Final answer:
The Internet is a disruptive technology in the realm of automobile purchases, radically altering traditional consumer buying patterns and displacing legacy sales channels.
Step-by-step explanation:
Given that the Internet has greatly changed the landscape of how consumers purchase products and has introduced new methods that compete with traditional retail channels, the internet in the context of automobile purchases is considered a disruptive technology. Disruptive technology typically creates a new market and gradually improves until it can surpass and displace established technologies. Examples of disruptive technology include personal computers, which started as products for hobbyists and grew to replace more substantial computing systems, and digital photography, which has upended traditional film-based photography businesses.