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There are legal issues with cutting dealers out, it's protectionism all the way down. Tesla gets away with it (sort of) by having zero dealers anywhere. Even s

There are legal issues with cutting dealers out, it's protectionism all the way down. Tesla gets away with it (sort of) by having zero dealers anywhere. Even so, they can't currently sell cars within Texas, despite having moved their HQ here. Texas is not alone[0]. Most states require automakers to use dealerships! Tesla operates stores within Texas, but only to show off the cars. If you express interest, they direct you to the website, as they are not allowed to sell to you in person. Dealers feel pretty comfortable with their legal protections right now. They probably shouldn't, because things could change quickly, but they won't change easily. 0. https://cleantechnica.com/2019/08/03/where-tesla-can-sell-cars-map/ https://cleantechnica.com/2019/08/03/where-tesla-can-sell-ca...

mywittyname 4y ago
If it gets bad enough, manufactures can spin up new brands without legacy dealership cruft. Even without that, a number of dealerships have consolidated into mega conglomerates. Manufactures could probably band together to acquire these at arms length and ensure they get the first, and largest allotment of special vehicles. But let's not pretend manufactures are innocent in all of this. For years, they tacitly encouraged shitty behavior from dealerships. They pushed margins so low that dealerships could only survive by hitting lofty sales targets and selling overpriced addons. The reason dealerships are okay with buying up new cars and selling them immediately as new is because this was the standard MO necessary for years to hit quarterly targets. If the dealership was two vehicles short of their target, and no customers were coming in, it looks like a few managers were buying some cars to trade back in next week. Customers don't blink at buying a "used" new car because dealerships just call them "demo" cars or something.
- pwinnski 4y ago
  > Manufactures could probably band together to acquire these at arms length and ensure they get the first, and largest allotment of special vehicles. To my rough recollection, that is also not allowed by law. The US government once acted to prevent single entities from controlling all pieces of a pipeline, a pattern or doctrine that got lost in the 1970s. Many laws from that era remain. And yes, for sure, I'm not saying manufacturers are blameless here! If not for the laws preventing them from owning dealerships, I'm sure they would have already done so.

mywittyname 4y ago

If it gets bad enough, manufactures can spin up new brands without legacy dealership cruft. Even without that, a number of dealerships have consolidated into mega conglomerates. Manufactures could probably band together to acquire these at arms length and ensure they get the first, and largest allotment of special vehicles. But let's not pretend manufactures are innocent in all of this. For years, they tacitly encouraged shitty behavior from dealerships. They pushed margins so low that dealerships could only survive by hitting lofty sales targets and selling overpriced addons. The reason dealerships are okay with buying up new cars and selling them immediately as new is because this was the standard MO necessary for years to hit quarterly targets. If the dealership was two vehicles short of their target, and no customers were coming in, it looks like a few managers were buying some cars to trade back in next week. Customers don't blink at buying a "used" new car because dealerships just call them "demo" cars or something.

pwinnski 4y ago
> Manufactures could probably band together to acquire these at arms length and ensure they get the first, and largest allotment of special vehicles. To my rough recollection, that is also not allowed by law. The US government once acted to prevent single entities from controlling all pieces of a pipeline, a pattern or doctrine that got lost in the 1970s. Many laws from that era remain. And yes, for sure, I'm not saying manufacturers are blameless here! If not for the laws preventing them from owning dealerships, I'm sure they would have already done so.