By 2003, all four of Volkswagen's brands will share just four basic chassis.

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The main plank of the strategy now is to build as many cars as possible on the same basic chassis.

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To compete both on cost and marketing, big car firms have had to squeeze a variety of new models onto ever fewer basic chassis and engine designs.

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SUVs and the like, will be capable of handling three basic platforms (the chassis and underpinning of a vehicle) and nine different model variations built on them.

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The entire dark chassis may seem basic and highly minimalistic, but there are small intricacies like the chrome borders, hidden port covers, and wave-shaped hinges that just make this thing feel more like a computing piece of art than a basic bargain-basement PC.

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And without any grand programme, Mr Smith is also cutting the number of basic car platforms (the chassis and drive-train mechanical bits that make the wheels go round) from 16 to eight, in line with best practice at firms such as Ford, Volkswagen and Toyota.

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