I think this is a pretty good article, though it may be a bit below some of ours level...

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1

My favorite....

Now just think....of the 07 Camaro comes out it will share a platform with $40K plus cars. So I predict we will see at least...

-Remote Start
-Onstar (every GM car is getting this option...you will see at NAIAS)
-A decent audio system with XM as an option and MP3 playback
capability. (blue tooth?)
-Traction Control standard, stbility control and option or standard

Things that could make it be are not confirmed....
-Paddle shift 6 Speed Auto in higher end models.....
-Displacement on Demand....I would much rather have then CAGS, plus it makes sense in because the Camaro is a few years out and a volume car.
-AWD....It is being developed for the platform....so there is no harm in offering the option. It would be great for the northerners who currently view the Camaro as a second car because it is RWD.

I would not count on....
-Nav system is iffy.....Accords come with one now, but still you have to keep the higher end cars differentiated with trim.
-A base engine that does anything more match or barely beat whatever the comparable mustang is offering. No high feature V6...makes no sense. Most base buyers care more about price and content then overal performance. Plus the high value engines can be turned up to make some nice numbers.


These are just some random thoughts of mine...

 

Most of the items you mentioned don't seem to be dependant on platform sharing.

Some of the items on my wish list that platform sharing might make possible:

- IRS
- premium engine (detuned on paper, of course)
- premium brakes
- Low NVH
- High build quality
- High Reliability
- Low Maintainance
- An experienced, familiar Service Department.

 

..but we will probably get a porky Camaro....

 

The Camaro would still be lighter, it would just have a higher lbs. per cubic foot of interior volume.

 

But isn't most of what you've listed here just equipment? This would be first to be chucked out to bring the car's price point down to where everyone here wants it to be ... Platform sharing, as the article says, brings benefits in suspension design, chassis design, advanced construction methods, higher quality, NVH and sealing improvements, etc. It doesn't mean that you get equipment levels that approach KITT ...

Manufacturers will need to use equipment more and more to distinguish their models, as the basic car design becomes more and more common between them.

 

Platform is the body structure of the car.

Think of the "W" body. Strip off the skin and interior, and the inner structure is the platform. This means the old Grand Prix, the Regal, and even the Impala have not just the same components, but also the same floorpan, same firewall, same basic structure save some minor cosmetic differences.

The brakes, powertrain, and most all the other pieces mentioned are also in other cars. Bonneville is not a "W" body and not the same platform, yet it shares brakes, drivetrain, and many other components from the "W".

The new Full Size RWD cars from GM will use many components (and even some similar structure designs) from the CTS which is called "Sigma". However, the new RWD cars will not be a sigma platform because they are structurally different.

The new RWD "performance" coupes will be yet a different platform. They may share parts and construction with both the "Sigma" Cadillac's, and the "Full Size RWD" chassis, but they will be considered different platforms.

Then again, different car makers use different definitions for "platforms" so the above applies to GM, and may not apply to Nissan-Infinity.

 

I can see his point about equipment. If it is standard, or an option across all the vehicals, then it will cost less to put in them. Thus, the new Camaro will probably come standard with power and will proabably come standard with an auto, again.