Intelligence grain in this OS

Automotive Intelligence at /directory is a factory encyclopedia: brand → nameplate → generation → official colours. It is not a list of dealerships. Opening the directory does not show rooftops. It shows official production nameplates and the generations those nameplates ran.

A rooftop is one physical store — one lot, one inventory file. This CRM holds that rooftop’s VINs, asking prices, and days on market. Intelligence holds factory grain. The two stores stay separate so a national nameplate never becomes “this stock.”

Units join a nameplate by year, make, and model (YMM) against the generation year range, scoped by the country in Settings. The join answers “do we have this nameplate on the lot?” and can mark a factory colour as on_lot when a unit’s exterior name matches an official paint. It does not invent a sales rank for the city or state.

Official OEM, EPA, and NHTSA sources come first. Overlay directories are citations, not the system of record. City and state unit volumes stay unknown unless a cited market_series row exists at that grain. OEM investor reports typically stop at country or macro-region. If there is no series, say unknown.

PhotoBooth colour chips and catalog stills are factory examples for the nameplate. They are not this VIN. Missing stills stay “No still.” Recolor-as-unit is forbidden: you do not take a Blueprint lot photo and publish it as Wind Chill.

Use the directory to brief a walkaround, compare official powertrains, and see which factory colours this rooftop actually stocks. Live price and days-in-stock stay on the inventory card. Intelligence never writes an APR or a monthly payment.