Vehicle manufacturers -- who's who

[papooses]

Cadillac : Chevy : GMC : Oldsmobile : Pontiac
Lincoln : Ford : Mercury
Lexus : Toyota
Acurra : Honda

Is this right? I mean, for example ... the Chevy Blazer = GMC Jimmy = Oldsmobile Bravada, etc. Any other manufacturers basically the same, making vehicles that are extremely similar? Just curious -- thought it might be fun :rolleyes: (I'm bored, LOL!)

[ccjones]

To name a few more...

Chrysler : Jeep : Eagle : Dodge

Nissan : Infiniti

Oh yeah, and Mazda also falls into the "Ford, Lincoln, Mercury" category

[Jeanum]

Some Volvos and Jaguar models also share platforms and/or components with Ford models now that Ford owns Volvo and Jaguar.

[CPSDarren]

GM owns Saab. While I don't believe there are any identical twins, I think some models like Cadillacs have shared major components.

Hyundai owns Kia and I think they share some desgins, such as the Sedona and the upcoming Hyundai version.

[LuvBug03]

You know I was sitting at a redlight the other day and there was a cadillac escilade and a yukon sitting right next to eachother, both white and both identicle from the outside! I kept comparing them, some placement and body design and everything.
My car looks similar to a certain model of the lexus, the front slopes down more on the lexus but besides that youd think they were the same.
I do think they tend to cut corners and use the same designs for one brand as the other because of time and $$(probably $$ being the most important reason).

[CPSDarren]

The GM SUVs are nearly identical among the various makes. Even the smaller Hummers are not much different than the other GM models, though they do vary more than the others.

[jen_nah]

Also GM owns Saturn. All the GM large SUV's (Tahoe, Suburban & cousin models) are made off the full size truck platform so the interiors are pretty much the same.

[jen_nah]

You know I was sitting at a redlight the other day and there was a cadillac escilade and a yukon sitting right next to eachother, both white and both identicle from the outside! I kept comparing them, some placement and body design and everything.
My car looks similar to a certain model of the lexus, the front slopes down more on the lexus but besides that youd think they were the same.
I do think they tend to cut corners and use the same designs for one brand as the other because of time and $$(probably $$ being the most important reason).

Do you drive a Toyota? If so Toyota owns Lexus so they do use the same platiforms building and designing their cars. It saves them money & time. It's only cosmatic changes nothing structural that is different between vehicles.

[Jeanum]

True, the Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX330 have a lot in common including hybrid versions, and the Camry and another Lexus model whose name escapes me right now are similar, too.

Saturn is becoming more and more of a shared platform division as GM is pulling Saturn back into the GM fold. GM is phasing out the trademark Saturn polymer body panels for one, and there is more platform and engine sharing between Saturn and other GM models. The 4 cylinder engine in the Ion is pretty much the same as the 4 cylinder engine used in the Chevy Cobalt and both the Ion and Cobalt share the same platform. The V6 engine available in the Vue starting in the 2004 model year is actually a Honda engine though! The Pontiac Torrent and Chevy Equinox SUVs also are based on the Vue platform with a slightly longer wheelbase. I've heard the upcoming Saturn Aura midsize sedan is going to share a platform with the Pontiac G6/Chevy Malibu.

Also at GM, the GMC Envoy/Chevy Trailblazer/Buick Rainier are basically the same vehicle with only slight variations.

[LuvBug03]

Do you drive a Toyota? If so Toyota owns Lexus so they do use the same platiforms building and designing their cars. It saves them money & time. It's only cosmatic changes nothing structural that is different between vehicles.
yup, I forgot to add that in lol! I have one of the newer model corollas and it looks just like one specific lexus, everything except the shape of the talelights(theirs are round) and the slope of the hood is slightly steeper on the lexus.

[DaniCPST]

Audi and VW are the same also!

Oh and Darren mentioned Saab and GM being the same and the new Saab SUV the 9-7 is the same as the Chevy Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, etc.

~Danielle

[Dillipop]

Even though Toyota and Pontiac (GM) are different companies, they have the identical Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe.

[egc523]

i'm not a big fan of them...
but kia and hyundai are owned by the same people...