I agree the of Lionel to the automobile industry is absurd. But then again there are many who seem to think Lionel is akin to Burger King, where you just make a post of what you want them to make, and they'll whip one up for you in a minute.
Well, unless you want to pick some trains that do sell in much larger quantities. I'm sure if you called Lionel seeking parts for a traditional box car (which Lionel has sold in the millions over the years) parts would be available, save for the inventory glitch, where a very common part is momentarily out of stock.
These 86' box cars are brand new items, and as RickO pointed out above, they will eventually have some parts in the method Mike Reagan has talked about. If you want to complain about Lionel not having parts on a brand new, small production run item... maybe you consider buying trains the kinds of trains that Lionel has sold millions of, for which parts are more universal and readily available, if not from Lionel then from other parts vendors.
