Edward Taylor & Eileen Preisinger:

Mercedes-Benz and BMW are aiming to sell more standardized cars and services to boost profit margins and simplify the complex list of options for buyers — while also giving them the choice of a bespoke car if they want.

The move is partly aimed at attracting customers who might struggle with the ever growing list of model variants, multimedia features and safety technology available in new cars, the companies say.

Ian Robertson, BMW’s board member responsible for sales and marketing, said the new 4-series coupe was being offered with four different trims, and the i8 hybrid sports car was being offered in only three packages of options.

“We have packaged a number of trim levels to help the customer and ourselves, because the complexity was very high. A clearly understandable package was the M sport package,” Robertson said, referring to cars equipped with the performance luxury trim which comes with more ornate bumpers and spoilers and top of the line engines.

We have discussed model proliferation in recent Asymcar episodes.

GM seeks to do the same.

And, less is more.