Car dealerships have survived a hundred years of disruption, but Lorraine Sommerfeld says their reputations have taken a serious hit since the pandemic and consumers are increasingly choosing to just stay away.

The frustration is not really about the car. It is about the small office after you have already decided to buy it. Lorraine Sommerfeld points to Genesis as the model built specifically around what Canadians told JD Power they hated most: negotiation. Price is the price. No commission pressure. It is what Saturn tried in the nineties and GM threw away. On the other end of the spectrum, electronic rust proofing boxes are still being sold at dealerships for up to $2,500. Sommerfeld is direct: the science does not work, and they should not be legal.

Topics: car dealerships, car buying experience, Genesis model, dealership add-ons, online car buying

GUEST: Lorraine Sommerfeld | http://driving.ca

Originally aired on2026-04-27