Platform Shopping in the '90s  

   
At the New United Motor Manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif., Toyota Corollas and Geo Prizms are built--one after another--on the very same assembly line. Both cars are, in fact, built on the same platform: that is, both are built to the same tolerances with virtually the same mechanical components. They share engines, transmissions and brakes, for instance. And while their branding, sheet metal, instrument panels and option packages differ, these cars are virtually the same.

The benefit of shared platform shopping
Historically, auto manufacturers have shared platforms between different model lines as a means of controlling manufacturing costs and leveraging investments in costly tooling and assembly processes. And, historically, savvy car shoppers have taken the time to compare shared platform vehicles--in search of the best value.

The pay-off could be financial, depending upon price differences or differences in effective rebates. Or the pay-off could be psychological, as you learn some of the secrets of the auto business and gain the latitude to be more selective about which dealer to give your business to. Instead of bracing yourself to do business with a dealer you completely mistrust, you may discover a virtually identical car--with a different nameplate--down the street at a dealer you consider very reputable. Of course, there may be trade-offs to consider, such as differences in option packages and color schemes, but in the long run an informed shopper does better than an uninformed shopper.

The spectrum of platform sharing
At one end of the spectrum there is a form of platform sharing known as "rebadging." Rebadged vehicles are highly similar, with only slight cosmetic differences--even though rebadged vehicles may be advertised and marketed quite differently--targeting different types of buyers. One example of this would be the Honda Passport sport utility and the Isuzu Rodeo. At the other end of the spectrum there is a type of platform sharing that is more or less undetectable to the average consumer eye where vehicles with considerably different body styles are built on the same frame. The Pontiac Grand Am and Buick Skylark--both of which share GM's "N" platform--provide a good example here.

CarPoint's shared platform shopping guide
If you're in the market for a new car or truck, and considering any of the vehicles listed in the table below, be sure to check out the shared-platform competition.

Passenger Cars

If you're considering this...       Take a look at this...       Or this      

Chrysler Cirrus
$17,560
Dodge Stratus
$14,235 - $16,110
Plymouth Breeze
$14,060

Chrysler Concorde
$19,445
Eagle Vision
$19,245 - $23,835
Dodge Intrepid
$18,445 - $22,260

Mercury Grand Marquis
$21,975 - $23,385
Ford Crown Victoria
$20,955 - $22,675

Mercury Tracer
$11,755 - $13,625
Ford Escort
$10,065 - $13,205

Mercury Mystique
$14,330 - $15,705
Ford Contour
$13,785 - $16,170

Mercury Sable
$18,995 - $21,295
Ford Taurus
$18,600 - $20,980
 

Sports Cars

If you're considering this...       Take a look at this      

Mitsubishi 3000GT
$30,690 - $65,000
Dodge Stealth
$24,461 - $34,820

Mitsubishi Eclipse
$14,970 - $23,910
Eagle Talon
$14,830 - $20,271
 

Minivans

If you're considering this...       Take a look at this...       Or this      

GMC Safari
$18,662 - $21,446
Chevrolet Astro
$18,592 - $21,376

Chrysler Town & Country
$24,400 - $30,045
Dodge Caravan
$16,575 - $24,110
Plymouth Voyager
$16,575 - $20,010

Honda Odyssey
$23,560 - $25,550
Isuzu Oasis
$23,495 - $25,990
 

Nissan Quest
$20,899 - $25,699
Mercury Villager
$19,385 - $26,390
 

Oldsmobile Silhouette
$21,355 - $22,655
Pontiac Trans Sport
$19,394 - $21,050
Chevrolet Lumina Minivan
$17,870 - $19,890
 

Sport Utilities

If you're considering this...       Take a look at this...       Or this      

GMC Suburban
$24,027 - $27,479
Chevrolet Suburban
$24,027 - $27,478

GMC Yukon
$22,886 - $30,464
Chevrolet Tahoe
$22,886 - $30,464

Honda Passport
$17,990 - $27,880
Isuzu Rodeo
$16,990 - $26,310

Acura SLX
$33,900
Isuzu Trooper
$25,360 - $37,990

Oldsmobile Bravada
$29,505
GMC Jimmy
$19,573 - $23,504
Chevrolet Blazer
$19,444 - $23,252

Geo Tracker
$12,970 - $15,710
Suzuki Sidekick
$12,899 - $18,999

Lexus LX 450
$47,500
Toyota Land Cruiser
$40,258
 

Pickup Trucks

If you're considering this...       Take a look at this      

GMC Sierra C/K 1500
$14,086 - $20,290
Chevrolet C/K 1500
$14,016 - $20,636

GMC Sierra C/K 2500
$16,953 - $22,632
Chevrolet C/K 2500
$16,883 - $22,861

GMC Sierra C/K 3500
$18,157 - $24,354
Chevrolet C/K 3500
$18,086 - $24,283

GMC Sonoma
$11,290 - $18,.882
Chevrolet S-Series
$11,270 - $18,615

General Motors shared platforms
The GMC Suburban and Yukon share a platform with the Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe, respectively. The vehicles, except for grille and name, are identical. However, there are buyers who will only buy GMC, and would not think of purchasing a Chevrolet. Here's a guide to the shared platforms of General Motors.

Buick       Chevrolet         GMC           Oldsmobile       Pontiac   

Century,
Century Wagon
  Cutlass Cierra,
Cutlass Cruiser
 

Roadmaster,
Estate Wagon
Caprice Classic,
Impala SS,
Caprice Wagon
   

Park Avenue  Ninety Eight 

 Camaro  Firebird

Riviera  Aurora 

LeSabre  Eighty Eight,
LSS
Bonneville

 Cavalier  Sunfire

 Corsica, Beretta   

Skylark  AchievaGrand Am

RegalLumina,
Monte Carlo
 Cutlass SupremeGrand Prix

 Lumina Minivan SilhouetteTrans Sport

 TahoeYukon  

 SuburbanSuburban  

 BlazerJimmyBravada 

 AstroSafari  

 S-10 PickupSonoma  

Chrysler Corporation shared platforms
Chrysler markets the Chrysler Concorde as a premium family sedan, the Eagle Vision as a sophisticated sports sedan, and the Dodge Intrepid as a standard family sedan. All are built on the same LH platform with only minor sheet metal and decor differences targeting three major market segments.

Chrysler     Plymouth     Dodge      Eagle           

 NeonNeon 

CirrusBreezeStratus 

Sebring Avenger 

Concorde,
New Yorker,
LHS
 IntrepidVision

Town &
Country
VoyagerCaravan 

Ford Motor Company shared platforms
Ford needed a way to reach more upscale buyers of sport-utility vehicles. This spring Ford will introduce the Mercury Mountaineer to be built on the same platform as the popular Ford Explorer.

Ford               Mercury

EscortTracer

TaurusSable

ThunderbirdCougar

Crown VictoriaGrand Marquis

ContourMystique

ExplorerMountaineer

Japanese automakers shared platforms
The Big Three are not the only ones with shared platforms.

Toyota       Lexus

CamryES300

LandcruiserLX450

Nissan   Infiniti

MaximaI30

Shared platforms between different manufacturers
The phenomenon of different manufacturers selling shared platform vehicles may be the most surprising. Research and development is very costly, therefore it is often more cost effective to form an alliance with another manufacturer and either sell an existing model or cooperate to develop a new model together.

For instance, rather than developing their own sport-utility vehicle, Honda now sells the Passport, built by Isuzu on the Isuzu Rodeo platform. Conversely, Isuzu now sells the Oasis minivan, built by Honda on the same platform as the Honda Odyssey minivan.

Chevrolet-Geo     GMC      Suzuki   Toyota   Isuzu   Honda   Acura

S-10 PickupSonoma  Hombre  

Prizm  Corolla   

Tracker Sidekick    

Metro Swift    

    OasisOdyssey 

    RodeoPassport 

    Trooper SLX

Manufacturer alliance shared platforms
Sometimes a new manufacturer is the result of an alliance. The Geo Prizm and Toyota Corolla share a platform produced by New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) which is a General Motors/Toyota joint venture in California. In fact, Chevrolet doesn't officially build any of the Geos itself. The Prizm is produced by NUMMI, and the Tracker and Metro are produced by Suzuki.

Here are some more unexpected shared platforms:

Chrysler   Dodge   Eagle   Mitsubishi   

 Stealth 3000 GT

  TalonEclipse

SebringAvenger Galant

Ford   Mercury   Mazda   Nissan   

Ranger B-Series 

Probe MX-6, 626 

 Villager Quest

Globally shared platforms
Platform sharing is not just an American phenomenon--shared platforms are common in Europe and Japan as well. Indeed, these days shared platform vehicles are becoming global platform vehicles as manufacturers seek to build "world cars"--cars that meet the needs of consumers in more than one country. Ford is currently selling vehicles globally off the same platform, designated CDW27. This platform is called the Mondeo in Europe, Taiwan and the Middle East, while it's known as the Contour and Mercury Mystique in North America. Shortly there will be other global cars, such as the new 1997 Cadillac Catera which will be available this fall and will share a platform with the German Opel Omega MV6.

Ford   Mercury     Global   

ContourMystiqueMondeo

Cadillac   Opel

CateraOmega MV6

The bottom line is economics. By building several vehicles off one platform, as well as forming multi-national alliances, the cost of producing vehicles drops considerably. And since the automotive business is so competitive these days, some of these savings are passed on to the consumer in the form of lower prices.

At the same time, many more markets can be reached simultaneously, giving consumers more choices. When shopping for a new car, it is important to take advantage of these choices. Look at the charts--if the car you are looking at shares a platform with another, look at the other vehicles from that platform as well--you may have more choices than originally expected.