Talk:Natron

So, why the move proposal? I think the guy is saying something closer to "Naytron" but it is hard to tell. - Starfield 21:16, 21 April 2009 (EDT)

There is a move proposal because it is incredibly unlikely that he is actually named "Matron". "Nitron" (or maybe "Nightron") are both less crazy alternatives. (Of course, depending on who hears it, the bad guy vehicle could also be "Freezod"...) Monzo 00:29, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

Natron? --abates 00:42, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

Listening to it, it sounds to me like the narrator is just pronouncing "Nitron" poorly. At any rate, I find "Nitron" to be a far better "guess" than "Matron", which means nothing and is derived from nothing. --DrSpengler 01:32, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

Nitron sounds as good as anything. It could be related to "nitro" or something. "Matron" does mean something, but it is very un-Transformersy. - Starfield 08:32, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

A proper poll

Watch the commercial, then post what you think the name is. (Don't read what other people say first, the goal is to gather un-influenced opinions.) Important note: The name is mentioned twice.

• Natron -Derik 10:25, 23 April 2009 (EDT)
• Natron (well, Naytron) - Starfield 10:32, 23 April 2009 (EDT)
• I hear it as Nitron or Natron—who is the white car, regardless. (Fixed the caption.) I suspect the article will be moved to "Natron" with a revised caveat about the guesswork for the name.--Apcog 11:47, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

There isn't actually a white car in the picture. I just noticed. When the lights are on there is a white car and a red car. when the lights are off there is a blue car and a red car. On the box there is a yellow car and a blue car. I wonder if "colors may vary". But the white one is "Matron." - Starfield 12:00, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

p154 of Alvarez's The Unofficial Guide to Transformers 1980's Through 1990's covers the racing kit, which should be helpful here. -Derik 13:42, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

• I hear Nitron/Natron (though, I prefer Nitron). --DrSpengler 12:01, 23 April 2009 (EDT)
  • Sounds like "Naytron" to me... Considering that whole "nite glow" gimmick, though, I could get behind the name "Nitron." Sigh... I just wish some official publication could just be produced to clear this up. Ascendron 13:11, 23 April 2009 (EDT)
• I hear "Nay-trahn". Spell as you will. I tried hearing other variations but kept hearing the same. The other sounded to me as "Freezod" --Bluestreak7 13:41, 23 April 2009 (EDT)
• The more I listen, the more I hear an "N" sound at the start (yeah, "Matron" is my fault), but that is totally followed by an aaaayyyy sound, not an "i" sound. So, Natron/Naytron. Despite the sense that "Nitron" makes, it's just not what the guy's saying. - Chris McFeely 14:55, 23 April 2009 (EDT)
• Yeah, Nay-tron. Certainly we shouldn't be using "Matron," because that's an actual word that's pronounced differently. - Jackpot 15:43, 23 April 2009 (EDT)
• Natron, which according to my copy of the OED is pronounced the same way as in the advert. --abates 15:59, 23 April 2009 (EDT)
• Natron. And the other actually sounds more like "Freezog", for what that's worth. --Jeysie 20:36, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

And Natron (the mineral) is a sorta yellowy salt. (Freezon has to be a reference to the pre-production blue colors of the Decepticon toy... it makes no sense with the final red colors, so logically Natron should mesh up with the pre-production yellow colors.) -Derik 16:06, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

Actually, looking at the photos from the Alvarez book, I'd have thought "Freezon" was a bizarre corruption of "Frenzy", since the Decepticon car's face was based on Frenzy's. Doesn't explain how the Prowl-faced car became "Natron", though.--Apcog 18:19, 23 April 2009 (EDT)

• I totally hear Naytron. Especially the part where "the race is on between Natron and Freezon". The n-to-m consonant shift is usually pretty obvious and causes a change in speaking speed and tone--but nothing like that here. --Thylacine 2000 12:16, 24 April 2009 (EDT)

So are we moving to "Natron" or "Naytron"? -Derik 12:27, 24 April 2009 (EDT)

Nātron... More seriously, Naytron looks better by a little bit to me. - Starfield 12:33, 24 April 2009 (EDT)

• If Natron-the-mineral is pronounced the same way as the word the announcer uses in the commercial, then I agree with the notion of putting the article at Natron. However, I think it would help to point out the confusion over the name in the article itself, as well as elaborate our "we think it's Natron because the mineral is yellow and the art/prototype version of the toy was yellow" theory after the move. EDIT: We might also want to include the pronounciation somehow. --Monzo 23:08, 24 April 2009 (EDT)

My copy of the OED says it's pronounced the same way, though gives a short 'a' as an alternative pronunciation. I'm not sure if there's a standard way, but the OED presents it as "neItr(ə)n" --abates 23:30, 24 April 2009 (EDT)

In the absence of an official spelling... would you say that "Naytron" is a less 'ambiguous' spelling? In that it leaves less doubt about the pronunciation? -Derik 02:44, 14 August 2009 (EDT)

Names from elsewhere

I don't know how accurate this is, but I've heard the Autobot referred to as Glowvolt, and the Decepticon referred to as Burnvolt before, possibly the names they were given in one or more countries outside the US. Has anyone else heard this previously as well? I haven't seen anything to back this up, but it was something I've heard from a couple of folk some years ago, just wondered if there was anything to it. - Kayb 06:24, 10 December 2009 (EST)

A Google search brings up this document by Neale Davidson. I think any such claims probably orginated from this. For some reason, I'm under the impression that Neale is not a reliable source. So until someone can vouch for this info, I wouldn't add it to the page.--Tigerpaw28 19:32, 10 December 2009 (EST)

I don't know, the actual text says that "though these bios were never realized, the tech-specs given in this book are from Hasbro's notes about these two obscure characters." Sounds official, unless he's lying. Khajidha 21:14, 22 December 2009 (EST)

In a way, it doesn't matter. The commercial's status as a published source trumps unreleased sources weather or not they are official.--Jimsorenson 21:35, 22 December 2009 (EST)

Well, preliminary names are listed elsewhere on the wiki. See Cliffjumper (G1) - preliminary name "Blow Out". If this is legit, these names should be listed SOMEWHERE on the relevant pages. Khajidha 21:43, 22 December 2009 (EST)

"Liar" is Neale Davidson's middle name. "These are from Hasbro's notes that no one else in the world saw except for me" is one of his greatest hits. If his information is legit, my name is Fucko McBeandick. --ItsWalky 21:45, 22 December 2009 (EST)

For what it's worth, Bob Budiansky's notes contained full bios for Downshift, Camshaft and Overdrive (that don't match the Japanese ones) but nothing for the Tyco guys. --Jimsorenson 21:50, 22 December 2009 (EST)

And really, the "tech specs" posted read more like Budiansky-wannabeism than Budiansky himself. --Detour 21:52, 22 December 2009 (EST)