Cast aside the masks, plastic partitions and copious amounts of hand sanitizer that now rate as basic costs of selling cars.
What lies ahead for U.S. dealerships as they slowly come back up to speed will be anything but business as usual.
Conversations across the country last week found dealers grateful for the sight of shoppers as well as relieved by sales declines that would have once been viewed as disastrous. Adjustments were being made to allow customers to take test drives alone. A once-unimaginable concern — the legal liability tied to a deadly virus being transmitted inside a showroom — became a headline.
But with government doctors warning senators of the dangers of getting back to normal too fast, even staying open isn't guaranteed.