Please assist:

1.The process for buying a car in the U.S. seems to usually exhibit the following characteristics (it may differ from these, but I'm not an expert in the auto industry so just take these as given for the sake of argument):

a.A car dealership purchases cars from a manufacturer at a specific wholesale price, set by the manufacturer.

b.The car dealership puts a sticker in the car window which includes the MSRP, or manufacturer suggested retail price.

c.The car dealership negotiates the actual selling (retail) price with individual customers, such that the same car may sell for different retail prices for different customers.

For the three prices mentioned above (wholesale price, MSRP, and retail/selling price) describe how much market power an individual car dealership would have in setting each price. In terms of just the retail/selling price, how might an individual car dealership's potential market power be affected by the presence of other car dealerships in town? (E.g., a small town that has one dealership vs. a larger city where several car dealerships usually cluster in a certain area).

Given that car dealerships always ensure that the retail/selling price exceeds the wholesale price, such that customers pay more for the car than the dealership itself does, why do customers continue using car dealerships instead of purchasing the car directly from the manufacturer at its factory?

2.Why are the vast majority of undergraduate students in their early twenties? Economists recognize the association between degrees achieved and income, and this relationship should seem to be true regardless of age. Why don't we often see people in their 30s, or middle-age and older, in college classrooms?

3.The following represents demand for widgets (a fictional product):

Q_D = 10,054 - 26P + 0.01M + 1.5P_R

where P is the price of widgets, M is income, and P_R is the price of a related (fictional) good, the wodget. Supply of widgets is determined by

Q_S = 60P - 1,000

a.Determine whether widgets are a normal or inferior good, and whether widgets and wodgets are substitutes or complements.

b.Assume that M = $56,000 and P_R = $112. Solve algebraically to determine the equilibrium price and quantity of widgets.

c.Generate a supply/demand graph in Excel. Be sure that P is the vertical axis and Q the horizontal. Does the graphical equilibrium correspond to your algebraic equilibrium?

d.Now assume two events occur: income changes such that M = $58,000 and supply conditions change such that Q_S = 55P - 700. Solve algebraically for the new equilibrium price and quantity of widgets after these two changes.

4.Much is said about the market and prices for college textbooks, and not without reason. Students in this class might be interested in topics related to game theory and industrial organization, and may come across a textbook such as this. One may wonder why the list price of $330 for a hardcover textbook is so high, and suggest that it far exceeds the equilibrium price for a book.

a.Why might a publisher find it preferable to sell such a book at a price that is very far above the market equilibrium price?

b.Given the apparent success of its high-price-for-arcane-textbook strategy, how likely is it that a book publisher would attempt a similar above-equilibrium strategy for a more mainstream or popular book?

c.What arguments could be made to support the case that $330 is actually close to what the equilibrium price would be for such a book?