When I started driving (don't ask when that was) if you wanted a new car the dealer would have maybe 50 cars on the lot. If you had to have a new one pronto, then you picked one from the lot and drove home, but lots of folks would sit with a salesman and choose the features they wanted (color, options, etc) and in about 3-6 weeks took ownership of their new baby. The car was built to their specs on the assembly line.
Things have changed now and dealers have hundreds of units on hand and massive amounts of credit invested in their stock. Factories are closing for extended periods because people are not buying cars fast enough to warrant continued production line runs. Individuality in cars is gone since option packages are the way the factories say they will be and you can only get certain interior colors with the exterior color you want.
Does anybody besides myself think that going back to the earlier method of car sales would help a little with the automobile industry's problem of having more cars than folks will buy and dealers not being able to get needed credit? I say it sure could not hurt.

 

I would agree but the companies have the proverbial tiger by the tail. They have entered into collective bargaining agreements that limit their hiring and firing procedures and require them to pay salaries and benefits that probably cannot be afforded under the old method. That and they have outsourced plants to foreign countries that would make it very difficult for them to "build to order". I fear 3-6 weeks would be more like months.
Ideally, for the consumer, you suggested way would work but the cost of a vehicle would probably skyrocket.

All that being said I agree with you idea but the situation is endemic to the entire economy, not just the auto industry. Look at new homes in a new subdivision, 4 maybe 5 floorplans to pick from.