Here is a message from Jack Heuer, answering the question about the name "Camaro" and also the missing "1143" automatic:

It is amazing how people start wondering and trying to guess what we thought some 40 years back.

As for the Camaro, it is the Chevrolet car name that made us register the name for watches. The main reason to select that name was its sound and easy pronouncement. In a watch name its international acceptance is a key factor, it must be able to be pronounced in most key languages. This is not the case with the HEUER brand and the reason we would in the US always put in the ad’s: (say Hoy-er). That is also one of the reasons we would make sure that the model name was easily pronouncable. We of course also liked the Camaro name because it was a name of a nice sporty car that our key market segment of consumers was certainly aware of.

As for the numbers game with the missing 1143, I frankly don’t believe we had any special reason not to use that number and certainly not reserved it for some new “Automatic Camaro”. In those years we where not that sophisticated with numbers for the wrist watches, whereas for the numerous stopwatches we did have some sort of strucuctured numbers code that allowed to indentify the divisons, calibre etc.

That all for this morning! It is good to hear from you and see how people still seem to cherish my old watch models. Have a great day.

Fantastic that Mr. Heuer has these memories and is willing to share them with our community, so many years later!

Jeff

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
: Hi all,

: thought I'd throw in another mind boggling question here. I came
: thinking of it when I put on my Camaro 45 with silver dial and
: tachy scale this weekend. I do not wear it a lot but when I do I
: cannot keep my eyes of it and wear it more days in a row than
: Monaco, Autavia or Carrera. It is a watch with great shape - the
: wellknown copy of the Chevrolet Camaro headlamp shape of course-
: but also a perfectly simple dial, much alike the one as used in
: the manual Carrera's from the sixties. Also the size of the case
: is perfect: not too small, a bit bigger than Carrera and
: certainly not clunky on the wrist.

: Studying the watch more closely -while enjoying a splendid Merlot
: wine- Sunday afternoon I started wondering why Heuer designed it
: this way and what inspired this. Could be that it was named
: after the Camaro only. However why should Heuer have done this?
: The Camaro was a nice car then, but certainly less succesful
: than its big competitor, the Ford Mustang.
: Yes it was a famous racing car, but Heuer has no history of naming
: watches after car types. Race circuits yes, but no car
: brands/types.

: No, that could not have been the only reason I thought. While I was
: starting my second glass and my wife served some delicious
: starters, I started wondering why I actually like the Camaro so
: much. Then all of a sudden it struck me that from a design point
: of view the Camaro looks like a real crossover between the
: Monaco and the manual Carrera. Look at it closely. The case is a
: fusion between round and square ( Carrera vs. Monaco). The size
: of the Camaro is right in between Carrera and Monaco. And
: finally the name. Compare the words Camaro, Monaco and Carrera.
: I guess we all see the similarities here and the crossovers.
: FYI, the Camaro was launched in 1969-1970, around the same time
: as the Monaco.

: Now here's the discussion subject: can it be that the Camaro was a
: marketing project to serve the buyer public who had seen enough
: of the sixties Carreras ( maybe its sales numbers declined by
: then), but at the same time did not have the budget, or did not
: like the Monaco with it's avant-avant-garde look? And, maybe for
: that reason Heuer also looked for a name to reflect both the
: Carrera and Monaco characteristics? The end result
: "Camaro" of course was a perfect match and compromise:
: surely a link to the world of racing industry and at the same
: time a fusion of Carrera and Monaco.

: Hope this is something to chew on for some of the OTD readers.
: Guess the only one who knows is Mr Jack Heuer himself.
: Or are there others with inspirational views or opinions?

: Whatever the conclusion, the Camaro still is an underestimated
: model in the pre-80ies model range.

: Ron