If you go by the news coming out of CES and the Detroit auto show, the future of driving is luminescent. Cars are getting safer, swankier, smarter. But between showcase and wide, open road, there’s a transaction process stubbornly rooted in the 20th century: actually selling these things at the car dealership.
That’s a problem, and not just because nobody enjoys haggling with the sales folks. By virtue of their entrenched position between automaker and consumer, dealers aren’t just responsible for selling new cars to people. They’re the ones who have to explain those cars, and how to use their myriad, confusing, wonderful new features. And, to the surprise of nobody who’s spent time in a dealership lately, they’re sometimes lousy teachers.