A pal of mine told me about a make of car (could've been the Fiat 128 or the VW Polo - circa mid to late 80's) that had a small analogue clock as an optional ex

A pal of mine told me about a make of car (could've been the Fiat 128 or the VW Polo - circa mid to late 80's) that had a small analogue clock as an optional extra. Apparently it was always factory fitted into the dashboard. If you didn't order the clock, or whatever option pack that included the clock, the manufacturer just put a blanking plate over the clock face and (I think) disconnected the power (my memory is vague on this). He claimed to have discovered this on one of his, or his mother's cars, when curiosity got the better of him as to what was behind one of these accessory blanking plates. This may have been a shaggy dog story though.