VW's MQB system establishes fixed points for where the engine is mounted and a fixed distance from the center of the front wheels to the control pedals. The distance VW chose from pedals to front axle allows a very short front overhang, which facilitates sporty styling. "Using these proportions as the base, we can adjust other variables, such as the width of the car," said Rainer Michel, VW's vice president of product marketing and strategy in the U.S. "And since so much of the car is the same we can standardize manufacturing processes around the world, buy tools much cheaper and lower our investment in plants."
Michel said the new architecture will be extended on smaller VW models now in development, including the VW Polo and Skoda Fabia. VW, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, acquired Seat, a Spanish automaker, and Skoda, a Czech automaker. It also owns Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti. Another MQB advantage, he said, will be its ability to accommodate a number of new alternative engine options, such as plug-in gas-electric hybrids and battery-powered electrics, in addition to a range of gas and diesel engines.
This kind of flexibility is insurance of sorts for unpredictable factors auto makers must contend with over the span of years. "The increasing requirements of better fuel economy, tougher crash standards, body rigidity and over performance create a hell of cost," said Michel. "And we can't recover those costs through pricing so we have to find ways to economize. Without modular [architecture] we couldn't be profitable."
