Should car makers share the same platforms if they are sister companies???

After just reading that Porsche may share the Audi R8 platform to challenge the Ferrari 458 one thing sprung to mind.

Wrong.

Just because it's easier to borrow parts and share platforms for different models, isn't right in my opinion.

Credit where it's due, both Audi and Porsche are great manufactures in their own right. They've risen through the ranks to be great car makers on their own. So why can't they continue on their own? To me (and I accept Ferrari are one of the best supercar makers, but I'm not a fan) it’s cheating to be better!
Porsche within their own rights make physics-defying cars (I mean, the engines behind the rear axle, seriously, it takes some phenomenal engineering to make that work, and work as good as they have!) Just as Audi have one of the best 4wd system’s known to man. It’s all down to each company concentrating on their areas more than focusing on others.

So why are they doing this? Are they being lazy? Having the option of digging in Audi's parts bin to use what they can? I mean it's not like the Audi Group haven't done this before. Take a look at Lamborghini's 4wd system and its all Audi.

After taking a second to think about it and stepping back to look at things, is this strategic? Is this the group's way of being the world-dominant car manufacturer they want to be? Clearly it is; they want to be number 1 and they'll do it, (strategically, the analysts and people at the top will make it happen!) But does this strategic move show how good of a manufacturer they are? Pushing one manufacturer to be the fore-front in a selected range is absurd. I mean, why push one and not the other? Both Audi and Porsche should be equal as both are capable (ok, Porsche has been doing it longer, but you can’t say Audi hasn’t shown they can do it) of producing a world leading car in the supercar battle (one that usually starts and stays around the shores of Italy.) just like you can’t say that Koenigsegg haven’t produced a car that can do just as well. It’s all relative. There isn’t one company that is the best supercar maker in the world. And that’s because of the people that drive them. One will say x manufacturer is better due to reasons x y and z, whilst someone else will say the same about another. It’s all down to the individual. It’s exactly the same reasons why I would say I’d rather have a Nissan GTR, whilst the wife would say the R8 is the best in the world. It’s all down to preference.

Pushing one company to do things over another is ridiculous.

Sharing platforms or parts is just a cheats way of building cars. Manufacturers should stay seperate and continue to produce their own cars. They started out on their own, so why not continue? is it a strategic move, or is it cutting corners?

To me, its a bit of both.

For a company to strategize how they will "rule the world" isn't right. For me to be the best car manufacturer, it has to stem all the way down to the people at the bottom. The people who go to work proud to be part of a company, the love of it. Part being the key word. But not just a person who Clocks in, does a shift and goes home. This shows in the cars they make.


But this begs to ask another question, is there any of the major manufacturers left who still have a soul and don't care about Global Dominance???

This question, I'll come back to...