I think manufacturers are going in the opposite direction now, though.
When I bought my VW they had just recently (within past 2-3 years) changed to a packaged model for options where you had to buy options together, and packages were dependent on others in tiers. So e.g. if I wanted the xenon headlights or the 'kessy' keyless entry and start, I had to buy the option package with those, which I think also included an upgraded stereo system. This package required another option package full of other things I didn't want (sunroof, sat nav), so in short if I wanted fancy headlights I had to buy a whole slew of other things to get them. In the past I could have ordered those headlights separately. I ended up not getting any extra options.
I think what's going on is that they want to be able to forecast how much of each option they need, and they want to be able to turn around on a new car purchase quickly. If it was all custom, they either have to build it overseas and ship it - takes a long time - or they have to ship generic cars here and install the options somewhere else, like the dealership, where they have inventory and tooling and personnel costs issues. It's much easier to produce 1000 red cars with option package a and reduce choice for the customer, as long as they go for it.
When I bought my VW they had just recently (within past 2-3 years) changed to a packaged model for options where you had to buy options together, and packages were dependent on others in tiers. So e.g. if I wanted the xenon headlights or the 'kessy' keyless entry and start, I had to buy the option package with those, which I think also included an upgraded stereo system. This package required another option package full of other things I didn't want (sunroof, sat nav), so in short if I wanted fancy headlights I had to buy a whole slew of other things to get them. In the past I could have ordered those headlights separately. I ended up not getting any extra options.
I think what's going on is that they want to be able to forecast how much of each option they need, and they want to be able to turn around on a new car purchase quickly. If it was all custom, they either have to build it overseas and ship it - takes a long time - or they have to ship generic cars here and install the options somewhere else, like the dealership, where they have inventory and tooling and personnel costs issues. It's much easier to produce 1000 red cars with option package a and reduce choice for the customer, as long as they go for it.