[joshuaellinger]

The dealership model comes from the abuses by the OEMs during the first part of the 1930s. They would sell you cars and then charge a ton for repairs and lock you in to only getting repairs from them.

The local dealerships are small businesses incorporated in the states so they can be subject to more political pressure and local control.

It has been eroded over the years but originally the dealerships protected consumers from the sort of bad behavior you see from Telsa and Apple.

Not that I love the dealership model but there is real competition at the local level on car repair in a way that there doesn't appear to be with Telsa.