This actually does happen with some car manufacturers. The one I'm most familiar with (having experience with the process) is Porsche with their GT cars and "collector grade vehicles".
Want the next 911 GT3 RS? The best way to guarantee you get one is to give a dealer a deposit (usually just $5000) for "the next GT3 RS" at least 3 years before the vehicle is officially announced. You do have to wait for that dealer to get an allocation (so often you'll place a deposit with multiple dealers who sell a lot of 911s), but when they pop you get yours assuming you were early enough in line. A few long-term repeat customers may get bumped ahead of you in line, but at the end of the day you'll get your car.
There was a lot of anger at the availability of the Cayman GT4, but despite never being a prior Porsche owner I had the opportunity to pass on it twice (for a much harder to get Boxster Spyder) because I knew how the process went, and had deposits for non-existant cars with multiple dealers years before they were announced.
Want the next 911 GT3 RS? The best way to guarantee you get one is to give a dealer a deposit (usually just $5000) for "the next GT3 RS" at least 3 years before the vehicle is officially announced. You do have to wait for that dealer to get an allocation (so often you'll place a deposit with multiple dealers who sell a lot of 911s), but when they pop you get yours assuming you were early enough in line. A few long-term repeat customers may get bumped ahead of you in line, but at the end of the day you'll get your car.
There was a lot of anger at the availability of the Cayman GT4, but despite never being a prior Porsche owner I had the opportunity to pass on it twice (for a much harder to get Boxster Spyder) because I knew how the process went, and had deposits for non-existant cars with multiple dealers years before they were announced.