“On the service end, I appreciate the offering for a customer to do research," said Paul Zimmermann, partner in Matick Automotive, which owns Matick Chevrolet in Redford Township and Matick Toyota in Macomb. "Yet with the complexity of vehicles and what a vehicle specifically needs … I shudder to think of a customer ordering an oil filter and they come to pick it up at the dealership and we have to say it’s not the right one.”

We definitely can't solve this conundrum with computers. I shudder to think of trying to build a system that returns SKUs in a user search once they enter their VIN or specify their make and model. Seems like a completely impossible task.