I have some problems with the logic in the conclusions drawn from this article.   This is exactly the kind of thing this car-buyer would like to see on his next purchase of a new car.   Nothing really quite beats the experience of having a car that was basically built for you.   Which is possible in some places (notably Saturn, alas no more, who would order one if your requested feature set wasn’t immediately available), just not to this degree.

Although I fully get and appreciate how daunting wading through so many options can be, and why many a would-be-buyer would throw their hands up at it.   That doesn’t mean it can’t still exist.   Bundling is the answer.  We already do this with car options anyway.   We do it in many aspects of life.

Consider dining out.  Explaining to the [insert gender-neutral version of waiter here] all the ingredients you want used to prepare your entree and sides.   We wouldn’t.  We accept bundled packages, in the form of the featured dish which may or may not come with a selection of sides.   Yet we can make substitutions.   Hold the mushrooms.   Can I have onions instead of a tomato?   Even if there is a list of sides for my sandwhich which includes choice of potato, soup, or salad… 9 1/2 times out of 10 they’ll happily indulge my request for garlic toast instead.   (Try that at breakfast sometime when they ask what kind of toast you want.)

In residential construction, we call that semi-custom homes.   Yeah its a track house, and you can certainly get the cookie-cutter options, but you’re not always limited to just whats on the brochure.

That’s how I think car companies would do it.   You have your various packaged options which you can tweak to your content just like it was Burger King.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304782404577490563216345798.html?google_editors_picks=true

]]>