There's really no need to make the decision (save money, or enjoy the services a dealer provides) for everyone at once in a state legislative body... not unless you're in what economists call the "rent-seeking" business, anyway.
Car dealers are important for the same reason a shoe store is important. You've got to go in and try on the shoe first to see if it fits. But much like with shoes, consumers can figure out what fits and then go home and order from someone else.
The only difference is (in my eyes) it would be even worse with cars, because it's easier to spend an extra $5-10 supporting your local shoe store than it is to spend an extra couple thousand supporting the dealer.
Dealers are also a portal for interacting with the manufacturer for things like service, recalls, and TSBs. I'm not sure what, if anything, would step in to fill that void if they disappear.
And certainly used-car dealerships aren't going to evaporate under this scenario either.
Interesting comparison. Are there any laws preventing sneaker companies from selling directly to the consumer in Texas? Do shoe dealers have their own special little protectionist laws?
Or could Nike open their own corporate owned and operated store to sell Nike brand merchandise, if they were so inclined?
That sounds like a premium experience that customers should pay extra for.
The only reason I don't use a dealer now is because I found a fantastic actually-small-business mechanic who is closer to me, and who didn't try to pull the wool over my eyes and whose prices are reasonable.
Every car dealership I worked with had obscene profit margins (primarily from service), dealerships routinely collaborated with each other (a handful of old men owned most of the major dealerships for hundreds of miles and went to lunch together regularly), and all had nothing short of abusive business practices. Most of the owners had started out as salesmen and eventually worked up enough money to get a dealership of their own, at which point they rapidly expanded to multiple dealerships (which would imply a well above average rate of return on investment.)
Thankfully the 2008 crash gutted a lot of them. Hopefully tesla and the manufacturers can deliver a killing (legal) blow - without government-enforced monopoly status, they'll die quickly because they really don't really add any value to the consumer and cost tons of money.
Sorry for the rant, the entire subject is infuriating.
Don't expect draconian legislation to support your lifestyle. I'll subsidize the postal service, so everyone gets mail at a reasonable rate. But that's it. It is not a right to live in the middle of nowhere and still demand the luxuries of civilization (to be imposed by legislation).
In fact, I challenge you to find a place in Texas that would be two hundred miles from the nearest car dealer in that scenario, that is not already two hundred miles from the nearest car dealer (Terlingua?)