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In the mid 1950’s American automobile manufacturers began stamping and casting identifying numbers on cars and their parts. The vehicle identification number has become referred to as the “VIN”. The obvious purpose was to give an accurate description of the vehicle when mass production numbers were starting to climb in very significant numbers. Research has shown that early Vin’s came in all sorts of variations which depended on the individual manufacturer at that time.
In the early 1980’s the National highway Traffic Safety Administration (U.S. Dept. of Transport) required that all road vehicles must contain a 17 character VIN. This established the fixed VIN system for major vehicle manufacturers as it is known today. Thus, establishing a unique “DNA” style number for each unique vehicle which rolled off the assembly line.