Automakers to drastically reduce possible vehicle combinations

utomakers to drastically reduce possible vehicle combinations
March31





While choice is usually a good thing, U.S. automakers have discovered that it is indeed possible to have too much of a good thing. Today's cars typical come with an option list that goes on as far as the eye can see, but the domestic automakers are discover that this is not what consumers want and not what their bottom lines need.For example, the 2007 Ford Focus was available in a dizzying array of 100,000 different combination. The Focus, mind you, is an entry-level vehicle. Moreover, over 80 percent of Ford Focus sales came from just 4,000 of those combinations. The result is that customers want vehicles that dealers don't have and dealers are often stuck with vehicle combinations that customers don't want.
But luckily, Ford CEO Alan Mulally's experience at Boeing will help Ford drastically reduce vehicle combinations. Before Mulally's time at Boeing, the airplane maker offered hundreds of different shades of white to satisfy each individual airline. Once Mulally took control of Boeing, the airline maker offered just one shade of white.
That same mentality will see the Focus' possible combinations drop by 99 percent for the 2008 model year. This year's Ford Expedition will also see a combination drop of about 95 percent.
Chrysler president Jim Press is bringing about the same kinds of changes at Chrysler. According to Yahoo, Chrysler's possible vehicle combinations have been decreased by 93 percent over the past two years. That number will continue to fall during the coming years as the automaker aims to eliminate redundant vehicles.
General Motors will also make similar changes in the coming years.
Interestingly enough, Nissan still offers a number of vehicle combinations while Toyota and Honda — Nissan's cross-country rivals — do a very good job at keeping vehicle combinations simple and logical. The Nissan Altima and Maxima are the biggest offenders, with as many as 250,000 different combinations possible, despite the fact that about 70 of those vehicles are sold in the same way.
While vehicle combinations will be decreasing in the coming years, it should make the buying process much simpler and should ultimately reduce vehicle prices across the board.