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Re:Why hasn't the Internet made buying a car easier? by bediger on Wednesday April 20, 2011 @01:11PM (#2467442)
Two quotes from the article:

1. "the dealer is still involved and legally can’t be dis-intermediated in many states"

2. "In many cases it is a criminal offense for an auto manufacturer to sell a new car to anyone but a state-licensed car dealer"

The simple answer is that buying an automobile means dealing with a price-fixing cartel. The Internet hasn't fixed this process because it's legally sanctioned.

As a corollary, it's no wonder that even the tiny bit of competition from foreign auto makers caused the US auto industry to collapse. They'd had an oligarchy for decades, and they were utterly unprepared for anything.

Re:Why hasn't the Internet made buying a car easier? by maxharris on Wednesday April 20, 2011 @05:21PM (#2468434)
If you value your freedom, advocate for the repeal of these regulations (along with many others - although that is not the point I am trying to highlight here.)

Each of us has a moral right to buy and sell what we want from whomever we want. Advocacy can make this a legal right once more.

Re:Why hasn't the Internet made buying a car easier? by eru on Wednesday April 20, 2011 @05:24PM (#2468443)
Wow, that's a pretty bad state of affairs in the US. I'm glad that's one area where the EU is more market-oriented.
Re:Why hasn't the Internet made buying a car easier? by spitfire on Wednesday April 20, 2011 @01:34PM (#2467539)
They did manage to survive the english...