tsos

My dad and I are discussing whether car companies still make to order a particular option combination.

After failing to get his Camry with an unusual bench seat, and a discussion with a regional representative, he insists that Toyota does not make to order (anymore?). Furthermore, he claimed dealers will lie about this matter in order to get the buyer hooked.

I, lamely, insisted that Acura still did (I have a MSM/6 spd/Nav on order -- Napleton Acura: "Your vehicle is being built right now in Japan"). Needless to say, without facts, and his experience with various Toyota dealers, I came out on the weaker end of this discussion.

One view is that many car companies bundle most of their options, and produce 100k+ units, so they produce all combo's anyway, and would not need to make to order.

This doesn't hold with the TSX, which is produced in low numbers
(and even fewer MSM/6sp/Nav's).

So, does Acura make to order? And who else still does?

id888

I think you're partly right about Acuras. When I ordered mine in early 2003, the sales rep said that they would just attach their dealership to a car on the assembly line.

When I toured the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the guide indicated that all Corvettes are built to an individual's specifications. He further stated that even Corvettes ordered by dealerships had to be spec'd out prior to construction of the vehicle. That plant puts out about 300 cars per week. In comparison, the Camry plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, puts out about as many vehicles per hour.

I think the NSX is made-to-order as I would imagine are many supercars.

dom

TSX's are'nt made to order either. Or at least what I undertstand the definition of "made to order" means. To me made to order is Acura building me the Milano Red/Ebony TSX I wanted. They would'nt do that. The MSM/6Sp/Navi car your talking about is an available combination, so all the factory is doing is making another one. They would'nt just be making another Milano Red/Ebony, they would have been making it especially for me.

They don't make Bench seats for Camry's. The bench are'nt available nor designed to be used with the car. When they designed the Camry they did'nt plan for a Bench seat. How would it fit? What if the tranny's in the way? Thats almost asking the impossible. Can you special order a Bench seat in a TSX?

tsos

domn - if I understand you correctly, my dealership just grabbed one of the MSM/6sp/Nav already scheduled to be built, rather than having an extra one be built? So my (most) rare combination is part of the reason for my 2.5 month wait (I'm "expecting" at the end of the month).

Quick estimate: 1/20 are MSM, 1/5 are 6 spd, 1/2 have Nav, or 1/200 are this combination. So ~4/month - reasonable.


Does a Avalon count as a Camry? Their ~ 5 year old Avalon has a bench seat. They won't replace the car until they can get a bench seat (their reason is that they need a 6 seater to pick up my family at the airport - can't argue with that).

dom

Not sure wheather they're building it for you or not. I guess the answer would be yes but its a car they have made before and will continue to make so they would'nt have a problem doing so.
So is it "made to order"? I guess it depends how you look at it. I would say no, because my definition of "made to order" is getting something in the car that is'nt available in the brocheure (ie. Milano Red/Ebony)

Definently can't agrue with your dad needing a bench for more passenger space, but unforturnately the only way he'll probly be able to get a bench these days will be in a Minivan. I hav'nt seen a Sedan with a front bench for years.

kiteboy

Made to order almost always means being able to chose the exact combination of already available options. It makes more sense when the maker allows for individual options to be selected. Look at BMW or M-B websites - the cars are available in a myriad of colours, interior materials and you can pick almost everything separately (e.g. folding rear seats).

While shopping for the TSX, I spoke with M-B and Audi dealers about these options. You can have the flexibility in choosing options, but you have to wait. Cars on the lot were spec'ed by the dealer, but they tend to only order the common variations since they want to sell the car quickly.

This doesn't really apply to the TSX, since the options are transmission, nav and colour. There are 40 US and 10 Cdn permutations of the car, compared to hundreds or thousands of permutations with the German cars. Honda's just going to punch out all the combos in the ratios they think will sell. Dealers looking for a rare combo like MSM-MT-Nav will just wait until the next one rolls off the line.

The only time I've seen more customization is in super-lux cars like Rolls or Bentley where you can hand them a swatch of leather and they'll match it, etc. They will almost never do any mechanical changes like seats since they'll probably need to crash test them and recertify them with the airbags.

Asking for factory bench seats in a Camry as a one-off would likely result in a $500k car to get all that done. Assuming they don't need to design a column mounted shifter. It's not like installing aftermarket Recaros where the user assumes the risk.

Bench seats in sedans went the way of the dodo when the minivans offered proper 7 and 8 passenger seating with shoulder restraints.