The franchised dealer model made sense when information was asymmetric, when the dealer was the only place a customer could learn about the product, arrange financing, and take delivery. None of that is true anymore. The customer walks in knowing more about the vehicle than half the sales staff. They have already arranged financing on their phone. The dealer's value in the transaction has been compressed to logistics and paperwork and yet the franchise system extracts a margin from every deal that ultimately sits in the vehicle price. NADA commissioned a study that concluded dealers represent hardly any additional cost for OEMs to distribute their products. That study was commissioned to make a political argument. The honest version of that analysis would also show what that distribution layer costs the end customer. I am not saying dealers have no value. Fixed ops, local relationships, trade-in management are all necessary. I am saying the new vehicle sales function as currently structured is an artifact of a regulatory environment that predates the internet and both sides of this relationship know it.