Too many car brands? How about too many models?

Not too long ago, I suggested that Ford, GM and Chrysler should shrink the number of lines of cars each company has (if GM acquires Chrysler, that will cause a bit more shrinkage than I had in mind.) There's another way to look at this problem, and it's model proliferation. I just checked Edmunds.com, and for the 2009 model year, here are the figures:

• 106 Coupes
• 94 Sedans
• 87 Convertibles
• 15 Minivans and Vans
• 25 Wagons
• 81 SUVs
• 26 Light Trucks

That's 434 different models, and it doesn't even include all the variations within models (upgrades with bigger engines, nicer interiors, etc.). Car manufacturers are trying to manage the proliferation of models with platform engineering--a variety of "top hats", or bodies with interiors, riding on top of a smaller number of platforms, or chassis. The problem is that for most manufacturers, there are still too many platforms, top hats and variations. There are even variations in the way cars are put together that increase costs and cause grief on the production line. For example, one top hat design might require that the doors be attached before the interior, while another one requires the opposite. The manufacturer can't run both top hats on the same line, because the assembly station order is different. It's a problem that most manufacturers are addressing, but it took a long time for them to do it.

There has to be a more reasonable and economically sensible position between 434 models with countless variations, and "you can get any color you want, so long as it's black."