to ensure that regional stars such as the Focus could become global successes,8 of Ford's 10 platforms (the floor pan and its underpinnings) are now global platforms. More shared platforms enables Ford to build different models more Quickly and econmically to account for example, the various Fiesta-based cars may look different, but they share about two-thirds of theirs of their parts. Such actions are particularly important as Ford focuses (no punintended) itsefforts toward smaller, more fuel-effcient automobiles which traditionally have smaller margids. As noted by lewis Booth, Ford's finance director,"customer tastes are converging.Fuel effciency matters everywhere