Originally Posted by BonzoAPD
so you can't order a car to your specifications?
Nope.
The closest we come to taking orders is on the Prius. You pick one of three option packages (Toyota lists nine available packages, but is only building three of them for the forseeable future), and give 1st, 2nd and 3rd color preferences. The dealer sends in a request for an allotment of a Prius with a particular option package, and whatever color Toyota feels like sending is what shows up. The dealer then calls the customer and lets them know the car is in and asks if they want it.
On the tC, Toyota has already decided who is getting what for at least the next couple of months. What the salesman did in honda_pilot's case was talk about an incoming car, as in the car has already been allotted to the dealer and the dealer has been given a VIN and specs.