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With my New Zealand accent, no matter how hard I try I can't make the "R" in red and car the same! Car for me is pronounced something like "Kah".

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In New Zealand English, you should be comparing the pronunciation of R in “red” and “car audio”, to ensure that the R is actually pronounced at all. Some accents don’t even pronounce it in the latter. (There’s a good one for the spelling reformers.)

And be careful with “ah”. I have a strong suspicion that we pronounce it very differently in New Zealand compared to North America.

With my Australian accent I wouldn't pronounce an "r" sound in "car audio" either -- just switch straight from the "ahhh" sound of "car" to the "orrrr" sound of "audio".

Speaking of which, it wasn't until quite recently that I realised not all accents have so much trouble with the ambiguity of the Ford Ka.

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