Hmm...as a dealership service technician (the enemy?) I find these views very interesting...
1st...define reasonable? If any of you have ever had to buy tools from "The Snap On Guy" then reasonable takes on an entirely new meaning...a $20 socket is nothing off of "The Truck" where a pair of pliars can you run you $50.
2nd...all TSBs/Recall information is already available to the general public (by law). I believe it can be accessed through http://www.nhtsa.com
3rd...As far as I know, most vehicles do not need to be emission tested for the first five years in most emission tested areas. As far as I know, all manufacturers make their service manuals available over the counter for all of their vehicles. If paying $200 for a service manual sounds unreasonable, remember, the dealership has to buy them just like everybody else. It's up to the customer to decide if buying a $200 manual is cost effective...however, a service manual is just a tool...you have to know how to use it...besides, $200 isn't that much for a tool (especially if you buy from the Snap-On truck).
4th...You can buy tools, manuals, computers, racks, machines, etc...but, you can't buy experience. Case in point...you can take your 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse to Joe's Auto to have them figure out why it doesn't start...a fuel pump and computer later it gets towed to a Mitsubishi dealership where a $13 dollar relay and 5 minutes fixes the problem because we've seen 1000 of them go bad.
5th...Mitsubishi (and other manufacturers) spend millions of dollars a year on training and distributing information to the dealerships...The dealers have to pay for the information, so why should a non-dealer get it for free?
The real question is...
Why doesn't KFC have to divulge their 11 secret herbs and spices? That's what I really want to know.