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Here is a trivia question: Who was the first car dealer reportedly to start advertising on TV? Stay tuned for the answer.
The question is relevant, in part because of a new reality-TV series on A&E featuring life in a Las Vegas dealership. The show, King of Cars, is a new spin on what had been a long-standing practice in automotive retail - outrageously creating a personality using television and other means in an effort to develop a brand and ultimately drive traffic to the showroom.
It is a practice that has waned. And that is what makes Josh Towbin (a.k.a. Chop) and the King of Cars so fascinating. He is a throwback to an earlier, and arguably, more entertaining era of dealership marketing and branding.
Many of today's dealership television ads are staid and safe. It is inevitable. As large corporations owning dealerships expand, there are fewer "personalities" in the business that has become more button down.
While some dealers today may cringe at Chop's depiction of life in a dealership (one dealer says the show scared him at first), others, including Ward's columnist and Philadelphia-area dealer Peter Brandow, like the energy Chop brings.
"It shows this business can be fun," says Brandow.
Often, those days of yore included dealers engaging in goofy stunts while wearing crazy costumes. Perhaps most famous, or infamous, depending on your perspective, are the old Cal Worthington spots (see story on page 31).
More recent are the zany ads featuring the guitar-playing Fred Ricart and his wife Lynne. Fred and his brother Rhett own the Ricart Automotive Group in Columbus, OH (p. 30).
What about that dealer who started it all? None other than the conservative founder of JM Family Enterprises, Jim Moran, who, in an earlier life in Chicago, convinced fellow Hudson dealers to sponsor a smack-down wrestling show (p. 30).
- By Cliff Banks
With the recent proliferation of TV programming dedicated to automobiles it was only a matter of time before an enterprising Hollywood producer dreamt up a reality series set at a car dealership. A&E's King of Cars, a look at the inner workings of a busy Las Vegas dealer, is that series.
To those of us who toil in anonymity for humdrum, small-town stores...