Here in Illinois, car dealerships are closed on Sundays. I never really wondered why this was the case and just accepted it as the norm. But today it got me wondering why, exactly, it is this way.
That question led me naturally to Wikipedia, wherein I learned that this law is a so-called Blue Law. The relevant passage:
In Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, car dealerships continue to operate under blue-law prohibitions in which an automobile may not be purchased or traded on a Sunday. Maryland permits Sunday automobile sales only in the counties of Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Howard. Texas and Utah prohibit car dealerships from operating over consecutive weekend days. In some cases these laws were created or retained with the support of those whom they affected, to allow them a day off each week without fear of their competitors still being open.
Pretty much all of the car dealerships in the upper midwest are closed on Sunday! That’s pretty remarkable; for a moment I thought I could sneak across the border to Wisconsin and get a car but… nope. I’d have to go to Ohio, Kentucky, or Kansas and that ain’t happenin’.
Posted in Consumer Commentary