The AR-15 is a civilian version of a military carbine that Armalite was (unsuccessfully) trying to sell to the Pentagon’ Is it still a viable candidate (technically, not politically) for the Army now?
The AR-15 is the civilian version of the M16. A shorter version of the M16 is the M4. Civilian versions of the M4 are available, and they are a lot of fun to shoot.
Where did you hear that? The AR-15 has been around 10 years before the CAR-15. The CAR-15 was the grandfather to today's M-4 used by SOG units in Vietnam. I bought an AR-15 out of JC Pennys back in 1975, it was a "civilian" semi-auto of the military M-16.