I fully agree the typical new-car purchasing experience is nuts and I was not trying to defend it. My point was that I wasn't going to purchase a "5K or under POS" since driving through the wide open spaces of West TX in a "well seasoned" auto is not my idea of how I want to spend my retirement.
The last new car I bought was from a "one price, no negotiation" Honda dealer. It was a pleasant experience. The only other new car purchase that came close to being that easy was one I bought via the internet right after Al Gore invented it.
As near as I can figure, the process is broken, and there are vested interests (Hi, guys!) in keeping it broken. Even though I knew exactly what I wanted, I still had to plan on spending a full day in a dealership, between the sales guy, manager, and finance guy. Yeah, even when paying cash. The finance guy is really a sales stop, for undercoating, Lustre Glow paint treatment, extended warranties ("Ya know, if this breaks we gotta get a new engine from Japan. Could take weeks. The extended warranty gets ya a free rental.")
That said, from my last car buying experience, it appears that it is possible to do an end run around the process. For this to work, you have to know exactly what you want to buy in advance (vehicle make, model, option packages, and yes, even paint color if it matters to you). Have your financing lined up, and don't do a trade-in. Then, use the web site or e-mail address of the 'internet sales rep' at several regional dealerships to inquire as to their best price and availability for the particular vehicle you want.
My experience was that about half the sales reps responded with an actual offer, with the remainder either inviting me to drop by for a 'discussion' in person, or just adding the reply e-mail address to their junk mail list.
I then took the intersection of the dealerships that replied with an offer, with the dealerships that had the best reputation on several local review websites. My experience was that one of the best dealerships also had the best price on what I wanted.
I made an appointment, showed up, and got the deal done in just under two hours at the agreed price. I figure I saved an hour or two of four-square games, "Gotta talk to the manager" breaks, and general thumb twiddling and stress. I still had to sit through the finance guy's spiels (45 minutes).
(As I tend to drive vehicles until they disintegrate, the old car was [-]melted into boat anchors and soup cans[/-] donated to a charity for a tax deduction.)