with each model change the mandatory diagnostics and other electronic "aids" needed to service any car multiply. This shuts out many independent shops that can't afford (or maybe can't even get) the needed gizmos. The revenue stream from service is now a very important part of every dealer's economics. I have a very good friend, an ace mechanic who had put in 15 years at a Cadillac dealer, who at a mandatory training session learned that "...there is no more room for craftsmanship in auto repair" and that henceforth he would be a "technician". He quit the next day and now has a new career in construction.

The whole "new" car process...selling...servicing...owning...has become a shameless drama of exploitation and mendacity.