Fortunately they still have plenty of scope to cut costs by standardising both their "platforms"—the underpinnings onto which the rest of the car is assembled and other components under the bonnet that drivers do not see.
Hence the proliferation of new computer-related acronyms such as XML, SOAP, UDDI, WSDL and so on.To be sure, standardising web services is not always easy.
But it does mean raising and standardising the qualifications for joining a board.
By standardising the parameters of certain components, such as the mounting points of engines, the German carmaker hopes to be able to produce all its models on the same production line.
The regulation of fund managers should be tightened up: notably, by standardising tables of past performance and insisting they be accompanied by health warnings in large print, and by requiring fund managers to disclose all fees and charges, including transaction costs, upfront.
The idea behind them is that competitive advantage in banking comes from rigorously standardising computer systems and procedures around the world and relentlessly driving down costs.
In switching to the bachelors-masters degrees prescribed by Europe's standardising "Bologna process", many universities tried to cram bachelors degrees into just six terms.
Just as Amazon tries to take the hassle out of buying goods, it now hopes to do the same for services, by closely vetting providers and standardising offerings so that prices can be agreed in advance.
This time it will protect its advantage by not licensing Multiair to other manufacturers for at least four years.One area, however, where Fiat is still playing catch-up with rivals such as VW and PSA Peugeot Citroën is in standardising parts and platforms across model ranges.
Originally, UML was conceived as a way of standardising existing tools used to design computer programs.
GM's are still about half of that.Besides its stale model range, the other main reason for GM's modest profit recovery is its slow progress in standardising the "platforms", on which its cars' bodies and interiors are built.
