Here is a very comprehensive article on deciphering VIN codes on vehicles. It is not complicated but they do hold a lot of interesting information.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_identification_number
Of the 17 numbers/letters the first 9 give international standard information. The last lot are manufacturers particular car identifiers. These can range from simple sequential production numbers to information on model, engine fitted and various options. So although you can get the basic information on every car you still need the manufacturer's codes to get the full information
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