Platform
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The new Ford Focus doesn't only represent the next step for the compact car, it also opens a new chapter for Ford small cars. It ushers in Ford's new scalable unibody platform for small cars, and we'll be seeing a lot of the architecture in the near future. According to an Automotive News (subscription required) report Monday, the architecture will fit everything from the sub-compact Fiesta to the mid-size Edge crossover. The platform will suit everything in between, including mid-size sedans, minivans, and crossovers (EcoSport and Escape). It's comparable to Volkswagen's front-wheel-drive...
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First look at Subaru’s new modular platform
Subaru has developed a new modular platform that promises improved levels of safety and a more engaging driving experience for its next-generation vehicles. The platform is called the Subaru Global platform and it will underpin virtually every next-gen model starting with the 2017 Impreza range...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Rolls-Royce starts testing next-generation aluminum spaceframe architecture
About a year ago, Rolls-Royce announced that it was developing a new aluminum spaceframe architecture that was to eventually underpin its entire range, including a new SUV that’s currently doing the rounds under the Project Cullinan code name. The British automaker has now announced that the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
First Of Volvo’s Next-Generation Compact Cars Arriving In 2017
Just as it has the SPA platform for its larger models, Volvo is working on another modular platform just like SPA that it will use for its range of next-generation compact cars. This second modular platform is called the Compact Modular Architecture, or CMA for short, and the first model to be...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM And China’s SAIC To Develop New Platform For Emerging Market Vehicles
General Motors Company [NYSE:GM] is embarking on a bold new plan to grow sales in emerging markets. The plan calls for a new family of affordable but tech-rich vehicles based on a modular platform that GM will be developing with its Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. GM will also...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Volvo Presents New XC90’s Modular SPA Platform
Volvo is about to introduce a new modular platform called the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) that will soon underpin all of its models sized from the S60 up. The first to be based on the SPA platform will be the all-new Volvo XC90, which thanks to the capabilities of its platform promises to...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Aston Martin has confirmed it is working on a new platform to underpin its next generation of sports cars, but apart from the fact the platform will be designed to accommodate a new V-8 engine and electrical systems sourced from Mercedes-AMG, there is very little we know about it. The platform will be Aston Martin’s first all-new design since the venerable VH (Vertical-Horizontal) platform introduced in the first-generation Vanquish back in 2001. The automaker says the platform will enable its cars to be at the forefront of design, performance and technology, and in addition to...
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BMW And Toyota Finalize Joint Sports Car Plans: Report
In late 2011, BMW and Toyota signed a memorandum of understanding for collaboration on a number of projects ranging from the development of a new sports car platform to research into next-generation battery technology and even hydrogen fuel cell powertrains. Of most interest to performance fans is...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Renault Nissan Is Latest To Adopt Modular Platform Strategy
Renault Nissan is the latest automaker to adopt a strategy of widespread platform and parts sharing across models, announcing today it will soon implement a modular platform architecture in 14 of its models from both the Renault and Nissan brands. Called the Common Modular Family (CMF), Renault...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Saab's Phoenix Platform Lives On In New Spyker/Youngman Deal
Dutch sports car manufacturer Spyker, the former parent of bankrupt automaker Saab, has signed a definitive agreement with Chinese automaker Youngman to form new joint ventures that will be responsible for the development of a new SUV as well as a range of sedans based on Saab’s Phoenix...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Jaguar And Land Rover To Share More Platforms
Currently, Jaguar Land Rover’s range of models roughly comprise seven largely unrelated platforms, but going into the future the company hopes to prune these down to just two or three. The goal is to get around 70 to 80 percent of Jaguar Land Rover’s core model range on common...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Is GM’s Rear-Wheel Drive Zeta Platform On Its Way Out?
Currently there are just two vehicles based on GM’s rear-wheel drive Zeta platform, which was originally developed in Australia by Holden for the VE Commodore (and its long-wheelbase variants) launched back in 2006. The two vehicles include the original VE Commodore, which is soon to be...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ford is about to embark on an ambitious plan to streamline all of its car plants around the globe in order to boost their efficiency and see them introduce a set of common practices. Ford calls this ambitious plan the “One Manufacturing” system and hopes to have it fully implemented by 2015. At the same time, Ford plans to add capacity around the world, including a broad expansion in the Asia Pacific Africa region, where the company will be adding nine new plants, particularly in China, over the coming years. The facilities will increase the region’s capacity to produce 2.9...
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Mercedes To Halve Its Number Of Platforms By 2015
Mercedes-Benz is embarking on a wide-ranging growth strategy that it hopes will see it reclaim the number one position in the premium segment by the end of the decade. The strategy calls for Mercedes to occupy the number one position in the premium segment not only in terms of brand, products and...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Nissan Announces Next-Generation 'CMF' Modular Platform
To be successful as a major automaker these days, building several models off a common architecture or platform and sharing components is the only way to go. Just ask Volkswagen or Volvo, both of which announced new modular platform designs for their next-generation of vehicles recently. Nissan is...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
First Details On Porsche’s Modular Standard Platform (MSB)
Yesterday we brought you the first details on the Volkswagen Group’s new Modular Transverse Matrix architecture that will go into several models from Audi and Volkswagen including the next-generation A3 and MKVII Golf. Today we have details of another modular platform being developed for...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Volkswagen Introduces Modular Transverse Matrix Platform
Volkswagen's new modular transverse matrix platform will allow it to build products as diverse as Polo hatchbacks and Passat sedans from a single platform.
Kurt Ernst -
Volvo Seeks Partner To Develop Future Small Cars
At the 2012 Geneva Motor Show this March Volvo will unveil the long-overdue five-door version of its C30 hatchback, though this is to be just one of several new small cars the automaker is hoping to launch in coming years. But launching a range of new small cars is costly, which is why Volvo is now...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ford is accelerating plans to reduce the number of vehicle platforms it uses across the globe to just nine by the end of 2013, pushing the plan one year ahead of schedule. The move mirrors the successful strategy of automakers such as Volkswagen and Toyota in which a small subset of core platforms are used for multiple models sold across the globe. The information was revealed by Ford global marketing chief Jim Farley at the recent Automotive News World Congress. "It won't be 11 platforms" as earlier planned, Farley said. "It will be nine by the end of 2013." Farley didn’t mention which...
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Mazda CX-5 Platform To Spawn Next-Gen Mazda6 And Mazda3
For years Mazda and Ford shared everything from vehicle platforms and engines to even design teams. However, the two parted ways in the later parts of 2008 though the legacy of the partnership would continue for a few more years to come. Fast forward to today and Mazda is on the verge of launching...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Porsche To Develop Platform For R8 And Gallardo Replacements: Report
As we reported just last week, the Volkswagen Group is likely to call on Porsche to develop an advanced mid-engine vehicle platform that will eventually spawn the replacements for the Audi R8 and Lamborghini Gallardo, as well as a new supercar to slot in between the Porsche 911 GT2 RS and upcoming...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM Slashing Vehicle Platforms, Starting Cadillac Production In China
By 2018, General Motors hopes to halve its number of vehicle platforms from a current 30 down to just 14.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Jaguar Crossover To Get Aluminum Body, Ian Callum Design: Report
The purists may hate the thought of it, but in this global economic environment a luxurious crossover looks to be a necessity if Jaguar hopes to remain viable in the future. Not only are the high-riding models crucial for gaining a foothold in emerging markets such as Russia, India and China, where...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Hope For Saab Yet? 9-1 Compact Could Use MINI Platform
To gearheads, the turbulent times Swedish carmaker Saab is facing really pulls at the heart strings. It's one of an elite group of makers that real car enthusiasts like to know is around, even if they wouldn't buy the products themselves. Having had its personality and vitality steadily eroded...
Antony Ingram