Wheels (30 page)

"Well . .
.”

The woman sounded doubtful. "We wouldn't want . .
.”

The salesman assured her, "Let me worry about that. Some days the boss
is not as sharp as others; we'll hope this is one. What I'll do is
change the figures this way: On the trade . .
.”

It amounted to a hundred dollars reduction of the end price. As he
switched off, Smokey appeared amused.
Moments later, the salesman knocked on the office door and came in, a
filled-in sales contract in his hand.
"Hi, Alex
.”

Smokey took the proffered contract and introduced Adam,
adding, "It's okay, Alex; he's one of us
.”

The salesman shook hands. "Nice to know you, Mr. Trenton
.”

He nodded to
the booth below. "Were you tuned in, boss
.”

"Sure was. Too bad, ain't it, this is one of my sharp days
.”

The dealer
grinned.
"Yeah
.”

The salesman smiled back. "Too bad
.”

While they chatted, Smokey made alterations to the figures on the sales
papers. Afterward he signed, then glanced at his watch. "Been gone long
enough
.”

"I guess so," the salesman said. "Nice to have met you, Mr. Trenton
.”

Together, Smokey and the salesman left the office and stood on the open
mezzanine outside.
Adam heard Smokey Stephensen raise his voice to a shout. "What you
tryin' on? You wanna make a bankrupt outa me?
"Now, boss, just let me explain
.”

'Explain!
Who needs it? I read figures; they say this deal means a
great fat loss
.”

In the showroom below, heads turned, faces glanced upward to the
mezzanine. Among them were those of the elderly couple in the first
booth.
"Boss, these are nice people
.”

The salesman was matching Smokey's voice
in volume. 'We want their business, don't we
.”

"Sure I want business, but this is charity
.”

"I was just trying . .
.”

"How about trying for a job someplace else
.”

"Look, boss, maybe I can fix this up. These a.re reasonable people . .
.”

"Reasonable, so they want my skin I"
"I did it, boss; not them. I just thought maybe . .
.”

'We give great deals here. We draw the line at losses. Understand
.”

"I understand
.”

The exchange was loud as ever. Two of the other salesmen, Adam observed,
were smiling surreptitiously. The elderly couple, waiting, looked
perturbed.
Again the dealer shouted. "Hey, gimme back those papers
.”

Through the open doorway Adam saw Smokey seize the sales contract and
go through motions of writing, though the alterations were already made.
Smokey thrust the contract back. "Here's the very best I'll do. I'm
being generous because you put me in a box
.”

He winked broadly, though
the last was visible only on the mezzanine.
The salesman returned the wink. As he went downstairs, Smokey re
-
entered
his office and slammed the door, the sound reverberating below.
Adam said drily, "Quite a performance
.”

Smokey chuckled. "Oldest ploy in the book, and still works sometimes
.”

The listening switch for the first sales booth was still on; he turned
the volume up as the salesman rejoined the elderly couple who had risen
to their feet.
"Oh, we're so sorry," the woman said. "We were embarrassed for you. We
wouldn't have had thathappen . .
.”

The salesman's face was suitably downcast. "I guess you folks heard
.”

"Heard
.”

the older man objected. "I should think everybody within five
blocks heard. He didn't have to talk to you like that
.”

The woman asked, 'What about your job
.”

"Don't worry; as long as I make a sale today I'll be okay. The boss is
a good guy, really. Like I told you, people who deal here find that out.
Let's look at the figures," The salesman spread the contract on the
desk, then shook his head. "We're back to the original deal, I'm afraid,
though it's still a good one. Well, I tried
.”

"We'll take it," the man said; he seemed to have forgotten his earlier
doubts. "You've gone to enough trouble . .
.”

Smokey said cheerfully, "In the bag
.”

He switched off and slumped into
one of the green
leather chairs, motioning Adam to another. The dealer took a cigar from his
pocket and offered one to Adam, who declined and lit a cigarette.
"I said a dealer has to fight," Smokey said, "and so he does. But it's a
game, too
.”

He looked at Adam shrewdly. "I guess a different kind of game
than yours
.”

Adam acknowledged, "Yes
.”

"Not so fancy pants as over at that think factory, huh? "
Adam made no answer. Smokey contemplated the glowing tip of his cigar,
then went on. "Remember this: a guy who gets to be a car dealer didn't
make the game, he doesn't name the rules. He joins the game and plays the
way it's played
for real, like strip poker. You know what happens if you
lose at strip poker
.”

"I guess so
.”

"No guessing to it. You end up with a bare ass. It's how I'd end here if
I didn't play hard, for real, the way you've seen. And though she'd look
nicer 'n me bare-assed"-Smokey chuckled"so would that sister of yours.
I'll ask you to remember that, Adam
.”

He stood up. "Let's play the game
some more.
He was, after all, Adam realized, getting an untrammeled inside view of
the dealership in operation. Adam accepted Smokey's viewpoint that trading
in cars-new and used-was a tough, competitive business in which a dealer
who relaxed or was soft
hearted could disappear from sight quickly, as many
had. A car dealership was the firing line of automobile marketing. Like
any firing line it was no place for the overly sensitive or anyone
obsessed with ethics. On the other hand, an alert, shrewd wheeler-dealer
as Smokey Stephensen appeared to be-could make an exceedingly good living,
which was part of the reason for Adam's inquiry now.
Another part was to learn how Smokey might adapt to changes in the future.
Within the next decade, Adam knew, major changes were coming in the
present car dealership system, a system which many-inside the industry and
out-believed archaic in its present form. So far, existing dealers-a
powerful, organized bloc--had resisted change. But if manufacturers and
dealers, acting together, failed to initiate reforms in the system soon,
it was certain that government would step in, as it had already in other
indust
r
y areas.
Car dealers had long been the auto industry's least reputable arm, and
while direct defrauding had been curbed in recent years, many observers
believed the public would be better served if contact between
manufacturers and car buyers were more direct, with fewer intermediaries.
Likely in the future were central dealership systems, factory-operated,
which could deliver cars to customers more efficiently and with less
overhead cost than now. For years, a similar system had been used
successfully with trucks; more recently, car fleet users and car leasing
and rental companies, who bought directly, were demonstrating large
economies. Along wi
th such direct sales outlets, f
actory-operated
warranty and service centers were likely to be established, the latter
offering more consistent, better-supervised service than many dealers
provided now.
What was needed to get such systems started -and what auto companies would
secretly welcome-was more external, public pressure.
But while dealerships would change, and some fall by the way, the more
efficient, better
operated ones were likely to remain and prosper. One
reason was the dealers' most commanding argument for existence-their
disposal of used cars.
A question for Adam to decide was: Would Smokey Stephensen's-and Teresa's
-dealership progress or decline amid the changes of the next few years?
He was already debating the question mentally as he followed Smokey from
the mezzanine office down the stairway to the showroom floor.
For the next hour Adam stayed close to Smokey Stephensen, watching him in
motion. Clearly, while letting his sales staff do their work, Smokey kept
a sensitive finger on the pulse of business. Little escaped him, He had
an instinct, too, about when his own intervention might nudge a teetering
sale to its conclusion.
A lantern-jawed, cadaverous man who had come in from the street without
glancing at the cars displayed, was arguing with a salesman about price.
The man knew the car he wanted; equally obviously, he had shopped
elsewhere.
He had a small card in his hand which he showed to the salesman, who shook
his head. Smokey strolled across the showroom. Adam positioned himself so
he could observe and hear.
"Let me see
.”

Smokey reached out, plucking the card deftly from Lantern
Jaw's fingers. It was a business card with a dealer insignia on the front;
on the back were penciled figures. Nodding amiably, his manner robbing the
action of offense, Smokey studied the figures. No one bothered with
introductions; Smokey's proprietorial air, plus the beard and blue silk
jacket were his identification. As he turned the card his eyebrows went
up. "From an Ypsilanti dealer. You live there, friend
.”

"No," Lantern Jaw said. "But I like to shop around
.”

"And where you shop, you ask for a card with the best price difference
between your trade-in and the new car. Right
.”

The other nodded.
"Be a good sport," Smokey said. "Show me the cards from all the other
dealers
.”

Lantern Jaw hesitated, then shrugged. "Why not
.”

From a pocket he produced
a handful of cards and gave them to Smokey who counted them, chuckling.
Including the one he already held, there were eight. Smokey spread the
cards on a desk top nearby, then, with the salesman, craned over them.
"The lowest offer is two thousand dollars," the salesman read out, "and
the highest twenty-three hundred
.”

Smokey motioned. "The report on his trade
.”

The salesman passed over a sheet, which Smokey glanced at, then handed
back. He told the lantern-jawed man, "I guess you'd like a card from me,
too
.”

"Sure would
.”

Smokey took out a business card, turned it over, and scribbled on the
back.
Lantern Jaw accepted the card, then looked up sharply. "This says fifteen
hundred dollars
.”

Smokey said blandly, "A nice round figure
.”

"But you won't sell me a car for that I"
"You're damn right I won't, friend. And III tell you something else.
Neither will any of those others, not at the prices they put on their
cards
.”

Smokey swept the business cards into his hand, then returned them
one by one. "Go back to this place, they'll tell you their price didn't
include sales tax. This one-they've left out the cost of options, maybe
sales tax, too. Here, they didn't add dealer prep, license, and some more
. .
.”