Oddball automotive/business/cultural POD

[NHBL]

I was working on buying a car recently, and found out something odd.
If I want a pair of Nikes, I can go to Foot Locker, Finish Line, or the Nike store, order directly from Nike or buy through the Sears Catalong (then) or Amazon (now.)
If I want a car, I can NOT buy from a company owned store, and there will be ONE dealership for a particular brand within easy driving--possibly 2 or three within semi-easy driving if I'm in a built up area.
It is almost universally illegal in the USA for car companies to sell directly to the customers; they HAVE to sell through franchised dealerships, and the influence of the manufacturer is strongly durtailed by various state laws,
I was thinking bout how this unusual regulation could be prevented from occurring. If it does, then the stereotype of the sleazy car dealer would be different, the business model would be different...
How could this practice be prevented or changed in the modern times? I't almost unique in the United States.
How would it change popular culture? Car dealers might not get the same rep, though the "Used car salesman" can certainly pick it up.

(Inspired by the fact that I would like to be able to simply buy a car from the maker, at a set price, without worrying that I was being ripped off. I want a car that will take me for a ride, not a car dealer that will take me for a ride.)

 

[Belka DNW]

Isn't Ford already saying they'll cut dealers out if they don't stop with the stupidly high markups?

 

[marathag]

(Inspired by the fact that I would like to be able to simply buy a car from the maker, at a set price, without worrying that I was being ripped off.

That's how things originally worked, you would mail a certified check or even cash to the manufacturer, and they would ship it out to you, just like Sears or Montgomery Wards did for farm equipment thru the REA rail express.
But it didn't take long for the then new Franchise system to take over, which was easier for the Manufacturer not to deal with local orders across the country, and 2nd, local States could get their cut, in licensing them, and require them to be bonded, to protect the consumer after some fly by night operations took their constituent's money, but never delivered an auto,or wouldn't sell repair parts for old models.

 

[NHBL]

Isn't Ford already saying they'll cut dealers out if they don't stop with the stupidly high markups?

Ford wants to, but they have limited leverage. The contracts are hard to break. The dealership lobby is so string that there's states that you can't buy a Tesla. Tesla found a legal way around it, and some states promptly followed instrutions from the dealer lobby to close them.

That's how things originally worked, you would mail a certified check or even cash to the manufacturer, and they would ship it out to you, just like Sears or Montgomery Wards did for farm equipment thru the REA rail express.
But it didn't take long for the then new Franchise system to take over, which was easier for the Manufacturer not to deal with local orders across the country, and 2nd, local States could get their cut, in licensing them, and require them to be bonded, to protect the consumer after some fly by night operations took their constituent's money, but never delivered an auto,or wouldn't sell repair parts for old models.

Right--but can the game be ended or reversed.
More interesting, what might the effects be on popular culture if the new car dealer is seen as (and IS) another store--you do in, see what you want, try it, and look at the price. No funny business on the price.
(Still games like stores play today with credit, protection plans, accessorizing--but if you decide on a Ford Escort with set features, it will cost the same no matter which store you go into.)
Used cars can still have challenges, of course--anyone can sell them.

 

[Canuck Wingnut]

Part of this- certainly not all of it- is on the car manufacturers themselves. Tesla has been offering online sales in some states for a while- they get around the law by having one dealer per state who doesn't actually do anything: their job is just to hold the required bond to prove that there is a licensed dealership in the state that is doing the selling- even though all the actual sales come from Tesla's website. Similar workarounds using catalogues rather than the internet have always been possible; but the advantage of having a dedicated salesforce nationwide selling your vehicles that you don't have to pay or coordinate (or take responsibility for their actions) has generally proven too tempting for car companies to want to evade the laws.

This suggests to me that part of the PoD for an ATL where such laws are eventually ended would involve some automotive companies having an incentive to oppose them. Perhaps Japanese companies entering the American market in the 1970s want the ability to operate as they do in Japan, where sales tactics that are extremely strange to North Americans- such as partnering with a grocery chain to sell cars through their stores- were common?

 

[Grey Wolf]

There seem to be two different things here

1) Buying direct from the maker rather than through a dealer
2) Buying from a store that sells any make

It's not all that common to buy anything direct from the manufacturer - my Huawei phone was bought from the EE store, my Asus laptop was bought through Amazon, etc.

So, to be more in line with other goods, you would need car sellers to be able to pick and choose which cars from any manufacturer they wish to sell, creating a shopfront of potentially Audis, Fords, Chevrolets, Jaguars and Nissans for example

 

[NHBL]

It's not all that common to buy anything direct from the manufacturer - my Huawei phone was bought from the EE store, my Asus laptop was bought through Amazon, etc.

These days, it's not too uncommon, either. Yesterday I bought some Adidas Pro Model sneakers from the Adidas factory outlet, for example. The same plaza had a Nike outlet, a Levi's outlet, and more. Those places sell direct from the manufacturer. Factory outlets have been around for quite some time, long before the 'net. Then there's Apple stores--right from Apple.
So buying direct from the manufacturer isn't common, but isn't out of the question, either

 

[Grey Wolf]

These days, it's not too uncommon, either. Yesterday I bought some Adidas Pro Model sneakers from the Adidas factory outlet, for example. The same plaza had a Nike outlet, a Levi's outlet, and more. Those places sell direct from the manufacturer. Factory outlets have been around for quite some time, long before the 'net. Then there's Apple stores--right from Apple.
So buying direct from the manufacturer isn't common, but isn't out of the question, either

Oh... I don't think I have ever seen those here!

 

[NHBL]

Oh... I don't think I have ever seen those here!

It depends on the area. Just in New Hampshire, without even looking, i can think of conglomerations of Outlet Malls in North Conway, Merrimack, and North Hampton, plus another bunch in Kittery, Maine.