Used Car Lot Pitch

In the movie “Used Cars” (1980), Rudy Russo (Kurt Russell) runs a struggling used car dealership and uses crazy marketing tactics in order to pull customers onto the lot. Russo gathers his team to stage a promotional event to attract attention to the dealership. Cars are driven dramatically onto the lot, employees are shouting exaggerated prices through megaphones, and huge banners are made. Here, Russo turns the lot into a show rather than a traditional sales environment. He creates urgency by doing these weird tactics. Since this movie is a little older, we can see the type of sales of the classic American car sales culture. Sales is seen as entertainment and to create a crowd mentality. He uses the customers emotions to help increase sales. Russo also seeks to get the attention before selling a car. In order to for people to pay attention, Russo had to break normal expectations so people would listen. Russo also created an urgency by saying that the deals were limited and that cars will sell fast. This moves from browsing to buying. Why Russo is selling cars, he is also selling himself as part of the sale. Instead of the usual quiet salesperson, Russo is charismatic and confident. Customers appreciate these types of characteristics because it is easier to trust these people. Lastly, Russo uses crowd psychology to get people to buy. When customers see other people interested in the same product, it creates competition and the fear of missing out. This, in turn, creates faster decision making so that he can sell cars fast. The lesson here in that people rarely buy just based off of the product alone, they also buy emotionally and justify after. Russo sells excitement and urgency, and the cars become the vehicle behind that emotion. Overall, this is a great film that had a big cultural impact, especially in car sales.