The first episode repelled me, but the second was interesting. They sold 40 cars by noon! The customer body seems heavily weighted toward rubes. No one asked the price, the interest rate or the loan term. On-camera buyers were solely interested in the monthly payment amount. A young couple owed more on their trade than it was worth, but wanted to buy two used cars!
An
Autoblog correspondent says Chop's real name is Josh Towbin, the son of the owner of Towbin Dodge. The family has other dealerships including Hummer, Infiniti, and a Bentley/Rolls Royce store. Growing up in an affluent home in a nice neighborhood, he took a few years off to pursue a rap career. When that went south, he returned to the family business. He has no "hood pass" or "street cred" An actor; he shows up at the store, plays his role, and then goes out and parties.
Another points out he isn’t significantly different from the legendary
Cal Worthington. In his heyday Worthington dressed in western gear and loved stunts. He often said he would eat a bug if anyone beat his deal. It worked for him! Today he has one of the largest, most successful chains of U.S. dealerships. Chop's shtick is 21st century Worthington!
The managers at their computer consoles are the real salesmen. The floor operators are personable, energetic go-getters who show cars and gopher numbers between the customer and the manager until a deal clicks or dies.
Towbin is clearly a master promoter and motivator. It ain’t classy, but he’s been doing it for ten years and made millions selling a ton of cars. The circus atmosphere draws customers and fires up the staff. Regardless, it’s success American style.
