Oh-kay, so, there's an elephant in the room. My daddy always told me that if there's such a situation, the best thing to do is address it.
The luxury German automakers have all seen a SIGNIFICANT increase in the way they have been slicing and dicing their product portfolio. We've seen the introduction of four-door coupes and four-door coupe sport-utility vehicles. In addition, we've seen the implementation of hybrid and all-electric vehicles. We haven't even gotten to the diesel variants. Oh, and how about the all-wheel drive models that risen to success since Audi's dominance?
We're living in pretty remarkable times, no doubt about that. Some would argue that cars are more complicated than jets these days and although 2014 was rife with recalls, I'd say that overall automobiles are the best they've ever been.
BUT, are there TOO MANY models in the Germans product portfolio?
One could say the industry adage "there's an ass for every seat," but at the same time when I look at the BMW 3-Series I see a whole lot of cars that aren't selling.
- How many ActiveHybrid 3-Series have you seen?
- How many 3-Series diesels have you seen?
- How many 320i's do you see?
- How about the 3-Series wagon?
- How about the 3-Series Gran Turismo?
Keep in mind this is a volume product. I could point to the plethora of niche cars these companies are producing.
So, what say you?