RE: LX vs LY platform
Interesting comments from an article about what is a platform and how carmakers are taking advantage of it:
As big auto companies try to shrink to regain profitability, some manufacturers have realized that small can be good when it comes to expected sales for certain models. And that means many more choices for consumers.
Instead of trying to sell a single model by the hundreds of thousands to turn a profit, automakers realize they can make money off much smaller lots of different makes and models, as long as they're all plopped down on the same flexible rectangle.
The platform is basically the frame, suspension, rolling gear, and maybe even electronic controls that can be programmed, vehicle to vehicle, for performance, safety, and remote power features, among other tasks. Development costs are saved because their results are shared.
Atop these shared platforms can ride wildly different examples of fluid design. Not having to start from scratch with each model allows carmakers to spend money and be creative with what goes on top of these standardized platforms, offering consumers myriad choices among cars that otherwise might not have been made.
Shared platforms offer another benefit: Carmakers can spread electronic safety, such as ABS, stability and traction controls, or a cocoon of air bags front to rear, and even all-wheel drive across a range of cars, trucks, SUVs, and minivans. Finer interiors are possible at lower costs.
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