I would argue that reinforces the point. Car customers don't really have a relationship with a dealership until they're far into the process of selecting and bu

I would argue that reinforces the point. Car customers don't really have a relationship with a dealership until they're far into the process of selecting and buying a car. Even then the dealership doesn't own the relationship, there's lots of competition and the customer can play dealers against each other. OTOH, a customer certainly has a relationship with the car manufacturer, through advertising and mental image. When you shop for a car you choose the make and model first, then find a dealership that will sell it to you. If you get your media from Amazon, you go to Amazon to see what they have and choose from that. Amazon controls the relationship in a way the dealer does not. IIRC, this is basically why car dealerships exist and you can't just order a car out of a catalog.