Regarding options, my dealer told me there was school of thought among most of the big manufacturers, including premium brands, whereby they would build all models of their vehicles with options like heated seats and steering wheel, cruise control, various levels of satnav, various infotainment levels, folding door mirrors, central locking variations, keyless entry - stuff like that but not paint or wheel choices, etc. During the buying process, the customer would then choose their options by ticking the appropriate boxes, at which point the customer would then enter into an annual subscription agreement to have those options activated.
The manufacturers reckon this would enable them to build the cars quicker and cheaper with consequent faster delivery times. Also, if the buyer discovered that any of the options he had chosen was not being used enough, he could annually have that option removed (de-activated) and have his subscription adjusted accordingly.
I think BMW already do this with some of their options.
