An automobile platform is a shared set of major components common to a number of different cars / automobiles, often from different, but related marques. A marque ( French for "brand" ˈmɑrk is a Brand name especially in the Automobile industry Many vendors refer to this as a vehicle architecture. Monocoque body construction, and front wheel drive together lend themselves particularly well to platform related designs within a corporation.
Originally, a "platform" was a literally shared chassis from a previously-engineered vehicle, as in the case for the Volkswagen Beetle frame under the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. A chassis (plural "chassis" (ˈʃæːsiː ˈtʃæːsiː consists of a framework that supports an inanimate object analogous to an Animal 's The Volkswagen Beetle, officially known as the type 1 and originally called ‘Käfer’ is an Economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen The Karmann Ghia was marketed by Volkswagen as a 2+2 Coupe and Convertible combining the straightforward chassis and mechanicals of the Type 1 The first generic platform to be shared among a number of vehicles was the Ford Fox platform of the 1970s. The Ford Fox platform was a Rear wheel drive, Unibody automobile architecture that Ford used for 26 years in the North American market This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. In the 1980s, Chrysler's K-cars all wore a badge with the letter, "K", to indicate their shared platform. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Chrysler LLC is an American Automobile manufacturer that has been producing Automobiles since 1925 The Chrysler Corporation 's K-cars were compact-to-midsize cars designed to carry six adults on two Bench seats and were aimed not only to replace Chrysler's nominally-compact In later stages, the "K" platform was extended in wheelbase, as well as use for several of the Corporation's different models. GM used similar strategies with its "X" platform which debuted in mid-1978 in-initially-four of GM's divisions. Subsequent to that, GM introduced its "A" bodies for the same four divisions. . . using the same tread width/wheelbase of the "X" body plaform, but with larger body work to make the cars seem larger, and with larger trunk compartments. They were popular through the '80's, primarily. Even Cadillac started offering an "X" body model. . the Cimmaron, a much gussied up version of the other four brands' platform siblings. A similar stategy applied to what is known as the N-J-L platform. . . arguably the most prolific of GM's efforts on one platform. Once more, GM's four lower level divisions all offered various models on this platformk throughout the 80's and into the '90's.
Today, platform sharing may be less noticeable, however, it is still very apparent. Vehicle architectures primarily consist of "under the skin" components, and shared platforms can show up in unusual places, like the Nissan FM platform-mates Nissan 350Z sports car and Infiniti FX SUV. The Nissan FM platform is a modern FM layout Automobile platform. A sports car is a term used to describe a class of Automobile. The Infiniti FX is a Mid-size Crossover SUV produced by the Nissan-owned Infiniti Luxury vehicle brand since the 2003 model year A sport utility vehicle ( SUV) is a generic marketing description for a rugged automotive vehicle similar to a Station wagon but built on a light-truck chassis Volkswagen A platform-mates like the Audi TT and Volkswagen Golf also share much of their mechanical components but seem visually entirely different. The Volkswagen Group A platform is an Automobile platform shared among compact and Mid-size cars of the Volkswagen Group. The Audi TT is a Sports car manufactured by Audi since 1998 in Győr, Hungary, now in its second generation &mdash and available as a 2+2 The Volkswagen Golf or VW Golf ( Mk1 and Mk5 badged as Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada, Mk1 badged as Volkswagen Volkswagen Group and Ford Motor Company have both had much success building many well differentiated vehicles from many marques, from the same platforms. Volkswagen Group, or Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (German (listed as Volkswagen AG) is a German automobile manufacturing group currently Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following A marque ( French for "brand" ˈmɑrk is a Brand name especially in the Automobile industry
Key mechanical components that define an automobile platform include:
- Floorpan, the collective pieces of the large sheet metal stamping which serves as the primary foundation of the monocoque, of most of the structural and mechanical components (still often informally refered to as the "chassis")
- Wheelbase, the distance between the front and rear axles
- Steering mechanism and type of power steering
- Type of front and rear suspensions
- Placement and choice of engine and other powertrain components
See also
- list of Chrysler platforms
- list of Ford platforms
- list of GM platforms
- list of Mazda platforms
- list of Volkswagen Group platforms
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