marketed them all as the CAR-15 system.  Everything from SMG, Carbine, Survival rifle, rifle (the M-16, which they referred to as CAR-15 rifle) and heavy barreled support guns.  They were technically all CAR-15's when offered by Colt.  The Government tried them all, but only became interested in the SMG which became the XM-177 series of weapons.  It was sometimes referred to by it's commercial name CAR-15, even though "CAR-15" was a whole system and not just a single gun.  The name stuck, and the XM-177 series was frequently known as the CAR-15.  Many thought that it meant carbine or whatever, but it didn't.  

Marketing being what it is, Colt changed the name of the CAR-15 system to the "M-16 system" and offered a carbine, rifle, and HBAR under that moniker.  The M-16 name had become worth more than "Colt" had.  The carbine offering (a refined XM-177) was further developed into the current M4 carbine.

Marketing also being what it is, most aftermarket companies offered their collapsing stock versions and these were referred to generically as CAR-15 by most of the AR world.  In the end the term AR-15 would become the generic term for the rifle version with 20" barrel.  The term CAR-15 would become generic for the collapsing stock carbine version of the same.  

So now you will find most rifles referred to as AR's or AR-15's even if they are officially a different name and maker.  You'll also find the Carbines referred to as CAR-15, also regardless of the model or maker.  The term CAR-15 has lost a lot of usage as we can now no longer have collapsing stocks, and more post-Vietnam folks enter the AR world.  

Ross

Couldn´t have said it better Ross

Wow,
thanks for all the info guy's
it had been nagging me for sometime.
thanks
-Robert