My understanding of the history of this system is that auto manufacturers wanted a way to dump their inventory reliably and so independent dealerships came into

My understanding of the history of this system is that auto manufacturers wanted a way to dump their inventory reliably and so independent dealerships came into being. Then the dealership owners got rich and influential enough to essentially get themselves enshrined in state law in multiple states. But someone else can fill me in if that’s incomplete or not quite correct.