AUTOSARed View

After taking up work with GM I worked as an Algorithm and Software Engineer.
I was used to the GM SW architecture, once I was introduced to a new architecture, which was said to be the next most hyped standard in the automotive industry.
AUTOSAR ! its already been 8 + months and I still wonder about the necessity .
I am not acting a critic role, but just wandering with few mind boggling questions.

..........is the architecture migration expensive ?
I got a chance to attend few AUTOSAR relevant software development(auto code generation) tools demo from various vendors across the globe, I find a lot of entities being involved. Expensive license ! is what I feel. The development process would be very expensive than the native development and design

..........is AUTOSAR ISO compliant ?
my current work related to AUTOSAR is in the area of vehicle diagnostics, I found few modes mandatory in ISO were optional in AUTOSAR.

..........does AUTOSAR emphasize on all key areas of the Embedded system ?
This would be for my understanding, I would like to know how the system is classified from the
bootloader to the application layer.

.........how is the current AUTOSAR classified ?
I could to some extent understand the classification of memory and diagnostics in AUTOSAR, would like to know what are the other key main parameters to be taken into consideration while on a complete AUTOSAR migration.

.........scope of AUTOSAR ?
are the manufacturers and suppliers serious about the standard.

.........is AUTOSAR going to provide a "AUTOSAR Compliant Hardware System" blueprint for automotive electronic hardware manufacturing companies ?
after understanding few features I feel that a hardware structure has to be derived !

The standard seems to be apprehensive, great to see BMW release cars with an AUTOSAR ECU.
Any comments towards my views would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance !