India, Feb. 18 -- By Dr. R. Balasubramaniam

Buying a new car today is not a transaction. It is a day-long theatrical production in which you play the lead role without ever seeing the script. You enter a dealership hoping to compare a few models, take a test drive and buy the car. The dealership, however, has other ideas.

Before you cross the first row of polished machines, a young executive appears with the timing of a seasoned magician. She welcomes you, offers water and coffee, settles you into a chair and promises that a sales agent is on his way. What she omits is that he seems to be travelling from another city and will arrive only after a ceremonial twenty-minute wait.

He finally appears, asks what you are looking for and then e...