Welcome to the community! I completely agree with that. Heck have an accessories shop on site so after your Scout is built it can go to the accessory shop and get things added before you pick up but it’s not the factory dealing with the fiddly things.Just as a general principle, I would say “don’t get distracted.” Make the basic platform as solid and high quality as possible, and let the aftermarket take care of accessories- that’s what’s going to happen, anyhow. To do this, you need an open design approach. I have a Grenadier - as long as you have a torx set and panel tools, you can do pretty much anything you want with it. You want to make sure the factory doesn’t get too hung up on customization to the point that it hurts production output. That’s one of the things Lynn Calder has acknowledged- so Ineos is trying to move to a couple of platforms (offroad and more the bougie horse crowd) and letting owners go from there.
There are a couple of essentials that I think you need to option from factory. One is auxiliary power and having pre-run hot ports. Don’t have to drill holes or set up a SwitchPro. I have 9 hot leads on my Grenadier - 4 on the roof, 2 in the engine bay, 2 inside, and 1 in back (high amp). That’s in addition to the 12v leads (one in front, one in back).
Second is diff locks - much better to have this OEM. That would be a big project for an owner, so you can option that with the “offroad package.” But please don’t make the offroad package too expensive - diff locks and sway bar disconnect, maybe different tire selection - but if you throw in all the goodies (eg air compressor etc), you’ll price people out of that option and they can’t work their way up to a full build.
Owner options from factory is fantastic. But be careful with it - if you go too far, you’ll jam up production and then quality will take a hit. It’s important to identify the foundation options that really need to be OEM - and then design it in a way that is easy to configure in the aftermarket.
Now I have questions about your Grenadier experience. You are the first owner on here that I can think of. I really considered one. Test drove them twice and even printed the owners manual. I couldn’t get past the steering and gas mileage and my husband really didn’t like there was no gauge cluster. But oh how I love how they look. That hood that you can put the checker panels on and the ladder in the back! And don’t get me started on how much I love love those safari windows.
How long have you had yours and what has your owner experience been like? Are you replacing your Grenadier with a Scout or adding a Scout to your garage?
Welcome again!!