The H platform, or H-body designates a General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 front wheel drive full-sized

Full-size car

A full-size car is a marketing term used in North America for an automobile larger than a mid-size car. In the United States, the EPA uses "large car" to denote full-size cars....

 automobile platform

Automobile platform

An automobile platform is a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of automobiles, often from different, but related marques...

 beginning in 1986. It is related to the C

GM C platform

The General Motors C platform was an automobile platform designation used for full sized luxury cars until 2005.-Rear wheel drive:...

, G

GM G platform (FWD)

The General Motors G platform automobile platform designation was used for front-wheel drive full-sized luxury cars between 1995 and 2003. It is related to the C, H, and K platforms....

 and K

GM K platform (FWD)

The General Motors K platform was an automobile platform designation used for front wheel drive Cadillac models beginning in 1980. It replaced the rear wheel drive K platform....

 platforms.

Previously the H platform

GM H platform (RWD)

The General Motors H platform or H-body is an automobile platform designation used for the 1971–1980 model year rear wheel drive line of subcompact cars...

 designation was used for unrelated rear-wheel drive compact

Compact car

A compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...

 cars.

Many H-bodies used GM's large 3800 V6, and supercharged versions were available from 1991 to 2003. They originally came in both 2-door and 4-door versions, but the four door sedans were dramatically more popular, and two door models were dropped by 1992.

According to one source, the H-Body sedans were the next "big thing" for GM, and development cost more than $3 billion, which is on par with roughly how much Ford invested in the Ford Taurus

Ford Taurus

The Ford Taurus is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States. Originally introduced in the 1986 model year, it has remained in near-continuous production for more than two decades, making it the fourth oldest nameplate that is currently sold in the North American...

. Both the H-body sedans and the Taurus (based on the D186 platform

Ford D186 platform

The Ford D186 platform is a mid-size car platform, and was used for three cars and a minivan. The D186 was first used with the 1986 introduction of the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable. D186 was also significant because it introduced front-wheel drive to Lincoln as well to Ford minivans...

) were launched fully in 1986.

In the 2000s the H-body designation began to be used for a re-engineered platform based on the GM G platform (FWD)

GM G platform (FWD)

The General Motors G platform automobile platform designation was used for front-wheel drive full-sized luxury cars between 1995 and 2003. It is related to the C, H, and K platforms....

. Some media reports refer to these cars as G-bodies even though General Motors uses H. Previously used for the Buick LeSabre

Buick LeSabre

1959LeSabre and all other 1959 Buicks not only got new names, but all-new styling as well, adopting the new GM B- and C-body used on all of the corporation's full-sized cars...

 and Pontiac Bonneville

Pontiac Bonneville

The Pontiac Bonneville was an automobile built by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1957 to 2005. It was introduced as a limited production performance convertible during the 1957 model year...

, the final car on this platform was the Buick Lucerne

Buick Lucerne

The Buick Lucerne is a full-size car sold by the Buick division of General Motors. Introduced at the 2005 Chicago Auto Show, the Lucerne replaced both the Park Avenue and the LeSabre for the 2006 model year, and was sold through the 2011 model year...

, which ended production in June 2011. The chassis identification can be found on the 4th letter of the VIN

Vin

Vin may refer to:*Voltage input, an alternative form for Vin-People:*Vin Diesel*Vin Scully*Vin Suprynowicz*Vin, the name of a character from the video games Jak II and Jak 3*a diminutive of the name "Vincent"...

.

Vehicles

Years	Wheelbase	Model	Previous platform	Next platform
1986–1999	110.8 in	Buick LeSabre Buick LeSabre 1959LeSabre and all other 1959 Buicks not only got new names, but all-new styling as well, adopting the new GM B- and C-body used on all of the corporation's full-sized cars...	GM B platform GM B platform The B platform, or B-body, was General Motors' full-size rear-wheel drive automobile platform. It was closely related to the C-body and D-body and was used for coupés, sedans, and station wagons....
2000–2005	112.2 in	Buick Lesabre Buick LeSabre 1959LeSabre and all other 1959 Buicks not only got new names, but all-new styling as well, adopting the new GM B- and C-body used on all of the corporation's full-sized cars...		Retired
1986–1999	110.8 in	Oldsmobile 88 Oldsmobile 88 The Oldsmobile 88 was a full-size car sold by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors and produced from 1949 until 1999. From 1950 to 1974 the 88 was the division's top-selling line, particularly the entry-level models such as the 88 and Dynamic 88... /LSS	GM B platform GM B platform The B platform, or B-body, was General Motors' full-size rear-wheel drive automobile platform. It was closely related to the C-body and D-body and was used for coupés, sedans, and station wagons....	Retired
1987–1999	110.8 in	Pontiac Bonneville Pontiac Bonneville The Pontiac Bonneville was an automobile built by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1957 to 2005. It was introduced as a limited production performance convertible during the 1957 model year...	GM G platform (RWD) GM G platform (RWD) The General Motors G platform was an automobile platform designation used for mid-sized rear wheel drive cars first from 1969-1972 and again from 1982 to 1988....
2000–2005	112.2 in	Pontiac Bonneville Pontiac Bonneville The Pontiac Bonneville was an automobile built by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1957 to 2005. It was introduced as a limited production performance convertible during the 1957 model year...		Retired
2006–2011	115.6 in	Buick Lucerne Buick Lucerne The Buick Lucerne is a full-size car sold by the Buick division of General Motors. Introduced at the 2005 Chicago Auto Show, the Lucerne replaced both the Park Avenue and the LeSabre for the 2006 model year, and was sold through the 2011 model year...