According to recent media reports, investors are leaving skid marks as they steer away from the century-old model of selling automobiles.

Mom-and-pop dealerships, cagey price negotiations and eye-popping inventories will be left in the rearview mirror as the industry shifts toward consolidation and customers ordering customized vehicles online.

Something seems downright un-American about abandoning the time-tested system of distribution and marketing. Two of my classmates had families who owned dealerships. My father worked for two years at a used-car lot and later worked across the street fro...