Unnecessary models in the range

[Nicky]

Was sitting in traffic earlier beside a 3 Series and a 4 Series and it got me thinking; was there any need for the 4?

A few more models that I'd see as unnecessary from other manufacturers would be the Signum when there was already a Vectra, the Bora when there was already the Passat, the A8 when there's already an A6 and A8 etc.

 

[Rocko]

A3 Saloon. But apparently a huge seller in the states and China.

And I like it.

 

[Cooper]

I would say the 4 series makes sense, for the coupé anyway. The GT stuff they peddle, not for me!

 

[Nicky]

A3 Saloon. But apparently a huge seller in the states and China.

And I like it.

Designed for you Rocko. You bought 1 yet?

 

[Boydie]

LOL without opening the thread I assumed you were talking about the 4. Personally I think the 4 looks great so get rid of the 3!

A3 saloon, I agree, what's the point!! Just buy an A4. Same with the A7, Q3 and X1/3.

 

[Rocko]

Designed for you Rocko. You bought 1 yet?

Not yet

 

[Lyons]

Yeh, BMW could win an award for this.

The GT models are ridiculous.

The A3 is smaller than the A4, so can't really say why not just buy an A4?! That's like comparing the Golf and Passat!

 

[Artoir]

When you think of the series x variants x engine range x transmissions... There must be nearly 100 different cars before you even look at things like optional extras. Their R&D budget must just be out of this world.

 

[Gavlar]

Audi are kings of this too, so much overlap

 

[jimcupra]

The whole Renault range

 

[RallyCiaran]

A3 Saloon. But apparently a huge seller in the states and China.

And I like it.

Apparently every panel on it, along with the head and tail lights are different from the hatchback. They put in a lot of extra work to make it look good.

 

[Rocko]

I think it's a lovely looking motor.

 

[Michael M]

Q3 would be one. Surely a Q5 would do the job just fine for the school run mums etc...

or even an A3 sport back

 

[Gavlar]

A3 Saloon. But apparently a huge seller in the states and China.

And I like it.

That interior though. Centre console looks like its from a 107 or something

 

[Rocko]

Feck all wrong with that.

 

[Cartunes]

People demand choice!

The reason manufacturers make so many models is because they listen to the voice of the customer - and unlike little Norn Iron/ North of Ireland - the rest of the world demands to be listened to! Competition causes paranoia in the unsound business mind, this paranoia tells them that they are missing out by not having a slightly smaller/ bigger model than the current model. Big car company bosses pride is another factor - they want market share. Customers with cash demand something new after they get fed up with their current chariot. These factors and others combine to create huge product ranges built up from a handful of platform architectures.

This also leads to overloaded automotive design engineers who dream about early retirement on a sandy island while they sift through thousands of pieces of paper every day and try to communicate with other engineers who are too busy to give answers, attending pointless meetings, waiting for project direction from the incompetent, dealing with lying suppliers who know they can't deliver but flag up a problem on the day they have promised to do so.......... Rant over, off to another pointless meeting.

 

[RComms]

BMWs just seems crazy at the moment. I think its complete overkill from them. I sort of followed what they are doing with odd numbered saloons and even number coupes..... but then they went and released this under the 2 series brand..

About as sporty as Boris Johnston at a pie eating contest. But its ok... they called it an 'Active Tourer', which means you can rally it. Not to be confused with a mere Tourer. Or a GT. Or an X series. Or anything else in the 2 series range.

 

[thomas_lad]

BMWs just seems crazy at the moment. I think its complete overkill from them. I sort of followed what they are doing with odd numbered saloons and even number coupes..... but then they went and released this under the 2 series brand..

About as sporty as Boris Johnston at a pie eating contest. But its ok... they called it an 'Active Tourer', which means you can rally it. Not to be confused with a mere Tourer. Or a GT. Or an X series. Or anything else in the 2 series range.

This was the first car that came to mind after seeing the thread title. i saw the advert for it the other night and just thought, boke, what a boring piece of machinery!

 

[Chris Mac]

x6 has to be up there

 

[Mont]

The Signum was an odd car. I liked the shape of it over the Vetra, but wasn't it just a four seater? Seemed like a really stupid layout for a car that size.

I love the A3 saloon, especially in that grey but A4s seem massive now in comparison. I realised the other week that I can no longer tell the difference between an A4 Avant and an A6 Avant

 

[Gaz]

The 4 series makes perfect sense to me. There's always been a 3-series coupe, this is a direct replacement for it.

What I do find unnecessary is some of the weird niche models which are 'filling' a gap already occupied by a certain model. Take for example, the 6 series coupe. The 6 series is basically a coupe version of the 4 door 5 series, with more GT pretensions. So why did they then release a 4-door 6-series?

In saying that, car manufacturers nowadays no doubt design their chassis' and wheelbases just so that they can platform share and spin off numerous models. In one way, it's good for the consumer - it gives us huge choice compared to 20 years ago. And there's savings for both the consumer and manufacturer through this sharing and economies of scale.

There's probably a model out there that suits everyone's needs. But the downsides is that these vehicles lose a lot of their individuality and dare I say it, 'character'. Having a corporate face/shape (an A3 saloon, A4, A6 and A8 all look like different sized versions of each other) only exaggerates this effect. And then you have cross-manufacturer sharing, which exaggerates it even more - for example, many VAG group cars having the same basic platforms, engines, etc. It can certainly make you pine for the days when a Nova looked absolutely nothing like an Astra or Cavalier, and a Peugeot 205/309/405 all looked suitably different from one another and drove suitably different too.

 

[AMG]

BMWs just seems crazy at the moment. I think its complete overkill from them. I sort of followed what they are doing with odd numbered saloons and even number coupes..... but then they went and released this under the 2 series brand..



About as sporty as Boris Johnston at a pie eating contest. But its ok... they called it an 'Active Tourer', which means you can rally it. Not to be confused with a mere Tourer. Or a GT. Or an X series. Or anything else in the 2 series range.

It's also based on the new MINI platform, so actually has nothing in common with the 2 series coupe at all, it's even front wheel drive!

 

[Gavlar]

Feck all wrong with that.

Instantly put me off the car when I seen the interior lol

 

[davey-dimples]

Was sitting in traffic earlier beside a 3 Series and a 4 Series and it got me thinking; was there any need for the 4?

A few more models that I'd see as unnecessary from other manufacturers would be the Signum when there was already a Vectra, the Bora when there was already the Passat, the A8 when there's already an A6 and A8 etc.

lol

 

[gary87]

The A7 saloon. It looks crap and like a deformed A6.