Price obfuscation makes it nearly impossible to do a like-for-like price comparison between two manufacturers. If the consumer isn't being hurt by these practices, then why do car dealership groups need to continue lobbying the government to uphold laws preventing direct-to-consumer sales? They know that open-pricing would drive competition and erode their middleman profits.
Not really.
https://shop.ford.com/build/f150
https://www.chevrolet.com/trucks/silverado/1500/build-and-pr...
The price isn't obfuscated. Manufacturers even publish nice tools that transparently explain their pricing model. The pricing is necessarily varied because the product configuration is varied.
Dealers are a whole different story; I agree dealer protection laws shouldn't exist, and manufacturers aren't really a fan of those laws either.