This raises a question: Are the kings of the Automile-the men like Ernie Boch Sr. As we move toward an electric-only future, with more direct-to-consumer purchasing options for new cars (Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid) and the rise of online used-car retailers (Carvana, for one), the traditional model of the locally based car dealership faces unprecedented challenges. On almost every front-political, economic, and technological-major disruptions to the car-selling business are coming down the literal and figurative pike.

The dustup over the electric F-150 and the policy Ford has put into place is just one sign of the dramatic changes on the horizon for car dealerships in Massachusetts. At press time, local dealerships were still deciding whether to go electric or bow out. In September, Ford kicked it up another notch: The company announced that only dealers willing to make significant investments in electric-car infrastructure and sell electric vehicles at fixed, no-haggle prices would be among the dealers allowed to sell Ford’s in-demand EVs. Sadly, Chase didn’t have the opportunity to get his truck at the MSRP price. Ford didn’t forbid markups, but even still, Herb Chambers Ford of Braintree walked back its initial price hike and pledged that the dealership would honor the manufacturer’s suggested retail price after all. The social-media firestorm paid off when Ford took notice of the anger-some of it directed not at dealers but at the manufacturer itself-and told dealers that any shady sales practices, requests for extra deposits, or misleading advertising would result in the dealership not getting any Lightnings from the factory. On one Ford F-150 forum, a user said he couldn’t wait for the day that manufacturers tore a page from the Tesla playbook and sold directly to consumers-cutting dealers out of the equation entirely. United in their outrage, truck buyers took to the Internet to share their thoughts. The overwhelming demand for the Lightning, though, put that trend on steroids, angering legions of consumers across the country who received similar letters from dealers who had also decided to tack on pricey markups-one as much as $30,000 to get the truck sooner-and ask customers for additional deposits. Ever since the pandemic caused supply-chain issues and microchip shortages, car inventories across the country have shrunk, and many dealerships have subsequently jacked up prices for consumers desperate to get their hands on a new car. High demand and higher prices for cars are, of course, nothing new. This will be locked in across all trim lines for both the 2022 & 2023 model years.” Chase considered canceling his reservation.

“I have had a meeting with my general manager, and the price point has been set at $10,000 over MSRP. “As a dealership, we are going to be selling these vehicles over MSRP,” it read, referring to the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. When Chase opened the email, though, he suddenly felt a lot less enthusiastic.

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