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Motor Trend reports https://www.motortrend.com/news/buy-hyundai-car-on-amazon [motortrend.com] that next year you will be able to buy a Hyundai car through Amazon (at least in USA). The top picture at the link shows a typical car dealer building, surrounded by a parking lot with a mix of new cars and car-sized brown cardboard Amazon boxes. While cute, this is also a clue--cars still have to be picked up at a dealer.

"How people shop and buy products it's always evolving," Marty Mallick, Amazon vice president of worldwide corporate business development said. "We have a new generation of users that are growing up with a smartphone on their hand. And we saw a demand from our customers that they were seeking from Amazon."
        The process should be simple. Customers would log onto Amazon.com and see the inventory available in their area. They'll be able to select the trim, options, and hit checkout. After adding your Hyundai to the cart, you'll be able to put your down payment and sign all the paperwork online—no need to go to the dealer. There will not be any haggling, threats to walk out to get a better deal, or price markups. "Here's the price. It shows you what rebates you qualify for, incentives that are available, and then you decide if you go through financing," Mallick added.
[...]
Booking a test drive will not be available on Amazon, so customers will have to visit a dealer to get a feel for the car in person. "We're looking at the dealership as the hub of the physical experience," Mallick added.
      Wait times to pick up a vehicle shouldn't be long, Jin said. Because Amazon will only display the current inventory that dealers have, the car should be available within a couple of days from the date of purchase.

Then there's this, which may not be so popular with Soylentils?

The partnership between both companies is also bringing Amazon Alexa to Hyundai's vehicles in 2025. Owners will be able to ask Alexa for the same kind of voice commands they ask at home. Mallick said that things like opening the garage door, or turning on the lights at home are tasks that drivers will be able to do from their car. "You're bringing the smart home experience to your vehicle in a very intelligent way," he added.

Some online comments were visible when I looked the MT story--first one was clearly from a car salesperson, along the lines of, "So I'm going to be giving test rides and not getting a commission?"

Like a lot of things on Amazon these days, your submitter suspects that you will be paying a premium price, and not getting the same deal that you could negotiate at the dealer (end of quarter sales quotas, things like that).

Original Submission