> So technically, the Itialians Bastardized it first by
> borrowing it from the British carriage makers and
> changing the I to a Y.
> -Terry
Probably because "i" in Italian is pronounced like the letter "e". "Y" in
Italian is sort of a non-letter, it's name in Italian being "Ipsilon" (I had a
surname while there that ended in "y"-So, I got really used to spelling it out
in Italian-it had another non-letter "h"!) So, an Italian, upon seeing "spider"
would pronounce it "speeder".
> P.S. The narrators at the Barrett Jackson Auto Auction
> 2000 answered an Email from a viewer that wanted to
> know the difference between a Carbiolet and a Spyder
> (I was watching it about a week ago on Speedvision).
> The men narrating stated that a Spyder is a
> convertible two seat in the sports car class. And that
> a Carbriolet/Cabrio is a convertible sedan that will
> hold atleast 4 individuals including the driver. I've
> read definitions that are contrary to this on the web,
> including the Pebble Beach Glossery of Car Terms which
> states that a Cabrio is a convertible with windows.
> And can have an indeterminant number of doors and
> windows.
The latter explanation is the one that I'm familiar with also.
Laura G.
>
>
>
> --- Barry Schwartz <bschwart@pacbell.net> wrote:
> >
> > Yeah, I kinda had a feeling that it [spider] was an
> > American bastardization
> > of convertibles for the Italian term since it
> > *mainly* referred to Italian
> > cars -
> >
> > Barry Schwartz (San Diego) bschwart@pacbell.net
> >
> > 72 PI, V6 Spitfire (daily driver)
> > 70 GT6+ (when I don't drive the Spit)
> > 70 Spitfire (long term project)
> Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices.
> http://auctions.yahoo.com/
>
Vita brevis est: rapide agite, vigore strigate!
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