Art of the dealer ~ more info on king of cars
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Art of the dealer ~ more info on king of cars
Art of the dealer
A&E and car salesman both get mileage ot of this show
By Kortney Stringer
DETROIT FREE PRESS
Detroit may be America's automobile capital, but apparently the King of Cars resides in Las Vegas.
At least that's what some keen marketing by a Dodge car dealer and the A&E cable network would have you believe.
A&E has turned one of the most mundane and oftentimes excruciatingly painful experiences known to man into a reality TV show. And for all intents and purposes, it's a hit with viewers and a stroke of marketing genius by an entrepreneur.
King of Cars, which on April 4 started airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m., follows Joshua (Chop or Chopper) Towbin, the flamboyant 30-year-old who runs Towbin Dodge in Sin City. The show offers a unique look at buying a car, gives Towbin's car dealership plenty of plugs, and allows lots of face time for some key vehicles in Chrysler Group's lineup.
The burly Towbin is a hip-hop artist who raps about cars and collects an assortment of vehicles, from Benzes to Caddys. He's shown wearing ornate bling-bling jewelry, stylish business suits and designer shades and driving a shiny, customized Dodge Charger.
The Towbin Dodge sign appears frequently.
Chrysler said it doesn't have a say about the show's direction.
"Josh is doing very well and doesn't seem to need our input or influence," said Kevin McCormick, a DaimlerChrysler spokesman. "What he does is no different from a dealer running ads on local TV stations where they ride backwards on a donkey and say 'Come buy a car,' except this is on a national stage. As long as Towbin Dodge is selling cars, it's good for us."
It's the way Towbin sells cars that prompted A&E to cast him in a documentary called Take This Job in 2003. The series chronicled extraordinary people in interesting careers. The show that featured Towbin became the series' best rated, and it piqued A&E's interest in giving him his own reality series.
"Most people can relate to buying or selling a car, so there's that initial interest in the show," said Robert Sharenow, King of Cars executive producer. "And Chop is a very unique and appealing and funny guy who likes to have a good time, and the things he does at work are just entertaining."
Indeed, the show features zany and unusual antics Chop uses to run one of the most successful car dealerships in the country, and to keep salesmen motivated and customers entertained. Viewers see how he'll do almost anything to close a deal, including encouraging customers to dunk their salesman in a tub of water or hit a gong.
Viewers get behind-the-scenes looks at filming of The Chop Show, a weekly infomercial in which Towbin's salesmen often wear odd outfits and tell off-color jokes to sell cars.
The A&E show's first weeks drew an average 815,000 adults in the coveted 18-49 group.
A&E and car salesman both get mileage ot of this show
By Kortney Stringer
DETROIT FREE PRESS
Detroit may be America's automobile capital, but apparently the King of Cars resides in Las Vegas.
At least that's what some keen marketing by a Dodge car dealer and the A&E cable network would have you believe.
A&E has turned one of the most mundane and oftentimes excruciatingly painful experiences known to man into a reality TV show. And for all intents and purposes, it's a hit with viewers and a stroke of marketing genius by an entrepreneur.
King of Cars, which on April 4 started airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m., follows Joshua (Chop or Chopper) Towbin, the flamboyant 30-year-old who runs Towbin Dodge in Sin City. The show offers a unique look at buying a car, gives Towbin's car dealership plenty of plugs, and allows lots of face time for some key vehicles in Chrysler Group's lineup.
The burly Towbin is a hip-hop artist who raps about cars and collects an assortment of vehicles, from Benzes to Caddys. He's shown wearing ornate bling-bling jewelry, stylish business suits and designer shades and driving a shiny, customized Dodge Charger.
The Towbin Dodge sign appears frequently.
Chrysler said it doesn't have a say about the show's direction.
"Josh is doing very well and doesn't seem to need our input or influence," said Kevin McCormick, a DaimlerChrysler spokesman. "What he does is no different from a dealer running ads on local TV stations where they ride backwards on a donkey and say 'Come buy a car,' except this is on a national stage. As long as Towbin Dodge is selling cars, it's good for us."
It's the way Towbin sells cars that prompted A&E to cast him in a documentary called Take This Job in 2003. The series chronicled extraordinary people in interesting careers. The show that featured Towbin became the series' best rated, and it piqued A&E's interest in giving him his own reality series.
"Most people can relate to buying or selling a car, so there's that initial interest in the show," said Robert Sharenow, King of Cars executive producer. "And Chop is a very unique and appealing and funny guy who likes to have a good time, and the things he does at work are just entertaining."
Indeed, the show features zany and unusual antics Chop uses to run one of the most successful car dealerships in the country, and to keep salesmen motivated and customers entertained. Viewers see how he'll do almost anything to close a deal, including encouraging customers to dunk their salesman in a tub of water or hit a gong.
Viewers get behind-the-scenes looks at filming of The Chop Show, a weekly infomercial in which Towbin's salesmen often wear odd outfits and tell off-color jokes to sell cars.
The A&E show's first weeks drew an average 815,000 adults in the coveted 18-49 group.