The comparison between the rapid displacement of 1990s search engines and the early American automobile industry completely overlooks the fundamental regulatory and operational approval constraints.
You couldn't just swap car manufacturers as easily as clicking on a new search engine; the jurisdiction and legal framework for physical goods like vehicles mandated entirely different competitive dynamics.
For example, getting a new car model approved required meeting emerging safety standards and significant capital for factories, making market entry and exit a far more complex affair than launching a website.