Vehicle Number: Decode and Validate Structured Vehicle Identification Numbers

Question

## Problem

A vehicle identification number (VIN) follows a structured format: positions encode manufacturer, model, year, and a check digit. Given a string, validate it as a VIN and decode its fields. The check digit at position 9 is computed using a weighted sum modulo 11 (result 10 -> 'X').

```python
def decode_vin(vin: str) -> dict | None:
    """
    Return {manufacturer, model_year, serial, valid} if parseable.
    Return None if length != 17 or contains I, O, or Q.
    """
    pass
```

**Example:**
```
Input:  "1HGCM82633A004352"
Output: {
  "manufacturer": "Honda (USA)",
  "model_year": 2003,
  "serial": "004352",
  "valid": True
}
Input:  "INVALIDVIN000001O"
Output: None  # contains forbidden char O
```

## Follow-ups

1. Walk through the check digit computation for a sample VIN.
2. How would you extend this to support European (EU) VIN formats that differ slightly?
3. Given a million VINs, how do you batch validate efficiently?
4. If you were building an API around this, what error codes and messages would you expose?

Vehicle Number: Decode and Validate Structured Vehicle Identification Numbers

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