The dealerships in Manhattan in that area are factory owned. I think the rationale in my opinion is that owning a car dealership in Manhattan, especially one as big as BMW of Manhattan is not cost effective from turning a profit perspective.
A lot of retail shops in Manhattan are used mostly for advertising more so than net profit. Rents depending where you are in Manhattan are running $300-$3500/sf. Lower rates of course for bigger spaces. Even so, BMW occupies more than 300,000 sf in Manhattan.
http://www.autonews.com/article/2012...-state-of-mind