There’s a scene in the movie Bridesmaids where Melissa McCarthy’s uber-confident character admits that she may have bitten off more dogs than she could chew, after scooping up nine of the gift pooches at a party. Last year BMW admitted much the same in response to questions about their Mini brand’s seemingly ever expanding model mix. The thing of it is, this is an issue that BMW itself seems to have.

If you consider the Bavarian company’s lineup, there does seem to be a lot of overlap, and even more strangely, a lack of obedience to the brand’s new naming conventions. They now split their cars as either odd-numbered (coupes) or even numbered (four doors GTs, and wagons), and yet they sell the 6-series as a Gran Coupe with four doors. Yes, I know they call it a four-door coupe, but a pox on anyone who does that. Even more bewildering is BMW’s seemingly unending panoply of similar models. There’s the squashed bug of a crossover, the X6, which seems comparable in size and function with the 5-series GT AWD, while the X5 and 5 wagon also seem to compete with one another.

BMW’s lineup today is perhaps the broadest the company has ever offered here in the states – heck, probably globally – and its mix of model, engine, and position seems to also be the most confusing ever. We of course would like to help, and as such what I’m asking from you today is what you would do to either simplify their offerings, or perhaps expand them if you think they’re doing just fine, but have a few more niches to fill. How would you changes BMW’s lineup?  

Image source: caricos