“And the balljoint has a fitting that can be replaced with a zerk fitting to allow greasing. But this is a modification because the manufacturer didn’t do that.”
You’re somewhat mistaken, actually 
Those fittings you’re talking about are supposed to be removed and replaced with a zerk fitting during the pre-delivery inspection
Every once in awhile I work on a vehicle where that didn’t yet occur 
I’m not sure personally that “permanently lubricated” joints are an advancement.
But, then again, when I think of the additional damage that a quickie lube could do, maybe they are.
My 40+ year old Ford truck requires periodic greasing off the suspension, steering, and driveshaft like you say, but my 20+ year old Corolla needs none of that under car greasing. Except for the Corolla I do renew the CV joints from time to time, which involves applying new CV grease. And I lube the door and hood hinges and latches on the Corolla at the same time I change the engine oil.
“And the balljoint has a fitting that can be replaced with a zerk fitting to allow greasing. But this is a modification because the manufacturer didn’t do that.”
“You’re somewhat mistaken, actually”
If this was a Chrysler minivan it didn’t come with standard zerk fittings. The fittings were for assembly injection only, the ball joints are maintenance free like other vehicles but you can add them if you wish. These vehicles did not come with “shipped loose” zerk fittings to be installed during new car prep.
Some of the Ford Superduty trucks were shipped with those “plugs” while identical trucks were shipped with regular zerks
If you replace those “plugs” with regular zerks, when you hit them with a grease gun, grease escapes exactly where it’s supposed to
That tells me those plugs were supposed to be removed during PDI, but “speedy” didn’t feel like doing it. And he probably didn’t check the tire pressure either 
I don’t know if things have changed but at one time Nissan trucks were shipped with plugs in all of the ball joints, tie rod ends, and so on.
Grease Zerks were in a package in the glove box and were to be installed during the PDI.
Trucks still use zerk fittings in some locations but Waterbuff said minivan. Chrysler minivans did not have plugs in the ball joints, they had non conventional grease fittings, check valves to allow injection during assembly.
Thanks for the info. So the car maker leaves it up to the dealer to do at pre-delivery? From the number of times I’ve seen people talk about no zerk fittings, lots of dealers aren’t doing it.
And I’ve never had a dealership offer to do it later, like a few years down the road during an oil change.
Thanks to all who commented. And to reduce mystery, the minivan is a Chrysler product from many years ago.
@Nevada_545 is right about the check valve fittings.