Imports like Honda can't be "ordered" from "the factory" old-school American car style. However, since there is a finite set of option/color combos available, "your" car can usually be found at another dealer, and dealers "exchange" cars all the time, if another dealer with the right car is within the right distance range (more than 50 miles [to avoid working with direct local competition] but probably not more than one or two hundred miles either.
And yes, when buying our Odyssey, I had a Honda dealer try to hit me for $500 exhange fee (they DO have to perform another check-in inspection and detail), but I simply went to another local dealer. We told the other dealer the exact model EX-L/RES) and color combo we wanted, and they accepted our deal. They found "our" Odyssey at a dealer about 75 miles away, made the exchange that afternoon, and delivered our new Ody to us the next day!
BTW, the original/source dealer for our Ody had already installed pin-stripes and window-security etching. We never heard a peep about them from our local dealer, so one of them "ate" the cost of those items (which are fluff anyway). No one tried to alter our contract terms, and we ended up with free pin stripes and security. Fortunately my wife and I were tickled, and love the stripes....
BTW, it is surprisingly easy to get a job as a dealer-exchange driver if you have a good driving record (no tickets for me since 1990). I'm in between jobs right now, so I plan to do some DX driving just for the hell of it to bring in a little (very little) money, and hopefully make at least one exchange trip with an S2000!
